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DraftKings. With Myles Turner ruled out, Toppin should be in store for more minutes, as the Pacers likely will unleash some small ball lineups. As is, Toppin has cleared this line in nine of the last 15 games, and the Bulls torrid pace suits his playstyle.
The Bulls have a better record on the road (10-8) than they do at home (7-11). While Ayo Dosunmu (calf) has been ruled out, the Bulls are in good shape on the health front. The same can’t be said for the Pacers, who have listed both Tyrese Haliburton (ankle) and Myles Turner (illness) as questionable. Turner might be the bigger concern because he was just added to the injury report Wednesday. I think the Bulls can keep this close enough to cover.
B365/ESPN. Jalen Smith has had a solid first season in Chicago backing up Nikola Vucevic, averaging 7.9 points per game. He’s cleared this line in 19/31 games played with Vucevic, including 14/17 against teams in the bottom half of defending the restricted area - the Pacers rank 24th. Smith, who spent parts of the last three seasons in Indiana, netted 10 points against his former team earlier this season.
Nikola Vucevic is having a career best season despite being in his 14th season in the NBA. While it's certainly not unheard of to peak late, I would argue that Vucevic is a significant regression candidate and his shooting splits are not sustainable. Vucevic will face a Pacers team that in recent seasons has been arguably the best matchup considering their pace of play was always top 3 and they struggled defensively, however that has not been the case this season as they rank 11th in pace and are more of a neutral matchup.