Bulls vs 76ers Picks and Predictions: Philly Runs Chicago Off the Court

The power struggle in the Eastern Conference continues when the Philadelphia 76ers welcome the Chicago Bulls to the City of Brotherly Love tonight.

Chicago backs into this road game on a four-game slide but enjoyed a brief break, having last lost to Milwaukee on Friday. Philadelphia saw its four-game winning run since James Harden debuted come to an end at Miami on Saturday — a game in which Harden sat out for rest.

Just a game and a half separate these foes in the conference standings, but the Sixers are massive NBA betting favorites for Monday's matchup.

Here are our free NBA picks and predictions for Bulls vs. 76ers on March 7.

Bulls vs 76ers odds

This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.

Philadelphia opened as a 6.5-point home favorite, dipped as low as -6 before action early in the morning ran this spread as high as -7.5 at the time of writing. The total hit the board at 228.5 and has since climbed as high as 230.5 points.

Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until tip-off and be sure to check out the full NBA odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.

Bulls vs 76ers predictions

• Prediction: Philadelphia -7 (-110)
• Prediction: Over 230 (-110)
• Best bet: Maxey Over 17.5 points (-112)

Predictions made on 3/7/2022 at 10:04 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.

Bulls vs 76ers game info

• Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
• Date: Monday, March 7, 2022
• Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. ET
• TV: NBCS-Chicago, NBCS-Philadelphia

Bulls vs 76ers betting preview

Key injuries

Bulls: Nikola Vucevic C (Questionable), Lonzo Ball G (Out), Alex Caruso G (Out), Patrick Williams F (Out)
76ers: None to report.
Find our latest NBA injury reports.

Betting trend to know

The Bulls are 2-5-1 ATS in their last eight road games. Find more NBA betting trends for Bulls vs. 76ers.

Bulls vs 76ers picks and predictions

Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.

Spread analysis

The influence Harden has on this Philadelphia offense was on full display in the loss at Miami. With the former MVP catching a rest spot, the Sixers’ tempo sunk like a stone and the halfcourt seemed disjointed with Philly shooting just 34% from the field and posting only 13 assists.

Harden is back from his brief break, which means the 76ers can pick up where they left off during that four-game winning streak. With Harden at the wheel of this attack, Philadelphia’s offense has more heads than a mythical Greek monster and can either beat you on the break or bully you in a halfcourt set.

The learning curve for this new Harden-led playbook has been barely a blip and while the 76ers have been slow out of the blocks in some games, they’ve found another gear in the second half and been able to not only secure the victory but come through for NBA bettors as well. Philadelphia averaged 64.5 second-half points on 54% shooting in that span.

In those first four games with Harden, the 76ers averaged 126.5 points, posted an assist percentage of 65.6%, and owned an advanced offensive rating of 126.2 — tops in the NBA during that stretch. Transition, post-up, and pick-and-roll plays sets are all flourishing as opponents must pick their poison when focusing defensive efforts on Philadelphia.

Chicago’s defensive shortcomings are at the center of its four-game slump. The Bulls have allowed an average of 119 points on 48.4% shooting over losses to the Bucks, Hawks, Heat, and Grizzlies. What’s more, it’s been bad second-half efforts behind this downtick in defense, allowing 62.3 2H points on 50.6% shooting in those previous four showings.

Hitting the road to play at Philadelphia isn’t a great “get right” spot for the Bulls, who have failed to cover in six straight meeting with the 76ers heading into tonight.

Prediction: Philadelphia -7 (-110)

Over/Under analysis

The Sixers attack went from a pace rating of 100.38 during the team’s four-game winning streak to just 89.5 in the loss to the Heat, a quick example of how Harden has injected this offense with jet fuel. 

Before taking a rest, Harden had the 76ers averaging 18.3 fastbreak points in his brief tenure with the team — a sharp spike from Philly’s former average of 12.4 FBPS before making the deal for Harden. That budding transition attack — using Harden and fleet-footed shooting guard Tyrese Maxey as the engines — takes on a Bulls team that struggles to slow speedier opponents.

Chicago is allowing a scoring frequency of 52.6% against transition attacks, which pans out to 1.16 points per play — sixth-highest in the NBA. They’ve recently been run off the floor by Milwaukee and Memphis — two of the top transition offenses in the league — and injuries to the backcourt are compounding those defensive issues.

The Bulls also like to run — ranking out as one of the top transition teams in the NBA — putting up 1.20 points per play and owning a league-high scoring frequency of 56% in transition. 

Philadelphia’s offensive efficiency helps deal with those up-tempo teams, as it forces those foes to start possessions by inbounding the ball rather than turning and burning. However, the Sixers have struggled to slow pace-pushing opponents this season, giving up 18.8 points per game to transition attacks.

Prediction: Over 230 (-110)

Best bet

Playing alongside Harden has been a huge boon for second-year guard Tyrese Maxey, who is right at home in Philadelphia’s new up-tempo attack.

In the four games with Harden in the lineup, Maxey has posted scores of 28, 21, 25, and 33 — and he managed just 17 points sans The Beard in the loss at Miami. 

Maxey is not only making the most of the extra spacing on the floor, with defenses collapsing on Harden and Joel Embiid, but he’s beating rival guards down the floor with his break-neck speed. He averaged 5.3 fastbreak points over the 76ers’ four-game winning streak and an offensive rating of 127.5.

Maxey was averaging 16.9 points per game before Harden showed up and books aren’t making a major adjustment to his new role in this transformative offense, setting his point prop total at just 17.5 tonight — pretty much his season average.

With Harden well rested and the 76ers facing the Bulls' terrible transition defense, we like Maxey to keep topping his point totals tonight.

Pick: Tyrese Maxey Over 17.5 points (-112)

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