Chicago Bulls vs Denver Nuggets Picks and Odds Dec 6
Chicago Bulls vs Denver Nuggets Betting Preview
WagerTalk NBA handicapper Andy Lang offers his Chicago Bulls vs Denver Nuggets betting preview for Monday, December 6. At the time of posting, the Bulls are holding steady as a 3.5-point home favorite over the visiting Nuggets, with the total sitting at 217 points.
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Chicago Bulls vs Denver Nuggets Predictions
- Chicago Bulls -3.5 vs Denver Nuggets
- Total: 217 Points
- The over is 9-1 in Denver’s last ten games.
The 11-11 Denver Nuggets head to Chicago to square off against the 16-8 Bulls on Monday night at The United Center. The Nuggets are smack dab in the middle of a seven-game road trip that they are 2-1 on so far, after annihilating the Knicks by a score of 113-99 at Madison Square Garden.
Meanwhile the Bulls have won three straight games and are playing a lone home game before heading back out on the road. The Bulls are coming off a statement win against the Brooklyn Nets by a score of 111-107. These teams played a highly contested game last month in Denver, where the Bulls prevailed by a score of 114-108.
No team in the association has had to deal with more significant injuries than the Denver Nuggets. Coming into this campaign they knew that Jamal Murray would be out for most if not all of the season with a torn ACL. The next huge blow was in early November as they found out Michael Porter Jr. needed a back surgery that would cost him the remainder of this season. On November 24th P.J. Dozier tore his ACL and he is also done for the year. Finally Nikola Jokic missed 4 games with a wrist injury and it seemed like they could have easily called it a lost season. However Jokic has returned and they continue to fight the good fight.
Perhaps the Nuggets remaining players could have kept up their scoring without Jokic, however they missed the completeness to the Setbian stars game. This was highlighted during his last game in New York where the 6’11” center had 32 points including 3 three-pointers, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Still the Nuggets have struggled on the road, going only 4-7. They only average 104 points a game ranking them a lowly 26th overall. At first look they are great defensively as they only allow 103.9 points a game, good for 4th in the association. However that is mostly due to the leagues slowest pace as they are only 16th in defensive rating.
The new look Chicago Bulls will counter with one of the most balanced units in the league. They have exceled on both offense with an average of 109.6 points a game good for 10th in the league, as well as on defense where they land 7th in defensive rating. What makes the Bulls deadly is their individual players executing their roles efficiently. Newcomer Alex Caruso can’t score, but has a motor that never quits and leads the league in steals while coming off the bench. Lonzo Ball has stepped up on defense and as a pure outside shooter.
Nikola Vucevic struggled early, but since returning from Covid protocol has filled his role as a mid-range paint enforcer. If that wasn’t enough, now you have to deal with two of the leagues premier scorers. Since joining the Bulls DeMar DeRozan leads the team with 26.4 points a game. Not far behind him is Zach Lavine who is averaging 25.6 points a game. If the Bulls stay healthy they will be in line for a deep playoff run that could end with an NBA championship.
The Bulls are 16-8 overall against the spread and 7-4 ATS at home. Meanwhile the Nuggets are only 9-13 ATS and 4-7 on the road. There isn’t much to take from their over/under ATS records as both are right around .500. The spread for Monday nights game is Bulls -3.5 with the total set at 217.
The Nuggets have fought hard recently and Jokic is good enough to keep them in the game. However, the Bulls have the weapons to overwhelm the Nuggets and their perimeter defense will make it near impossible for other Denver players to have an impact. The Bulls beat them by 6 in the Denver altitude and I’m going to back them to do it again here at home.
From a player prop perspective we are going to roll with DeMar DeRozan over 4.5 rebounds at -140. It’s definitely a little more juice than we are accustomed to, however it will be well worth a small play. DeRozan has had 5 or more rebounds in 6 straight games and 17 of 24 overall for a 70.8% hit rate. He’s already cleared this rebound total once against the Nuggets. I’m fully expecting Jokic and Vucevic to draw each other from the paint, ultimately leading to rebounding opportunities for others.
Official Play: Chicago Bulls -3.5
Official Player Prop: DeRozan Over 4.5 Rebounds -140
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Chicago Bulls vs Denver Nuggets Analysis from The GoldSheet
Denver has pulled out of a nosedive on this road trip, recording wins at Miami and New York, those successes sandwiching an ugly loss at Orlando. Now it’s on to Chicago for the midway point in this seven-game Nugget road trip. Denver hasn’t been great defensively for a few weeks ranking 29th in yielding 117 points per 100 possessions over the last 10 games, recording a 9-1 over mark in that run.
Chicago has won three-straight with DeMar DeRozan scoring 30 ppg and hitting 59% of his shots and Zach LaVine at 28 ppg and 50% in that roll, and LaVine keyed the 114-108 Bull win in Denver in the first meeting this season between the two. Neither Chicago vet C Nikola Vucevic nor Nugget all-star pivot Nikola Jokic played in that first meeting and Vucevic is having a solid season and should be up to the challenge of defending the Joker. Play Chicago.
Monday’s NBA Stat Sheet
Each day, WagerTalk handicapper Ralph Michaels puts together his NBA Stat Sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Click here to download Monday’s sheet, with notes on tonight’s Chicago Bulls vs Denver Nuggets contest.
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