Tip-off: Friday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: Washington -1, Total: 195

The Wizards look to win their third straight game when they host the Bulls on Friday night.

Chicago hosted the Jazz on Wednesday and was blown out 97-77 as an 11-point home favorite. Prior to that loss, the Bulls had won three straight games SU. They are, however, just 1-6 ATS in their past seven games. Washington, meanwhile, beat the Knicks 101-91 as a 14-point home favorite on Wednesday. They’ve club has now won two straight games SU, but has failed to cover in two of the past three contests. These two teams met recently on December 23, when the Bulls beat the Wizards 99-91 as 2.5-point road underdogs. Over the past three seasons, Washington is 8-5 SU (9-4 ATS) in this series, but just 4-3 SU (3-4 ATS) when hosting Chicago though. The Bulls are 18-5 ATS in road games on Friday nights over the past three seasons, and are also 17-6 ATS in the past two seasons in road games after having won two of their previous three contests. Playing in Washington’s favor is the fact that Chicago is 3-12 ATS after one or more consecutive Unders this year. SF Mike Dunleavy (ankle) is expected to miss this game for the Bulls, but there are no other significant injuries for either team.

Which Eastern Conference power will avoid its 12th loss of the season on Friday night? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Forecaster has a strong 55% ATS record (91-75-1) in featured games this season. In terms of Best Bets, the experts have a stellar 70% ATS (16-7) record since Jan. 2, led by StatFox Scott, who is a sizzling 77% ATS (10-3) in Best Bets since Dec. 21, improving his record to 55% ATS (29-24) for the season. StatFox Brian is 62% ATS (18-11) in Best Bets since Nov. 29, and is now 55% ATS (28-23) in season Best Bets, while StatFox Gary is 54% ATS (15-13) in NBA Best Bets since Nov. 29, and 53% ATS (27-24) this season.

The Bulls looked terrible in a home loss to the Jazz on Wednesday, and SG Jimmy Butler (21.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.6 SPG) was one of the few players who showed up in that game. Butler logged 34 minutes in the loss and finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and two steals. He’ll continue to bring intensity on both ends of the floor for Chicago, and he should be able to have a strong performance against the Wizards. PG Derrick Rose (16.8 PPG, 4.9 APG) had one of his worst games of the season against Utah. In 30 minutes, Rose produced just seven points (3-of-15 FG) and two assists. He can’t afford to play that poorly again or John Wall will make it very difficult for the Bulls to win this one. C Joakim Noah (8.2 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.6 BPG) will have to be extremely active defensively in this one. The Bulls can always count on Noah bringing energy, but he’ll have to be at his best against Marcin Gortat. Noah is averaging 4.5 BPG over the past two contests and will need to provide the same type of rim protection on Friday. PF Pau Gasol (18.1 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 2.3 BPG) had 13 points and six rebounds in Wednesday's loss to the Jazz. He was averaging 28.0 PPG, 15.0 RPG and 3.5 BPG in the previous two contests, and if he is on his game, then this Bulls team is nearly impossible to beat.

The Wizards have won two straight games and they’ll now look to make a statement against the Bulls on Friday. PG John Wall (17.2 PPG, 10.3 APG, 4.4 RPG) has the potential to win this game for Washington, but he is going to have to be aggressive going to the basket. Wall had 18 points, nine assists, five rebounds and two steals against the Bulls in their last meeting, and his speed is something that Derrick Rose just might not be able to handle on the defensive end. He is, however, going to need to play much better defense in this meeting, because Rose had 25 points the last time they played one another. C Marcin Gortat (12.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.4 BPG) and PF Nene Hilario (10.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG) will both need to be ready to compete at a high level on Friday as well. The Bulls have one of the best frontcourts in the league, so this will be a battle inside. Nene was outstanding against the Knicks last game, finishing with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists. Gortat had 12 points, 11 rebounds and a block in that game. He has not reached 15 points in 11 games and will need to be a more consistent scoring option going forward. SG Bradley Beal (15.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 3.0 APG) will also have to find his offensive rhythm. He’s averaging just 12.8 PPG over the past five contests, and is counted on to be the second-most reliable scorer on this team.