The Chicago Bulls will travel to Los Angeles, California to face the Los Angeles Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena with tip-off scheduled for 10:30 PM ET on Thursday night and will air on NBC Chicago and Spectrum.

Chicago is in 9^th place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 21-24 following a 113-115 loss on the road against the Phoenix Suns on Monday which also ended their two-game winning streak. The Bulls play at a slower pace than the average team in the NBA which leads them to allowing the 9^th fewest points per game with an average of 112.07 points allowed per game, however, it also leads the Bulls to being one of the lower-scoring teams in the league as they are averaging the 4^th fewest points per game with an average of 110.62 points per game. 

DeMar DeRozan leads the team in scoring and assists with an average of 21.9 points and 5.3 assists per game. The Chicago Bulls will look to bounce back following the loss on the road against the Suns when they travel to face the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers are one game below .500 this season with a record of 22-23 following Tuesday’s 116-127 loss against the Los Angeles Clippers which puts them in 9^th place in the Western Conference. Los Angeles has been a below-average offensive team this season. The Lakers are averaging 114.98 points per game and are a below-average team defensively as they are allowing an average of 115.7 points per game which is more than the league average of 115.5 points per game. 

Anthony Davis has been one of the better players on the team as he enters this game averaging a double-double and leads the team in scoring, rebounds, and blocks with an average of 25 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 2.37 blocks per game. The Los Angeles Lakers will look to bounce back following the loss against the Clippers when they host the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.

BookMaker has the Los Angeles Lakers listed as 5.5-point favorites at home against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night. Los Angeles has won six of the last ten while Chicago has won two of the last three meetings. The Bulls are 5-4-1 ATS in the last ten and have covered the spread in two of the last three games in the series. The Chicago Bulls are 23-21-1 ATS overall, 10-11 ATS on the road, and 13-12-1 ATS as an underdog this season while the Los Angeles Lakers are 20-26 ATS overall, 10-13 ATS at home, and 12-16 ATS as a favorite on the year.

Los Angeles enters this game with a better record, however, Chicago has been the better team most recently in the series, winning two of the previous three meetings. The Bulls are 5-4-1 ATS in the last ten and have covered the spread in two of the last three games in the series while also having been the better team at covering the spread this season with a record of 23-21-1 ATS overall and 13-12-1 ATS as an underdog while the Lakers are 20-26 ATS overall and 12-16 ATS as a favorite which is why I am buying the .5 point and taking the points with the Chicago Bulls when they travel to face the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.