This is an 8* COAST-TO-COAST ASSASSIN on the Chicago Bulls.

A couple of the league's top teams meet on Monday night and for a number of different situational and strong trend basesd reasons, when the smoke clears at the end of this one I expect the home side to a find a way to get the job done. The Bulls come in with plenty of momentum, they've won nine of their last ten games and are expected to welcome back gritty guard Jimmy Butler to the lineup (Butler missed Saturday's 109-104 OT win over Boston to attend a funeral); note that Butler was named the NBA player of the week on December 29th. Chicago is riding high with Pau Gasol, the four-time All-Star is averaging 18 points and leading the team with 11.2 boards; note that Gasol scored a season-high tying 29 with 16 rebounds in the win over the C's: "I'm a confident guy," Gasol reflected afterwards. "I'm a competitor. You always have to hope for the best and be positive and optimistic. I didn't know what was going to happen, how I was going to fit in. But I knew I was going to try and do my best to provide everything and give us the best chance to win a title." I chose the Rockets to cash as champion at 15-1 this year and for the most part the team looks pretty solid, it's 23-10 after crushing Miami 115-79 on Saturday. Home court advantage can't be overlooked in this one though, note that Houston is a poor 0-3 ATS this year after allowing 85 points or less, while Chicago is a solid 8-6 ATS in its last 14 vs. teams with winning records. In my opinion, the situation, the numbers and the trends all do indeed point to the BULLS as the sharp move in this one.

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