NBA Picks and Betting Tips: Houston Rockets vs Chicago Bulls Prediction, 18th November

NLB Staff

17.11.2024 13:41

Rockets v Bulls Prediction

Seeing that the Houston Rockets enter this game having shown tremendous growth on both ends of the floor against Ime Udoka, they play a Bulls squad that has really started showing some overall success with key stars back in their lineup. As the Rockets squad have come off a 2-game winning streak against Los Angeles, Chicago game off a very rough 18-pont loss to Cleveland. As the matchup will take place on November 18th at 5:30 A.M., United Center of Chicago, Illinois will be the stadium it’s going to be hosted in. Underneath are our key betting tips, top player props, key injuries, and head-to-head trends in order to predict the matchup between these two squads.

Rockets v Bulls Key Betting Tips & Predictions

1. Houston Rockets vs Chicago Bulls Moneyline Pick

Looking directly at the moneyline for this game, the Rockets should win their -229 won because it should be a very easy matchup for them. Having a backcourt of Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green as great scorers, they should be able to put in more points combined than Josh Giddey and Coby White. While Alperen Sengun continues to be a dominant force in the middle, he should have an advantage over Nikola Vucevic both ways. Even though he may lose the rebounding battle, Sengun has the prowess of Jabari Smith Jr. to recover for him to finish shots with ease or regroup the offens. Having Dillon Brooks continue to play great defense, the -229 money line for Houston looks great and should help them win their 2nd game against the spread vs Bulls.

2. Houston Rockets vs Chicago Bulls Point Spread Pick

Seeing that the Rockets are favored with their -4.5 spread, this should be taken as they are the much stronger squad. Starting with Fred VanVleet at point guard, his ability to drive in really causes a mismatch against someone who is much slower and can’t chase him down like Josh Giddey. Showing his ability to also create from deep, he will be forming a great backcourt alongside a growing scorer in Jalen Green. Although he has to go against a top-notch defender in Coby White, his ability to create space has been a very underrated part of Green’s game. As Jalen Green has continued to play good defense as well, he should be able to limit Coby White’s game by a couple of shots due to his physical strength. With Dillon Brooks still being one of the best three and defensive guys in the league, his matchup against Zach Lavine could favor him. Seeing that Brooks is a very muscular forward that can continuously stop other forwards like Lavine from driving in and create bad shots, Brooks will return the favor by finishing or knocking down deep shots on the other end. With Alperen Sengun being an all-around center and Jabari Smith Jr. still having amazing defensive prowess, they should be able to slow down Nikola Vucevic as Patrick Williams hasn’t been much of a scoring factor. As their spread is -4.5 for Houston, they should win and start a new streak against the Bulls.

3. Houston Rockets vs Chicago Bulls Over/Under Pick (Total Points)

As the over/under in this game is at 216 points, there will be a lot of baskets put up between two very solid offense. For Chicago, they are once again led by a great shooting guard and small forward duo that can create this shot or spot-up shoot from anywhere on the court. Having an elite center that can also play on the perimeter, this team’s point guard has turned himself into a formidable driver to the basket while already having his mid-range game on que. Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets are going to be let by one of the best scoring centers in the league and a much improved shooting guard. Having solid scoring options at both wing positions and a point guard who can really steady the tempo, this should help them continue being one of the underrated offensive teams. When these two teams last played, they combined for 234 points and should be somewhere around that again.

Houston Rockets vs Chicago Bulls Top Player Props

Jabari Smith Jr over 4.5 rebounds at 1.69: With the Rockets power forward having a huge mismatch in this game over the Bulls Patrick Williams, he should be able to use size to grab down multiple boards. On several missed shots and floaters, as Sengun works on Nikola Vuecivic in the middle, it will free up space for Smith Jr. to add to his rebounding total after getting tons on the offensive glass plus through blocks. As someone who averages 7.0 rebounds a night, he should definitely hit the over in this game and expand on how many boards he averages per matchup.

Coby White over 20.5 points at 1.91: Although Jalen Green has been a better defender this year, Coby White’s strength is something that is untested. As someone who has the extraordinary ability to drive in, he will also be able to provide space to this team as a key spot-up shooter of Nikola Vucevic screens. With White averaging 20.4 points a night, he should definitely be able to go above that during this matchup.

Houston Rockets vs Chicago Bulls Injury News & Impact

Houston Rockets Injuries: Looking at this Rockets roster, they don’t have any current injuries and should be able to run with the same units under head coach Ime Udoka to help create both offensively plus on defense.

Chicago Bulls Injuries: As Lonzo Ball still remains out with his wrist injury, this Bulls roster has really given Ayo Dosmou a lot of playing time as the backup. Knowing this and Lonzo having missed most of the season already, Chicago should still be able to get the best of their rotations that were originally planned for.

Rockets v Bulls Head-to-Head Trends

Although this matchup has seemed to be very tight with both teams having an alternative victory, seemingly, every-time, Houston will have the advantage to create a streak this time. Looking like a much stronger unit, they have averaged 119.0 points per night during their previous 3 matchups vs Chicago and should continue being somewhere near there. As a squad projected to have another high-scoring game, they should be able to create separation from their 3-3 record against the spread over 6 previous matchups vs Chicago.

Betting Insights & Public Trends

Looking at the current betting insights and trends, this Houston Rockets roster has been projected to beat Chicago by 65.6% of bettors.

Rockets v Bulls Final Prediction

As the Houston Rockets enter this game being on quite the hot streak, they should take advantage of Chicago early. Seeing that they are a much stronger team coaching-wise and have had elite chemistry under Ime Udoka, this Rockets squad should really have another easy win. Given that Fred VanVleet is running at point guard, his ability to pass and create for his teammates has been a key piece to this squad’s early success. With someone like Josh Giddey being on him, although he won’t get the same ability to knock down long shots the Rockets guard can really drive in with ease. Someone who is very quick and has the prowess to finish with a will, VanVleet’s unselfish passing will help him out play Giddey’s all-around game. Having a great shooting guard like Jalen Green, his offense style could do a lot of damage to an elite defensive mind such as Coby White. Knowing that White has been a great shooter from deep and around the basket, his greatness as a scorer wil be matched by Green.

Although having Zach Lavine is finally back as this team’s main offensive threat and small forward, the Bulls will be outdueled by Dillon Brooks defense. Seeing that Brooks has controlled many stars offensive games from the perimeter and mid-range, he should make Lavine have a much less efficient night. Someone who can shoot threes of his own, the Rockets small forward will continue working off Alperen Sengun screens for spacing. In addition, this Houston squad features Jabari Smith Jr. at power forward as a lethal wing that can a lot of length. Given the task to guard Patrick Williams, he should dominate this matchup due to having a great knack for blocking layups. Seeing that Williams likes to score exclusively inside the paint, Smith Jr. provides a different type of offense on the other end with solid mid-range and perimeter abilities as well. In the middle, Houston will get most of their work done with the well-rounded center Alperen Sengun having great body control against Nikola Vucevic. Even though the Bulls center has proven to be a great out scorer and rebounder, Sengun will take advantage of his lack of defense and dribbling abilites. As Houston’s center has proven to guard power forwards too, he can keep switching on Patrick Williams to cause even harder chances at putting up layups with ease. As someone who can space the floor by knocking down threes and also create chances for others, he will be a key factor for Houston’s victory. The only way Chicago can win this game is if Dalen Terry and Ayo Dosmou can show massive breakout games off the bench.

Our prediction: Houston Rockets will win this game and cover their -4.5 spread, while the score goes over 216 points.