The first round of the NBA Playoffs continues on Tuesday night and we will see Washington Wizards travel to the United Center in Chicago, Illinois to take on the Chicago Bulls in game 5 of their best-of-seven series. The game has a start time of 8:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on TNT. Vegas odds have the Bulls listed as 4 point favorites, while the total sits at 184.
Stat Packs: The Washington Wizards came into this series as the 5th seed, and many thought they had a chance to be very competitive vs the Bulls. Well they exceed expectations of everyone by heading back to Chicago with a 3-1 series lead. Washington is 6-0 ATS the last 6 meetings in Chicago. The Wizards averaged 100.7 ppg during the regular season and are close to that in the playoffs, averaging 99.5 ppg so far. In the Playoffs, Brady Beal leads the team in scoring at 20.5 ppg, while Trevor Ariza is second at 18.0 ppg. John Wall (17.5 ppg), Nene Hilario (17.0 ppg), who is back from a 1 game suspension, and Marcin Gortat (13.0 ppg) round out the double digit scorers for the team. Defensively, the Wizards have allowed just 99.4 ppg for the year and they have allowed Chicago 95.3 ppg on 44.3% shooting, through 4 games thus far.
Heading into the playoffs the Chicago Bulls looked like a team that could make some noise, but right now they are down 3 games to 1 and looking to stave off elimination. The Bulls are 27-16 SU at home this year. The Bulls were the worst offensive team in the league during the regular season and they have scored just 95.3 ppg in the series. In the Playoffs, the offense has been led by Taj Gibson, who has averaged 19.8 ppg, while DJ Augustin (15.5 ppg), Mike Dunleavey (15.3 ppg) and Jimmy Butler (13.0 ppg) round out the top 4 playoff scorers on the team. The Bulls have been the top defensive team in the league during the regular season, allowing 91.8 ppg, while ranking 2nd in defensive FG% (43%), but vs Washington they have allowed 99.5 ppg on 44.8% shooting.
Pick: Going with the Under in this game. This is a win or go home game for the Bulls and that should really bring out their defensive intensity for sure. they have no choice here but to play Bulls basketball and that means slowing the pace and playing great defense. The Bulls have allowed 90.2 ppg on their home floor this year and should keep Washington in the 80's in this one. The Wizards on defense have been solid of late and the Bulls have scored just 93 ppg in their last 5 games. Finally we get an Under in this series.
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LVH Super Contest Update
Steve Fezzik from Pregame.com gives an update on the LVH Super Contest with a prediction on how many entries he feels there will be.