It’s a matchup of two teams Wednesday trying to reach their respective conference’s play-in tournament as the Chicago Bulls visit the Utah Jazz. The NBA odds are a bit up in the air as Jazz All-Star and former Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen is in question along with a few others.

Chicago Bulls vs. Utah Jazz Game Information

Jazz Injury Report:

OUT – Taylor Hendricks (left 1st MTP sprain)

OUT – Walker Kessler (right foot sprain)

OUT – Lauri Markkanen (right quadriceps contusion)

OUT – Otto Porter Jr. (Not With Team)

QUESTIONABLE – Keyonte George (Illness)

QUESTIONABLE – Micah Potter (G League)… pic.twitter.com/d1L79L7ADM

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 6, 2024

• When: Wednesday, March 6th, 2024, 8:30 PM ET
• Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT
• TV: KJZZ, NBC Sports Chicago
• Radio: 670 The Score AM (Bulls) // The Sports Zone KZNS-AM 1280 (Jazz)
• Stream: NBA League Pass
• NBA Odds: Bulls (-4) // Jazz (+4)

Why Bet on the Chicago Bulls?

Chicago looks for the season sweep, as it routed visiting Utah 130-113 on Nov. 6. Zach LaVine scored 24 points and DeMar DeRozan had 21 – LaVine has since been lost to a season-ending injury. Chicago shot 51.6% from the floor. Eight Bulls players reached double-figures in scoring, with 54 points coming from the bench. All-Star Lauri Markkanen scored 29 points to lead Utah. The Jazz committed 22 turnovers; the Bulls had 12 steals while scoring 30 points off Utah turnovers.

DeRozan has scored at least 20 points in five-straight games versus the Jazz, averaging 27.8 ppg during that stretch. Chicago center Nikola Vučević is averaging 17.1 ppg and 10.4 rpg in his last 10 games against Utah. The Bulls are 4-6 in the past 10 meetings but have won three in a row. They are looking to win back-to-back games in Utah for the first time since back-to-back wins between the 2010-11 and the 2012-13 seasons.

Chicago started a four-game West Coast trip with a 113-109 upset win in Sacramento on Monday. Coby White had a career-high 37 points while adding seven assists and five rebounds. The Bulls outscored the Kings 36-18 in the fourth quarter to snap a four-game skid in the series.

With injuries — LaVine, Patrick Williams and Torrey Craig remained out, though Coach Billy Donovan said Craig is close to a return — White assumed a more significant role and moved into serious contention for NBA Most Improved Player averaging more than 22 points per game through December and January. But among the league leaders in minutes played, White came out of the All-Star break cold. He had shot better than 50% in a game just once in the last nine games before Monday, and half his games were fewer than 20 points in that stretch.

“When my opportunities came, just wanted to take advantage of it,” said White. “I didn’t want to force anything. Just trying to play within the flow of the offense. We would like to play from in front, but at this point in the season however you can get wins, you got to get wins. I don’t care how it looks. At the end of the day, if we win, that’s all we care about. Sometimes it’s ugly, sometimes it’s not. A lot of times for us it’s from behind, but we’re figuring it out.”

It was White’s game this season with 30-plus points, which ranks second on the team to DeRozan’s eight. White also added five three-pointers, giving him six games this season with 30-plus points and five-plus 3FGM. White joined LaVine (4x) as the only players in Bulls history with six or more games with 30-plus points and five-plus 3FGM in a single season.

With their third comeback this season from at least a 20-point deficit, the Bulls inched up to 29-32 this season. They also got 33 points from DeRozan, including a near-perfect 19 in the fourth quarter, making all of his seven field goal attempts.

Ayo Dosunmu had 20 points and five steals. Dosunmu posted his eighth game with at least 20 points this season, four of which have come in his last eight games. He is averaging 17.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.3 steals on 49.1 percent shooting, including 43.1 percent shooting from deep, over that eight-game span. Dosunmu (2,002) eclipsed 2,000 career points Monday, becoming the second player in Bulls history to have been selected in the second round by Chicago and score 2,000-plus points within their first 3 seasons (Toni Kukoc, 3,150 points, 1993-96).

Alex Caruso picked up four steals Monday; it was Caruso’s fourth four-steal game this season, which ranks tied for seventh in the NBA this season. In just three years with Chicago, Caruso ranks 13th in franchise history with 15 such games. The Bulls rank second in least turnovers per game (12.3), seventh in total points off turnovers (1,056), tied for sixth in points off turnovers per game (17.3), seventh in total deflections (927), tied for ninth in steals per game (7.7) this season and tied for 10th in the NBA in total steals (471).

Why Bet on the Utah Jazz?

The Jazz played without their leading scorer Markkanen on Monday but ended a three-game skid with a 127-115 win over Washington. Jordan Clarkson scored a season-high 38 points, including a 12-0 run down the stretch, along with 10 rebounds and seven assists off the bench, while Collin Sexton had 29 points and seven assists for the Jazz. who were playing without four rotation players for all or a majority of the game, with Keyonte George leaving early with an illness and Taylor Hendricks leaving with a toe sprain and center Walker Kessler out with a foot injury. Too early to know if any will play Wednesday.

Sexton is one of six NBA players who as a starter this season is averaging 20+ points per game while shooting 50 percent or better from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range (Jimmy Butler, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Karl-Anthony Towns).

Markkanen, who spent his first four NBA seasons with Chicago, has faced the Bulls three times since joining the Jazz and is averaging 29.7 ppg, while shooting .604 from the field and .467 from 3-point range.

Bulls vs. Jazz Betting Trends

• Chicago is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 games against Utah.
• The Bulls are 4-1 SU in its last 5 games against Utah.
• The totals went under in 4 of Chicago’s last 5 games.
• Utah is 3-7 ATS in the last 10 games.
• The Jazz are 2-8 SU in its last 10 games.
• The totals went under in 4 of Utah’s last 6 games.

Bulls vs. Jazz Expert Betting Prediction

The Jazz take the win if Markkanen plays. If not, go for the Bulls.

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