Chicago Bulls vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 2/25/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Chicago Bulls vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Sunday, February 25, 2024

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Bally Sports New Orleans

Smoothie King Center is where the New Orleans Pelicans (34-22) will try to beat the Chicago Bulls (26-30) on Sunday.

The Bulls played the Celtics and went home with a loss by a final score of 129-112 in their last game. Chicago wrapped up the contest with a 46.8% FG percentage (44 out of 94) and buried 10 of 28 3-pointers. From the charity stripe, the Bulls made 14 of 16 shots for a percentage of 87.5%. When discussing grabbing boards, they earned 45 with 13 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 30 assists for the contest in addition to creating 13 turnovers and getting 6 steals. When discussing defending, Chicago allowed the other team to shoot 54.2% from the floor on 45 out of 83 shooting. Boston doled out 27 assists and had 10 steals for this game. Furthermore, Boston snagged 36 boards (5 offensive, 31 defensive) and had 2 blocked shots. Boston walked away from this one shooting 76.2% at the free throw line by making 16 of their 21 tries. They buried 23 of 47 shots from beyond the arc. In relation to personal fouls, the Bulls walked away with 17 while the Celtics recorded 16 personal fouls.

Nikola Vucevic is someone who was a factor for the matchup. He ended up walking away with 22 points on 10 out of 19 shooting. He played for 35 minutes played and grabbed 14 rebounds. Vucevic finished shooting 52.6% from the floor and recorded 2 dimes.

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Chicago will enter this game with a mark of 26-30 for the season. They are turning it over 12.4 times per game and as a team they commit 19.3 personal fouls every game. As a team, Chicago is collecting 43.5 boards per game and has accounted for 1,369 dimes this season, which ranks 26th in the league in terms of passing. The Bulls are shooting 36.1% on shots from 3-point land (658 of 1,824) and 79.2% from the free throw line. They are averaging 111.8 points per game (26th in the league) while shooting 46.7% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Bulls have forced 14.2 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.8 personal fouls. They are ranked 23rd in basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 1,563 relinquished this year. The Bulls defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 47.1% (2,280 of 4,840) and they relinquish 43.4 rebounds per game as a team. They give up 36.9% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 12th in basketball in points per game allowed (113.2).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Pelicans took home the win by a final score of 127-105 against the Rockets. The Pelicans were able to pull down 34 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards for a total of 43 for this contest. They also coughed up the ball 13 times, while recording 16 steals for the matchup. The Rockets were called for 18 fouls for this contest which took the Pelicans to the charity stripe for a total of 18 tries. They were able to convert 11 of them for a percentage of 61.1%. When talking about shots from beyond the arc, New Orleans knocked down 16 out of 41 attempts (39.0%). Overall, the Pelicans shot 50 out of 96 from the field which gave them a rate of 52.1%. The Pelicans allowed the Rockets to make 36 of their 82 tries from the field which left them shooting 43.9% in this contest. They wrapped up this game 36.6% from distance by shooting 15 of 41 and ended up going 18 of 28 at the free throw line (64.3%). In reference to rebounds, New Orleans allowed Houston to grab 44 in all (12 on the offensive glass).

CJ McCollum ended up being a factor for the Pelicans for this game. McCollum totaled 28 points in his 31 minutes of playing time and earned 6 assists in the matchup. He knocked down 11 out of 22 for the game giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and had 6 rebounds.

New Orleans has a win-loss mark of 34-22 so far this season. The Pelicans commit 19.2 personal fouls every game and they hit 76.4% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 27.2 times per contest (11th in the league) and they cough up possession 13.2 times per game. New Orleans has earned 6,532 pts so far this season (116.6 per game) and they grab 44.2 boards per game. As an offense, the Pelicans are shooting 48.9% from the floor, which is 9th in the league.

The Pelicans on defense are ranked 8th in the NBA in points allowed per game with 112.1. They are forcing their opponents into 14.3 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.4% from the floor (6th in the league). The New Orleans defense allows 34.6% on shots from beyond the arc (753 of 2,176) and their opponents are making 78.4% of their foul shots. They surrender 26.9 dimes and 42.2 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 18th and 9th in the league.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Chicago

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