Portland at Chicago

The bad news for the Bulls is that they have yet to win this month. The good news is this spot sets up for Chicago to end its 10-game losing streak. Getting this many points is a nice bonus. Both teams are banged up. But Chicago has its best player, point guard Josh Giddey, healthy. Giddey leads Chicago in scoring and assists. Portland is without its two top scorers, Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe. Both are injured. They combine to average 45.8 points a game. The Bulls are a semi-respectable 15-16 at the United Center. The Trail Blazers are 12-16 on the road. The Bulls have won the past two meetings, including a 122-121 victory over the Trail Blazers in November. Portland doesn't have a natural scorer or a go-to guy without Avdija and Sharpe. That makes it a struggle to score even against a weak Bulls defense. Portland is going to have to rely strongly on its defense. The Trail Blazers held the Suns to a season-low 77 points two games ago. The Bulls certainly don't want to conclude this month without a victory. So their defensive intensity should be up. Take the Bulls, and grab the UNDER for a unit.