Spurs vs. Bulls: 3 Best Bets

The San Antonio Spurs lost to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night without their rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama, who was sitting out with an ankle injury. The matchup against the Bucks was never expected to be an easy win, and the Spurs lost 132-119. Tonight they take on the Chicago Bulls, 11th in the Eastern Conference, in what should be a much more competitive game.

The Bulls are riding a two-game win streak, having bested the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers, but make no mistake; this is a team still looking to clean house.

Chicago will be without Lonzo Ball, Zach LaVine, Torrey Craig, Henri Drell, and Onuralp Bitim. The Spurs are also shorthanded, Charles Bassey remains out and Keldon Johnson and Victor Wembanyama are both listed as probable.

With fans hoping for a healthy Spurs roster in this game, we were very optimistic in our three best bets, from the lines at SI Sportsbook.

The Lines

Point spread: Bulls -5.5 (-110)/Spurs +5.5 (-118)

Moneyline: Bulls (-222)/Spurs (+175)

Over/under: 228.5

Our Picks

Scoring pick: Victor Wembanyama OVER 21.5 points (-133)

This is the highest line of Wemby’s young career, and in his last game returning from injury, he only posted 12 points against the Timberwolves. That being said, since moving to play center, his offensive production is up, and he dropped a 21-point, 20-rebound game against the Bulls. Chicago plays no defense, so Wembanyama should be able to dominate the paint tonight on both ends of the floor. Easily take the over.

Rebounding pick: Keldon Johnson OVER 6.5 rebounds (-110)

Johnson is averaging exactly 6.5 boards on the season, so the large sample size doesn’t really tell us anything. However, both the Bulls and Spurs are significantly below average when it comes to field goal percentage, and Chicago is the ninth-worst rebounding team in the league. That means a lot of misses and chances for Johnson to hit the over, which he has done in three of the last five games.

Power Rankings: Spurs Rising After Losing Streak Snapped?

Spurs fan parlay pick: Keldon Johnson OVER 18.5 points, Victor Wembanyama OVER 2.5 blocks, Devin Vassell OVER 1.5 threes made, OVER 228.5 (+525)

We don’t offer parlays often, and that’s because “best bets” usually mean sticking to low-return, safe bets, but now and then we like to get a little frisky. Johnson has scored 20 points or more in three of his last six games, so his getting to 19 tonight is a bit of a toss-up. Wemby has recorded fewer than three blocks in only two of his last eight games, so a shot-happy Chicago team will help him get his numbers up, he posted four blocks the last time they met. Devin Vassell was cold from deep earlier in the month but has since found his groove again, so hitting two threes should be pretty easy. Finally, Chicago is an average defensive team and the Spurs are abysmal, and the two teams’ shot-chucking tendencies mean the over should easily clear.