Chicago Bulls vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 10/23/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Chicago Bulls vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Gulf Coast Sports

Odds/Point Spread: Chicago (+7.5)

Smoothie King Center is the location where the New Orleans Pelicans (49-33 last year) will play the Chicago Bulls (39-43 last season) on Wednesday. New Orleans opens this matchup as 7.5-point favorites. The over/under is set at 224.5.

The Bulls played the Knicks and took a loss by a final of 120-119 in their last contest. Chicago walked away from the contest with a 48.5% FG percentage (49 of 101) and knocked down 8 of 31 shots from distance. From the charity stripe, the Bulls made 13 of 16 tries for a rate of 81.3%. In relation to pulling down rebounds, they collected 46 with 13 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 17 dimes in this matchup while forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and getting 7 steals. With regard to defending, Chicago allowed the other team to go 50.5% from the field on 46 out of 91 shooting. New York recorded 33 dimes and had 9 steals for this game. Furthermore, New York collected 41 rebounds (13 offensive, 28 defensive) and added 3 blocks. New York walked away from this one shooting 76.2% at the charity stripe by converting 16 of their 21 shots. They also converted 12 of 32 attempts from distance. When talking about personal fouls, the Bulls walked away with 9 while the Knicks totaled 17 personal fouls.

DeMar DeRozan is a player who was a major contributor in the game. DeRozan shot 45.8% from the floor and dished out 5 assists. He played for 44 mins played and also totaled 5 rebounds. He walked away with 30 points on 11 out of 24 shooting.

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Chicago enters this one after finishing with a mark of 39-43 last season. They had an average of 112.3 pts per game (22nd in the league) while going 47.0% from the field. The Bulls hit on 35.8% on three-point attempts (941 of 2,630) and 79.1% from the charity stripe. As a basketball team, Chicago snagged 43.8 rebounds per contest and earned 2,048 assists throughout last season, which had them ranked 23rd in basketball in terms of passing the ball. They turned it over 12.2 times per contest and as a team committed 18.8 fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Bulls were able to force 14.0 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 18.8 personal fouls. They gave up 37.0% from 3-point land while they were 16th in the league in PPG allowed (113.7). The Bulls defense gave up and opponent field goal percentage of 47.3% (3,370 of 7,131) and they conceded 43.4 rebounds per contest as a group. They were 23rd in the league in giving up assists with 2,287 surrendered last season.

For their last game, the Pelicans took a loss by a score of 97-89 against the Thunder. The Pelicans recorded 38 defensive boards and 12 offensive rebounds for a total of 50 for this game. They also gave up possession of the ball 9 times, while getting 7 steals in the game. The Thunder were called for 16 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Pelicans to the charity stripe for a total of 20 tries. They were able to make 17 of the free throws for a percentage of 85.0%. When talking about shots from distance, New Orleans made 8 of 34 attempts (23.5%). Overall, the Pelicans finished the game shooting 32 out of 85 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 37.6%. The Pelicans allowed the Thunder to knock down 35 of 82 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 42.7% in this contest. They wrapped up this game 30.0% from downtown by going 12 out of 40 and ended up shooting 15 out of 24 at the free throw line (62.5%). When discussing rebounding, New Orleans permitted Oklahoma City to get 44 overall (8 on the offensive side).

CJ McCollum was important for the Pelicans for the game. McCollum totaled 20 points in his 37 mins of playing time and accumulated 2 assists for this contest. He made 9 out of 16 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 56.3%, and accounted for 6 rebounds.

New Orleans had a record of 49-33 last season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Pelicans connected on 48.6% from the field, which had them ranked 9th in the league. New Orleans scored 9,436 points over the course of last year (115.1 per contest) and they pulled down 44.0 boards per contest. They dished out assists 27.0 times per game (13th in basketball) and they gave up possession 13.0 times per contest. The Pelicans committed 18.4 fouls every game and they shot 77.1% from the charity stripe.

The Pelicans defensively were ranked 8th in the NBA in PPG given up with 110.7. They forced 14.2 turnovers per game and let teams shoot 46.4% from the field (7th in basketball). The New Orleans defense conceded 34.9% on shots from behind the 3-point line (1,109 of 3,176) and their opponents converted on 78.3% of their free throw attempts. They surrendered 26.8 dimes and 42.3 rebounds per contest, which had them ranked 17th and 8th in basketball.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Chicago (+7.5)

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