Chicago Bulls vs. Charlotte Hornets Pick and Prediction – NBA, Wednesday, February 9th, 2022

We have an exciting matchup between the Chicago Bulls and the Charlotte Hornets for ESPN’s Wednesday night basketball. The Bulls have been impressive this season and are sitting in third place in the East.

The Hornets haven’t been too bad this year, as they find themselves in the 9th seed with a record of 28-27. Both of these teams are looking to get back on the right track, as they have struggled recently.

The Hornets have lost 5 straight games, while the Bulls have lost 3 out of their last 4 games themselves. This will be an important game for both teams, as they try and get a win on Wednesday night. Let’s take a look at the odds and each team’s preview for this game.

The Bulls have been the better team out of these two this season, so it isn’t a surprise to see them favored to win this game. They are missing some key players that they hope to get back soon, but will have to do without for this game.

The Hornets are cold right now, but every losing streak snaps eventually. They have capable players and these rough losses could motivate them more in this game.

These two teams tend to have some very high scoring games, so it isn’t a surprise to see the point total set this high. I am expecting a high scoring outing, so make sure you get these players in your fantasy lineups for this game.

These odds are from BetOnline, so if you like a certain price you can place your bets over there.

The Bulls may be without some key pieces like Alex Caruso, Lonzo Ball, Patrick Williams, Ayo Dosunmu, and Patrick Williams, but their big 3 is still intact. Demar Derozan, Zach Lavine, and Nikola Vucevic will have to carry the load like they usually do, but maybe a little more so for this game.

The Bulls had a tough back to back schedule for their last two games. They played the 76ers on Sunday and followed that up with a game against the Suns on Monday. Back to backs are never easy in the NBA, let alone against two top teams.

Rallied at the end but fell short.
Off to Charlotte on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/gJOBQdJb33

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) February 8, 2022

With that being said, the Bulls players have been having some huge nights individually. They are going to need to play better defense if they want to beat these tough teams, but their big 3 can carry the load offensively.

The Hornets also give up the 3rd most points to shooting guards, so Zach Lavine could have another big night as well. Lavine went for 32 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists in the loss against the Hornets.

Nikola Vucevic is yet another player with a huge mismatch in this game. The Hornets allow tons of points and rebounds to opposing centers, and they’ve been getting toasted recently. Vucevic has been getting hotter and hotter as the season moves on, so this game could keep him rolling.

It is unfortunate that we can’t see the Ball brothers go at it with Lonzo battling a knee injury, but the Bulls should be able to win without him.

The Hornets won’t exactly be healthy themselves with Gordon Hayward, Cody Martin, and Jalen McDaniels already being ruled out for this game. Their current 5 game losing streak could be in serious jeopardy of being 6 after this game.

They are going to need some of their players to go off. LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Miles Brides, and Kelly Oubre need to put together a decent performance if they want to hang with the Bulls. Their Offensive Rating is pretty solid at 12th in the NBA, so that will be their way to hang with Chicago.

The Bulls have struggled defensively recently without their top defenders out and they can take advantage of that in this game. Their players who are missing are basically all great defensive guards, so that means Ball and Rozier could be in for solid games.

Just call him ALL-STAR Melo! ???

BUZZ CITY! @MELOD1P is a 2022 #NBAAllStar! ⭐️

?: https://t.co/LgbvcfpSNU pic.twitter.com/1z1Zp8zVds

— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) February 7, 2022

Chicago also struggles against opposing forwards, so Miles Bridges could be in for a big game as well.

Gordon Hayward’s injury is going to hurt this team, so they are going to need a big game out of Kelly Oubre to make up for it. Oubre can be very hot and cold, but the Bulls recent struggles on defense could get him going in the right direction.

Michael Jordan is sure to be in the building for the game against his former team, and maybe his legacy in a Bulls uniform will motivate his team to snap their losing streak.

These teams are seemingly prone to very high scoring games. I like the Bulls to win this game, but I don’t think they will blow out the Hornets. Charlotte is not going to be happy losing their 6th straight game, so they will make sure they fight to keep it close.

The Bulls and Hornets are first and third respectively in terms of plus/minus in point totals. That means tons of their games are high scoring and this one should be too. Betting on the over in this game feels like an absolute must with the way these teams have played this season.

Place your bets along with me on the best NBA betting sites.