The Chicago Bulls' western road trip is not off to a good start, having lost two straight, and the difficulty level only increases tonight against the best team in the NBA.
Beating the Phoenix Suns would not only be a surprise given this past week but also because Chicago is struggling against quality opponents this season.
Here are our free NBA picks and predictions for Bulls vs. Suns on March 18, with tip set for 10:00 ET.
Bulls vs Suns odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks
While everyone’s attention was on college basketball, the Suns opened as 7.0-point favorites on Thursday afternoon, a spread that had fallen to -6.0 by Thursday evening, and down to -5.5 early Friday morning. The total went the opposite direction, opening at 229.5 on Thursday before rising to 231.5 by midmorning Friday.
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 Suns predictions
- Prediction: Suns -5.5 (-106)
- Prediction: Over 231.5 (-110)
- Best bet: Booker to score 40+ (+1,000)
- Best bet: Derozan to score 40+ (+1,100)
Predictions made on 3/18/2022 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Bulls vs Suns game info
• Location: Footprint Center, Phoenix, AZ
• Date: Friday, March 18, 2022
• Tip-off: 10:00 p.m. ET
• TV: NBATV
Bulls vs Suns betting preview
Key injuries
Bulls: Zach LaVine PG (Probable), Lonzo Ball PG (Out).
Suns: Jae Crowder SF (Questionable), Cameron Johnson PF (Out), Dario Saric SF (Out), Chris Paul PG (Out), Frank Kaminsky PF (Out), Gabriel Lundberg PG (Out).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Bulls have not covered the spread in their last six games as an underdog, all coming in the last three weeks. Find more NBA betting trends for Bulls vs. Suns.
Bulls vs Suns 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 feel-good story of the fall, the Bulls, have fallen off as the season has progressed, constantly exposed by teams better than them. Chicago is 2-16 this season against teams with a better record than them.
Spoiler alert: The Suns have a better record than the Bulls, by a mere 14.5 games. When it comes to betting, Chicago is not faring any better. It has gone 1-8 ATS in the last three weeks. Five of those nine teams also had better records than the Bulls, and they went 0-5 ATS in those games.
To put it bluntly, Chicago is nowhere near the contender some dared to imagine in November and December. It is very much a pretender, closer to a play-in team than anything else, particularly in point differential.
So ask yourself this: how much trouble do you expect the best team in the league to have against a play-in team? Not much.
Prediction: Suns -5.5 (-106)
Over/Under analysis
Four straight Suns games have hit the Over, by an average of 11.4 points. Phoenix’s current lineup, one forced by injuries, is humming offensively. It ranks No. 5 in offensive rating across the last two weeks, with a 120.3 rating that would far and away rank top in the league for the season (Utah has the best offensive rating across the season at 116.5, per StatMuse).
The Suns have averaged 133.3 points this week alone. Chicago’s offense may have slowed, but it still enjoys the No. 13 offensive rating in the league since Feb. 1.
It will not need to do much tonight to push this game Over the total, but it should have no trouble doing that much.
Prediction: Over 231.5 (-110)
Best bet
There have been eight 50-point games this month. We’ve all seen it. We’ve all enjoyed it. None of us have any idea why it is happening. Maybe it was the extended All-Star break. Maybe offenses are finding an unusual rhythm. Maybe it is all a fluke. But let’s bet on the trend continuing, and do so with a cushion.
Two of the game’s best individual scorers have very profitable odds to reach 40 tonight, and in a game expected to cruise near the 120s, that is a number that should be within vague reach. DeMar DeRozan has scored at least 40 points twice since Feb. 1. He has come within a bucket of it another three times.
Devin Booker has hit 40 twice since New Year’s, and more notably, scored 36 on Wednesday. These odds are just too high to ignore as the NBA scoring boom continues. If we get really lucky, tonight will turn into a Booker vs. DeRozan showdown.
Pick: Booker to score 40+ (+1,000) and DeRozan to score 40+ (+1,100)
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