The Chicago Bulls come into Washington as -7.5 favorites following an impressive defensive victory over the Milwaukee Bucks 83-75 Saturday night. Joakim Noah in his third game back after thumb surgery was a total beast grabbing 17 rebounds, including nine on the offensive glass. Everything seems to be clicking right now for the Chicago Bulls (won 15 of last 19), especially on the team chemistry side of the equation where the Chicago Tribune just did a piece claiming the "Bulls are one big, happy family".

On the flip side, the lowly Washington Wizards (15-43) have now dropped 14 of their last 16. To make matters worse, the Wizards are playing so bad they can't even hit free throws (made 6 of 16 on Saturday). The main problem in Washington is there is no stud veteran or schooled NBA leader to take the role of the "locker-room" guy and mold all the talent together. This has been apparent in the fact it seems the Wizards can't put together a full game and played both the Mavericks and Heat tough before folding in the 4th quarter recently.

The key to this game is whether the Chicago Bulls defense can keep the struggling Wizards in check. Even though I am not huge fan of trends (mainly due to being able to manipulate anything into a winning stat), found it interesting that dating back to 2007 when the Bulls come off a day of rest AND held the home team to less than 40% from the field they are 11-0 against the number the next game. Defense and momentum are important and this Chicago Bulls team correlates into that 11-0 trend historically when in these positions. The Wizards on paper seem to have the talent to compete with most teams, but lack of chemistry, a tenacious Bulls defense and their tendenecy to fold down the stretch have me siding with the public backed favorites in this one.

Game Time: 7:05pm EST
T.V.: Comcast (Chicago, DC) DTV: 642, 665, 752, 753
Public Betting Percentages: 85% on Chicago Bulls & 75% on the OVER (Check the updated betting %)
Opening Line: Chicago Bulls -7.0/195.0
Current Line: Chicago Bulls -7.5/195.0 (Check the updated line)
JD's Line: Chicago Bulls -8.5/195.0
Free NBA Picks: Chicago Bulls -7.5 or better

Community Feedback:

Will the recent additions to the Wizards line up (Mike Bibby, Jordan Crawford & Maurice Evans) make a difference tonight?

Even though the public is all over the Chicago Bulls, what handicapping factors give reason to back the Wizards plus the points?