Pelicans vs Bulls

Chicago’s injury-ravaged rotation, down both primary guards Coby White and Josh Giddey plus multiple depth pieces, leaves Nikola Vucevic to carry a heavy usage load against a Pelicans team that has already beaten the Bulls twice in the last calendar year and just hung 143 on them behind a 29-point Zion Williamson eruption. New Orleans comes in on a four-game skid after a five-game win streak, but Zion has consistently punished Chicago’s interior (multiple 20+ point outings in recent meetings) while the Bulls’ offensive efficiency and late-game execution have dipped with their backcourt gutted, and the market still prices Chicago as the favorite here despite other books leaning the other way, creating attractive value on the Pelicans at plus money. With Murray and Herb Jones sidelined the Pelicans aren’t at full strength either, yet their top-end talent is healthier than Chicago’s and they’ve recently shown they can close out the Bulls’ shaky defense, so Pelicans moneyline at +100 gets an A- grade for combining a strong situational edge with clear mispricing, even if New Orleans’ overall 8-26 record and current losing streak keep it just shy of an A. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 31/12/2025 10:18

New Orleans’ offense has flashed big nights—especially in recent wins over Chicago—but the combination of a sky-high 247.5 total, Chicago missing two high-usage guards in White and Giddey, and both teams’ season-long scoring profiles sitting roughly a dozen points below this number makes the under the sharper side. The Pelicans’ current four-game skid has featured stretches of stagnant half-court offense and poor shooting, especially without Dejounte Murray’s on-ball creation and Herb Jones’ transition impact, while the Bulls’ attack should slow naturally with more Ayo Dosunmu and Kevin Huerter running sets and Vucevic operating as a hub rather than in up-tempo, guard-driven actions. Recent matchup history between these teams has produced shootouts, but that was with healthier lineups on both sides; with Chicago’s perimeter playmaking decimated, New Orleans leaning heavily on Zion in the half court, and both clubs’ average totals this season tracking closer to the mid-230s than the high 240s, Under 247.5 at -110 earns an A grade for combining strong statistical support with favorable injury context. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 31/12/2025 10:18

Zion Williamson’s track record against Chicago—multiple dominant scoring efforts and a recent 29-point outing in a 143–130 win—lines up nicely with a Bulls team that’s now leaning even more on Vucevic and a patchwork perimeter rotation, making New Orleans +1 an appealing way to back the healthier star in what still profiles as a fairly close game. The Bulls have been the steadier team over the last five (three wins in that span) while the Pelicans ride a four-game losing streak, but Chicago’s cluster injuries to Giddey, White and several frontcourt depth pieces undercut their home-court edge and raise real concerns about late-game creation when Zion and Jordan Poole can hunt mismatches. At the same time, Pelicans backers must respect Vucevic’s history of big lines versus New Orleans and the fact that Chicago has generally been competitive at home, so this spread recommendation—essentially aligned with our Pelicans moneyline stance—gets a B+ rather than an A, reflecting solid edge and correlation with the ML play but acknowledging variance in a matchup of inconsistent teams. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 31/12/2025 10:18