Trail Blazers vs Bulls NBA Handicapping
Strange year in Chicago, no?
Since the season started five months ago, Bulls fans have been trying to figure out when Derrick Rose would return, and how he would change expectations when he did come back.
Portland Trail Blazers (31-36) at Chicago Bulls (36-30)
Thursday, March 21
United Center, Chicago
8 p.m. EST
Spread – Bulls -5.5 at SportsbettingOnline.ag
Total – 188.5
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Now, while the team muddles along among the playoff-bound bottom-feeders in the Eastern Conference, there are loud whispers that Rose might not return – even for the playoffs.
Management has remained coy about it all along, even as Rose has practiced with the team.
“He’s got to feel good for a while,” Tom Thibodeau said, providing cover for Rose, who some say might want to just pack it in and return in the fall since getting to The Finals is a long shot the way anyway Miami is torching everyone.
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“That’s the most important thing. … I just want him to keep making the progress he’s making, he feels a little bit better each day.”
With neither Rose nor the team in any apparent particular hurry to get the star PG back in the lineup, Chicago has limped through a tough stretch of the schedule, winning just 2 of its last 7 and burning a tremendous amount of energy in an overtime loss to Denver on Monday night.
Marco Belinelli and Luol Deng both played over 50 minutes in that one as Thibodeau continues to give his starters only minimal rest.
The Blazers, meanwhile, have somewhat righted the ship after a disastrous mid-February 7-game losing streak which probably cost them a playoff spot. Portland is 6-6 since that skid, but the next three games (Chicago, Atlanta, Oklahoma City) have the potential to just about insert a dagger into the Blazers’ season. [ad-6571516]
The core of the Blazers’ rotation (Damian Lillard, Wes Matthews, LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum) has also been forced to log a heavy load of minutes as Portland tries to stay relevant in the Western Conference. Looks like a losing battle, though, and pretty soon they’ll be ready to throw in the towel and start getting better looks at some of their younger players.
“It’s tough, but we’ve still got 15 games left,” Matthews said after a last-second loss in Philadelphia two nights ago. “We’ll see what happens. We still play all the teams ahead of us. I think it’s going to go down to the last five games.”
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Is Thibodeau grinding his rotation into the ground by not giving Noah, Deng and other starters enough rest? Maybe not. The Bulls have two straight covers (Golden State, Denver), and the offense has shown enough life to go over the totals number both times (they actually have three covers, but one was a give-up 121-79 loss at Sacramento).
Neither team played last night, so there should be a little life left. Liking an OVER play here as the 5.5 line looks exactly right.
