Tip-off: Wednesday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: Houston -3, Total: 204

The Chicago Bulls continue their road trip when they visit the Houston Rockets this Wednesday night.

Chicago hasn’t quite lived up to expectations so far this year and they are currently in the middle of a tough six-game road trip with the first five contests being against the West. They kicked the trip off with a bang, taking down the Golden State Warriors in an exciting OT time game by a score of 113-111 as big 11.5-point underdogs, but have lost their last two games following the upset victory. First they went to L.A. and took a disappointing 123-118 OT loss as 9.5-point favorites against the Lakers and then were defeated by six (99-93) when facing the Suns on Friday. The Bulls were getting seven points in the game, so they were able to cover, but could not get their shot down, hitting a mere 36-of-87 field goals (41.4% FG), 4-of-18 threes (22.2% 3PM) and 17-of-27 free throws (63% FT). Meanwhile the Rockets have been tearing it up and are coming off a stretch of six games where they played five on the road, going 4-2 SU (3-3 ATS) in that time. It hasn’t been the offense that is winning them games though, as they’ve scored 97 PPG in their last three wins, but are allowing opponents to net a meager 89.3 PPG in the same period. In its most recent matchup, Houston fell apart as four-point favorites on the road against the Pistons, losing 114-101 as Detroit hit half of its shots (41-of-82) and made it to the line 35 times; nailing just 22 (63% FT), but still getting plenty more points from the charity stripe than the Rockets (12). Overall Chicago has been a solid road team, going 17-8 SU (14-11 ATS) when away from home as they face a Houston club which is 16-7 SU (14-9 ATS) when playing for its hometown crowd. These clubs met about a month ago in Chicago when the Bulls took down a nice 114-105 win as three-point favorites. It was their tremendous shooting (48.2% FG) that propelled them to the victory as they also added 27 made free throws on 30 attempts (90% FT) and allowed the Rockets to get to the line just five times. Overall, Houston has a slight 3-2 SU and ATS edge in this series dating back to the start of the 2012-13 season and won 109-94 last time it played at home against this opponent. Trends show that Chicago is 89-63 ATS (59%) off two or more consecutive road losses since 1996 and the Rockets are a perfect 7-0 ATS in home games after a non-conference contest this year. On the injury front, SF Mike Dunleavy (Ankle) could be out until after the All-Star break for the Bulls and C Dwight Howard (Knee) is out indefinitely on the Rockets’ side of the ball.

Can the Bulls turn things around with a big road victory in Houston on Wednesday? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Forecaster has a strong 56% ATS record (127-99-1) in featured games this season. In terms of Best Bets, the experts have a huge 59% ATS (71-49) record since Jan. 2, led by StatFox Scott who is a stellar 66% ATS (21-11) in Best Bets since Dec. 21, improving his record to 56% ATS (40-32) for the season. StatFox Gary is also red-hot with a 58% ATS (14-10) mark in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 1, and 55% ATS (39-32) this season. StatFox Brian is 60% ATS (15-10) in Best Bets since Dec. 31, and is now 55% ATS (39-32) in season Best Bets. StatFox Zach is 58% ATS (14-10) in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 2, while StatFox Dave is 58% ATS (7-5) in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 18.

Chicago’s offense has shown tons of improvement this season as it’s climbed to ninth in the league with 102.1 PPG behind 44.3% shooting from the floor (11th-worst in league). Unfortunately, their once shut-down defense has fallen off and is allowing 99.9 PPG (12th-worst in league) on 44.2% shooting (10th in league). PF Pau Gasol (18.2 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 2.2 BPG) has recorded a double-double in each of his past nine performances as he has added 13 blocks in his last four games (3.3 BPG). He’ll be happy to see the Rockets again after walking all over them for 27 points and 14 rebounds in the first meeting this year. SG Jimmy Butler (20.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.8 SPG) has developed into one of the best offensive players in the league as he utilizes the free throw line where he has the second-most points in the NBA (283), sitting only behind James Harden. His game in the win over Houston in January was pretty much the norm for him this year as he went 41 minutes and scored 22 points with five rebounds and three steals. PG Derrick Rose (18.6 PPG, 4.9 APG) has been forcing the ball up a ton this season and has really struggled of late, making a mere 36% of his shots over the past five games. He had a solid overall game (19 points, 9 assists, 2 steals) against the Rockets about a month ago but still had issues with his efficiency (6-for-17 FG).

Houston has been one of the more prolific offensive units over the past few years and this campaign has been no different as it nets 102.7 PPG (7th in league), but makes just 43.9% of its shots (9th-worst in league). They have been happy with their defense performance as well, giving up 99.0 PPG (12th in league) with the opposition making 44.2% of their shots. SG James Harden (27.0 PPG, 6.8 APG, 5.6 RPG, 2.0 SPG) is putting up MVP numbers this year and despite his huge game (26 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block) against Detroit, the team failed to gain a victory on Saturday. His play will be a key factor in this one after he hit just 7-of-22 shots for 20 points and added four assists with two blocks in the loss to Chicago this year. SF Trevor Ariza (12.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.9 SPG) continues to play a ton of minutes (35.4 MPG over last five games) but has made a meager 37% of his shots this year and is just 9-for-32 (28%) from behind the arc over the last five games. He had no chance against the Bulls’ defense in the January loss, going 3-for-11 with seven points as he added solid secondary numbers (6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks). PF Donatas Motiejunas (11.5 PPG, 6.1 RPG) has provided the team with a solid option as a big man with Howard out so often and he has lit it up over the last two contests, making 21-of-29 attempts (72%) for 23.5 PPG. He also played a large role when these two clubs last met, scoring 16 points to go with six rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal.