Chicago Bulls vs. Utah Jazz NBA Picks

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The Chicago Bulls have been short-handed all year, but they have done a nice job staying right around the top of the NBA Central Division. Chicago is one of the few teams in the NBA that has been better on the road than they have been at home. Utah is consistently one of the best home teams in the NBA, and this year is no different. Can the Bulls come out of Utah with a win or will the Jazz continue their home dominance?

Game Overview:

Derrick Rose is expected back at the end of February. Reports out of Chicago say he has been practicing in full contact drills over the last few days. While this team can hold its own without Rose, they’ll never be a title contender without a healthy Rose leading the way. Joakim Noah and Kirk Hinrich have the missed the team’s last three games, but Noah is expected to play in this one. Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer have stepped up to lead the team in scoring while Rose has been out this year. Noah is having a career year on the inside as well. He is averaging 12.1 points and 11.3 boards per game.

The Bulls are winning with defense right now. Coach Tom Thibodeau is known as a defensive-minded coach, and that has been showing up in the team’s play of late. Opponents are only shooting 42.8 percent from the floor against the Bulls, which means Chicago has the second best defense in the league by that measure. The Bulls work hard to contest every shot, and they are terrific at holding the opponent to only one shot.

Utah is 19-5 on their home floor this year. The Jazz have some injury problems of their own right now. Mo Williams is out and so is Gordon Hayward. Hayward had been one of the team’s main offensive weapons, so they have definitely missed him while he has been out the last couple weeks. Al Jefferson is the leading scorer on this Utah team, but recent rumors suggest he might not be a member of the Jazz much longer. It seems the team might be shopping Jefferson to give Enes Kanter more playing time down low.

Utah is a good team when they are focused on the defensive end. It seems like this team is hit or miss defensively this year. Last week they lost 125-80 to Houston on their home floor in what was a massive embarrassment, but they have bounced back by winning four of their next five games. More often than not the Jazz win if they can hold their opponent below 100 points. Can Utah keep Chicago’s bigs off the offensive glass in this one? That will be a real challenge for the Jazz.

Free Pick: Under 186.5

The Bulls are really locking teams down on the defensive end, and both teams are short-handed offensively. I don’t see either team putting up a big number here. Look for a close low-scoring game all the way.

Jazz 91 Bulls 88