NBA Picks & Predictions for Tuesday, March 22, 2011
By Anthony Rome
The Spread) – With the thoughts of homecourt advantage on their minds, the Chicago Bulls will take on the Atlanta Hawks tonight at 8:05PM ET.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Bodog.com have made the Bulls 3.5-point favorites tonight against the Hawks. The over/under total for this game is currently 182 points.
The Bulls head into Tuesday night’s game with a 50-19 overall record, which includes a 19-15 road mark. According to latest NBA trends, Chicago is 43-24-2 against the spread this season and 20-14 ATS on the road.
The Hawks enter tonight’s contest with a 40-30 overall record and are 21-14 at home. But they’re 31-39 against the number this year and just 13-22 ATS at home. The under is 40-30 in all Atlanta games this season and 19-16 when the Hawks play at home.
NBA Free Pick: I foolishly picked the Kings on Monday night to cover a huge spread against the Bulls, who promptly wiped the floor with them. I’ll try not to make the same mistake tonight. Even though they beat the Pistons on Sunday, the Hawks are struggling. They lost to the Nuggets and Heat by a combined 36 points last week and are having issues on the offensive side of the ball. Meanwhile, Derrick Rose is averaging 27.3 points over his last six games and the Bulls are on fire. They’re also trying to win homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs and know that any slip now could allow their opponents to seize control. Even though the home team is 5-1 against the number in the last six meetings between these two teams and the Bulls are 0-4 ATS in their last four trips to Atlanta, I like Chicago to cover on Tuesday. The Bulls are a red-hot 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games versus the Eastern Conference and 5-0 ATS in their last five games against the NBA Southeast.
TUESDAY NBA FREE PICK: CHICAGO BULLS –3.5