Chicago Bulls vs Utah Jazz – Free NBA pick and predictions – January 14, 2026

Chicago Bulls – Utah Jazz: the Lauri Markkanen Game

The Bulls and Jazz meet in a scrap between two mid-table outfits. Given how both franchises play this season, expect one of the most offensive games — just like their first meeting, a 150-147 Jazz win after double overtime. Will the rematch be as prolific with some key men missing?

Chicago Bulls: need to bounce back against a beatable opponent

It’s been a rough spell in Illinois. Four losses in five, and you can feel Josh Giddey and Coby White missing… Billy Donovan will again be without his two main offensive weapons. The Bulls are one of those teams that love to run. That style racks up points but leaves you exposed to blowback. Against Utah, that risk is glaring.

Chicago can at least lean on Tre Jones, coming off one of his best games in a loss at Houston: 34 points on 11/12 shooting. The point guard’s done a solid job filling in for Josh Giddey, keeping the Bulls’ up-tempo stuff alive without the main conductor. Nikola Vucevic and Matas Buzelis will have to chip in too if Chicago want their best shot at home, where they’re decent with eleven wins in twenty games.

Utah Jazz: follow up after a big win

The Jazz’s last three games make little sense. A scrappy win over the Mavericks (116-114), getting blown out by the Hornets (95-150), then beating the Cavs in Cleveland with a tidy defensive showing (123-112). The common factor in the wins is Lauri Markkanen; he’s a straight-up offensive upgrade when he’s on the floor. His knack for finishing Will Hardy’s sets makes the Jazz a real threat on offense against anyone — see wins earlier this season over the Spurs and Pistons.

Defensively, though, Utah’s the dunce of the NBA this season. The saloon doors are wide open: 126,9 points allowed per game, dead last in the league. Any team facing them will, if averages hold, blow past their season offensive numbers. That’s never good, especially against a Bulls side sitting among the league’s better attacks at 117,2 points per game. At this point, Utah’s win chances rest on one thing: a huge offensive night. Nothing else.

NBA pick Chicago Bulls vs Utah Jazz

Over 243,5 points

When both teams’ main weapons are attack and offensive efficiency, expect an unbridled affair: lots of possessions and a higher chance of a big score by the final buzzer. Their first meeting this season was a flood of points; the rematch looks set to follow the same route.

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