Chicago Bulls at Sacramento Kings NBA Pick for January 6

The Bulls got off to a forgettable 0-3 start to the season. Chicago looked like the worst team in the NBA over the course of those three games. They were beaten by 20 points by Atlanta on opening night before losing by 19 to Indiana in their next game. The third contest was a battle between winless teams when the Bulls welcomed the Warriors to town. Golden State came away with a one-point win.

Since then, however, things have taken a turn for the better in Chicago. The Bulls have suddenly won four of five since their inauspicious start, including an impressive 111-108 win over the Trail Blazers in Portland on Tuesday night. The team rallied from a 20-point first-half deficit to pick up a road win against a team some think is a legitimate contender. They’re not a legitimate contender, but it’s still a quality win for the Bulls.

Zach LaVine and co. will head down to Sacramento to play their second game in as many nights on Wednesday against the Kings. Sacramento started 3-1, but they enter this game as losers of three straight. That includes a 137-106 drubbing at the hands of the Warriors on Monday night in one of the most lopsided games we’ve seen all year long.

With the Bulls playing the second half of a back-to-back, the Kings have been installed as hefty 7.5-point favorites in this one at BetOnline.ag. The game also comes with an over/under of 229.5 points.

Team Effort for Bulls

Billy Donovan got production from just about everywhere in Tuesday’s win in Portland. Zach LaVine finished with 18 points and nine assists, including a three-pointer in the game’s waning moments to essentially seal the victory. Coby White (21 points, 10 rebounds) and Otto Porter Jr. (19 points, 13 rebounds) also contributed double-doubles, while Thaddeus Young and Garrett Temple supplied the defense on Portland’s high-scoring backcourt.

Zach LaVine cold-blooded 3-pointer late in Bulls-Blazers ? pic.twitter.com/RGtEkc82LO

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 6, 2021

Whether this is anything but an early-season blip on the radar certainly remains to be seen. Two of the Bulls’ four wins have come over a Wizards team that appears underwhelming compared to preseason expectations. Chicago also toppled a Mavericks team that was playing without both Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, so that win can be taken with a grain of salt.

Still, beating Portland in Portland is impressive. Chicago is still bottom-10 in the league in both offensive and defensive rating, so they have a long way to go if they have any plans on crashing the Eastern Conference playoff party. The team is also having to continue this road trip without Lauri Markkanen and Tomas Satoransky due to the NBA’s health protocols, but the Bulls have thus far gotten solid production from unlikely sources.

Chicago is 5-3 against the spread so far this season.

Kings Looking to Bounce Back

The Kings came into this season with high hopes after coming close to nabbing a Western Conference playoff spot last year. Luke Walton wants his team to play with more pace offensively, which makes plenty of sense with De’Aaron Fox running the show. Sacramento took back-to-back losses in Houston against the Rockets before Monday’s aforementioned demolition at the hands of Golden State.

The Kings were dealt an early blow with the injury to Tyrese Haliburton. The rookie, who wasted no time asserting himself as a vital cog in the Kings’ rotation, has missed the past couple of games with a bone bruise in his left wrist. Haliburton is officially listed as questionable for tonight’s game. If he returns, that’s a big boon to Sacramento’s chances.

Kings rook Tyrese Haliburton from near the logo ? pic.twitter.com/bSGAKJHpyX

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 30, 2020

Haliburton has posted relatively modest averages of 10.6 points, 4.4 assists, and 2.0 rebounds through his first five NBA games, but he had really started to grow into his role right before the injury. Haliburton scored eight of his 13 points in the fourth quarter in the Kings’ 125-115 win over the Nuggets last week, and he already looks like a perfect complementary piece next to Fox in the Kings’ backcourt.

If Haliburton is out again tonight, Sacramento will have to rely more heavily on the likes of Cory Joseph and Glenn Robinson off the bench. Buddy Hield, who has struggled from a shooting perspective early this season, would also be locked into a more high-usage role if Haliburton is sidelined for this game.

While Walton has said he wants more pace, he hasn’t gotten it to this point. The Kings are just 21st in the league in possessions per game, while they’re just 19th in offensive rating and 20th in defensive rating. Sacramento is 4-3 against the spread on the year, as well.

What’s the Best Bet?

The potential return of Haliburton would help the Kings, but I still don’t really see why they should be so heavily favored in this one. The Bulls haven’t necessarily been tested over the course of their recent surge, but I’m also not convinced that this Sacramento team is all that daunting, either. The Kings having had an extra day of rest figures to help their legs a bit, but the 7.5-point spread in this game looks oddly wide.

I think the Bulls are fully capable of covering in this spot. Barring some sort of late-breaking injury news that takes the Bulls down a peg, I’d have a hard time trusting the Kings as 7.5-point favorites against just about any opponent. There is no home-court advantage to be had in Sacramento these days, either. Despite the travel and having played a tough game last night, I would expect the Bulls to be up for the challenge in this one.

They may not win the game outright, but taking Chicago to cover is perfectly reasonable in this matchup. The Kings look overvalued by oddsmakers relative to their actual quality as a team.