The Chicago Bulls (6-8, 2-4 Away) travel to face the New Orleans Pelicans (8-6, 4-2 Home) Wednesday at Smoothie King Center. Chicago was dominated by the Denver Nuggets 126-103 at United Center on Sunday. Zach LaVine had a standout performance in defeat with 21 points. The Bulls are 11th in the Eastern Conference.
New Orleans is playing on back-to-back days after triumphing yesterday at Smoothie King Center, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 113-102. CJ McCollum had 30 points and nine assists to lead the team. The Pelicans are seventh in the Western Conference.The teams are meeting for the final time this season.
After winning the only prior season game against Chicago 115-111 at United Center on Wednesday, New Orleans will be seeking a season sweep. DeMar DeRozan led the game in scoring with 33 points in the loss.
Brandon Ingram had 22 points for the Pelicans, while Jonas Valanciunas contributed 21 points, 13 rebounds, and three assists. DeRozan and LaVine, averaging 23.9 and 21.9 points per game, respectively, are leading the Bulls in scoring this season.
Both are among the league’s top scorers, as DeRozan is No. 1 and LaVine is first. DeRozan also has dished 4.2 assists per game, most in the NBA. Meanwhile, Nikola Vucevic is grabbing 11.5 rebounds per game.
Zion Williamson and Ingram have powered the Pels on offense, averaging 23.5 and 21.2 points per game, respectively. Williamson leads the league in scoring, while Ingram is first. Valanciunas is collecting 9.6 rebounds per game, most in the league, and McCollum is distributing 6.5 assists (1st).
The teams have split their last 10 meetings at Smoothie King Center (5-5). Meanwhile, the Pelicans are 0-2 this season when playing the second of a back-to-back and 0-1 in such games against opponents with at least a day of rest.
The Bulls are 1-0 with a rest advantage. Chicago is 4-6 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +0.6 (111.9-111.3). New Orleans has split the last 10 (5-5), scoring 113.9 points per game on average while holding opponents to 111.8 (+2.1 margin).
PELICANS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points per game:
CJ McCollum: 13.6 | 18.7 | -5.1
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
NO Pelicans (-185)
Want up to a $1K risk free bet for this pick?
Claim with 
today!
If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our NBA hub page for all your basketball needs!
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
