Denver Nuggets vs. Chicago Bulls Prediction: Finding Value With Nikola Jokic, Coby White
Denver Nuggets vs. Chicago Bulls Prediction: Finding Value With Nikola Jokic, Coby White
The Denver Nuggets travel from Atlanta to Chicago on the second end of a back-to-back after beating the Hawks 129-122 last night. Meanwhile, the Bulls also played last night, losing in overtime against the Bucks, 133-129. Where does the value lie in this matchup tonight?
Nuggets vs. Bulls Date, Time, and Where to Watch
- Date:Â December 12, 2023
- Game Time: 8:00 pm ET
- Where to Watch:Â NBA League Pass
Denver Nuggets vs. Chicago Bulls Prediction
There are a few players I want to target in this matchup: Nikola Jokic and Coby White. Although I'm not looking at Jokic to score or even to grab rebounds. My favorite way to play Jokic in this game tonight is his assists.
Nikola Jokic hit a mini rut last week, shooting 9-32 for 22 points against the Clippers and 9-26 for 23 points against the Rockets. It's amazing that 22 and 23 points would be a "rut" for someone, but it just is for a player like Jokic. However, during that time, he still grabbed boards and got assists.
Jokic plays heavy minutes as one of the best players in the NBA, and he has been averaging just under a triple-double this season with 28.2 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 9.6 assists. His assists are up to 10.8 average in December. Jokic draws so much defensive attention that it can be easy for him to get double-teamed and find the open man, which is how he gets so many assists. My favorite way to play Jokic tonight is 8+ assists on FanDuel for -330. He has hit this number in 14 of his last 18 games, including four of five in December.
Moving on to Coby White. White is the starting point guard for the Bulls and has played heavy minutes with all the injuries for the Bulls. Zach LaVine went down with a foot injury in late November, and White has shot more and played even more in his absence. With Alex Caruso banged up, White could easily play 40+ minutes again. White is averaging 16.3 points per game this season but 26.2 points per game with Zach LaVine out the last five games.
White has also been shooting a ton of threes. He averages the most three-point attempts on the team with 7.2. LaVine is second with 7.1. No one else on the team is above 3.5. White will be their main three-point shooter tonight, and he is averaging 5.5 made threes per game in December on 60% shooting from deep. Coby White has gone eleven straight games with three or more three-pointers, and he is -250 to have 3+ tonight on FanDuel. Parlayed with Jokic to have 8+ assists, the two legs come out to -125. However, we can add one more leg to get to plus money.
The last leg to get us to +133 is James Harden to get a steal. Not in the same game, but a good spot nonetheless. Harden is averaging 1.5 steals per game this season, and he has been playing 34 minutes per game. He has had a steal (or more) in 14 of 17 games played this season. The Kings play at a fast pace and push the ball with tempo, leading to more turnovers.
Denver Nuggets vs. Chicago Bulls Pick
Nikola Jokic 8+ Assists, Coby White 3+ Threes, James Harden 1+ Steals @ +133 Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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Article Author
Ben Rajavuori is a handicapper out of Minneapolis, MN. He has been creating sports content for almost four years now and is an expert in all things NFL, MLB, NBA, UFC, and NCAAB. Ben thrives on diving deep into statistics to find the best angle on every bet. You can follow him on Twitter @WeBeatTheSpread.