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Been on a nice run lately so hoping to carry that momentum tonight.
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#2: Chicago Bulls +4
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Pau-Pau-Pau is back in Chicago tonight, but it's not like he left on bad terms, so I don't see any added 'motivation' here. Sure, he'd like to play well back in Chi-town, but so will the other 9 players on the court with him. I think this is a perfect spot to fade the Spurs actually. Tonight marks their 3rd straight road game and their 10th out of the last 14. Additionally, none of their 4 home games during this time-span were consecutive, and just one-game stops, so this team truly has been on the road for a very long time. They'll get to enjoy a bit of an extended home stay after tonight, but overall this is not an easy spot for them. It'll be even more difficult playing without Parker, who will be missing his 2nd consecutive game. I forgot to mention that San Antonio is 13-1 during this stretch, which, while impressive, has got to be pretty grueling to keep up. It requires a lot of effort and focus to maintain such high level of intensity to win at this rate, which is exatly the opposite for the Bulls lately. This team is on a 3-game losing streak and 1-4 in the last 5. But, Chicago has been involved in two b2b (4 in 5 actually) spots, had Rondo suspended for one game, and recently came off a long grueling part of their schedule where they've played 11 of their 14 on the road. So while the losing streak is never a good thing, it's justifiable. More importantly, due to it, I'd expect an increased sense of urgency out of them tonight. No playoff-contender likes long losing streaks, and those types of teams typically make necessary adjustments to either their strategy or effort level (or both) to get back to winning ways. I expect that to happen to the Bulls tonight. They're getting McDermott back to bolster their bench, and I expect Butler/Wade to step up their games in this one.
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#3: Warriors -6 (1st Half Only)
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This Utah team is decimated with injuries and 4 of their 5 starters are out today - Hayward, Hood, Favors, Hill.
Yesterday's game against the Clippers wasn't too difficult, so I'd expect a good showing with the Dubs, especially in the first half.
They have another b2b set coming up on Sat/Sun so might take the foot off the pedal in the 2nd half.
First half is a stronger play from my perspective.
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Good Luck