NBA Regular Season 2023/24, Tuesday, 05.03.2024
On Tuesday night, the best basketball league will see a duel between two contenders for the last playoff spots in the Western and Eastern Conference. Entertainment is guaranteed at the Golden 1 Center!
My Kings Bulls betting tip, for which the Bet365 bonus applies, tells you why I expect at least 23 points from Bulls top scorer DeMar DeRozan
The Californian Kings are very inconsistent on the road in the current phase of the season, which is generally considered the most stressful for teams due to the tight schedule.
They have won five of their last ten games, including against the top teams from Minnesota (+4), Los Angeles (Clippers; +16) and twice against the reigning champions from Denver (+19 and +4).
However, veteran coach Mike Brown’s team is always good for slip-ups like the 120:133 home defeat against the historically bad Detroit Pistons at the beginning of February.
Interestingly, the Kings currently “only” have an 11-9 record against opponents from the historically weaker Eastern Conference (34-25 overall record)
Offensively and defensively, the Kings from Sacramento rank in the middle of the league.
The Purple & White’s offense is the fourteenth best with a rating of 116.7, while the defense is only ranked 21st with a rating of 116.4.
Meanwhile, the Northern Californians can count on a whole cascade of strong role players, with four other players behind superstar De’Aaron Fox (26.9 points and 5.6 assists) and co-star Domantas Sabonis (19.9 points, 13.2 rebounds and 8.4 assists) scoring ten or more points per game (seven players in total for the Bulls).
But beware, Fox’s participation against the Bulls is questionable due to a knee injury and will probably only become clear shortly before the start of the game
The legendary Chicago Bulls, meanwhile, find themselves in the NBA’s no-man’s land.
With 28 wins and 32 losses, they are too good for the lottery and the associated lucrative player selection rights, but at the same time not good enough to have a realistic chance of surviving the first playoff round.
The team from the Windy City currently ranks ninth in the East (six games behind the first guaranteed playoff spot) and would therefore be eligible to participate in the play-in tournament at the end of the season
The Bulls are 5-5 in their last ten games, with a surprisingly positive 12-10 record against teams from the West.
With an offensive rating of 113.1, the Bulls have a below-average offense (23rd), but with a rating of 114.8, they have an average defense (16th).
The Bulls have the second slowest offense in the league (which is not a bad thing per se) and are one of the most ball-secure teams (only two teams have a lower turnover rate).
The Chicago are led by veteran star DeMar DeRozan, who continues to put up very solid numbers (22.7 points and 5.3 assists on 46.6% from the field), but whose old-fashioned isolation-focused style of play has repeatedly proven unsustainable in the playoffs.
The historical record between the Kings and Bulls is almost even at 85-84, with the Californians winning ten of the last thirteen meetings (most recently four wins in a row).
The first leg of this season’s series was also won 122-114 by the West Coast side just two weeks ago.
Due to the unclear situation regarding the use of Kings top scorer De’Aaron Fox, I advise against betting on a win.
However, betting providers such as Crazybuzzer offer handicap bets against the Kings, so you could, for example, give the Bulls a fictitious advantage of +6.5 (odds for Bulls victory then at 1.87).
My Kings Bulls tip, however, is a player bet that assumes a strong offensive performance from California native DeMar DeRozan.
With co-star Zach LaVine out for the season, the Bulls’ offense is more dependent than ever on DeRozan, who is averaging 25.9 points in his last ten games.
In addition, the Kings lack elite wing defenders who can take Chicago’s number 11 out of the game permanently.
This is measured not least by the fact that the old-fashioned scorer is averaging 26.8 points in his last five games against the Kings.
Due to the odds of 1.83, there is a good chance with my NBA betting tip to take a real stab at the tax-free betting providers like Bet365!
My Kings Bulls betting tip: DeMar DeRozan to score at least 23 points!
