The Golden State Warriors (50-10) will be without Kevin Durant on Thursday when they visit the Chicago Bulls (30-30) as solid road favorites.The Warriors have already become the league's first team to clinch a playoff spot, but Durant suffered a leg injury in a 112-108 road loss to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday, and he could miss the rest of the regular season for the two-time defending Western Conference champs.Point spread: The Warriors opened as six-point favorites; the total is at 219, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark (Line updates and matchup report).NBA betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 115.2-104.8 Warriors (NBA picks on every game)Why the Warriors can cover the spreadAre people overreacting to the loss of Durant and his importance to Golden State' You can make that argument because the Warriors had a better record this time a year ago without him and still went on to post the best mark in NBA history at 73-9.They are favored by roughly the same amount of points at Chicago without Durant as they were against Washington with him. While Golden State has failed to cover the spread in its last four, this team has beaten the Bulls two straight by double digits without Durant, including a 125-94 rout at the United Center as six-point chalk last year.Why the Bulls can cover the spreadChicago is a Jekyll-and-Hyde team, seeing a season-best four-game winning streak go up in smoke with a 125-107 home loss to the Denver Nuggets as 2.5-point favorites on Tuesday. Still, the Bulls had upset three of the top four teams in the Eastern Conference as underdogs during their streak (the Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers).With the NBA trade deadline behind them, they remain one of the biggest enigmas in the East, capable of beating or losing to any opponent on any given night.Smart betting pickDurant also missed last Saturday's 112-95 win over the Brooklyn Nets due to a hand injury, so the Warriors are more than capable of winning big without him. The bigger question is, which Chicago team will show up'The Bulls have lost consecutive games eight of the last nine times they have suffered a setback off a win, dropping three in a row on five occasions during that stretch, and proving that mentality is contagious. Look for Golden State to rebound from its loss at Washington with a big win at Chicago and on the Vegas lines.NBA betting trendsGolden State is 1-5 ATS in its last six games.Golden State is 2-4 ATS in its last six games on the road.The total has gone over in six of Golden State's last nine games when playing Chicago.All NBA lines and betting trends courtesy of Bleacher Reports official odds partner, OddsShark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates and the OddsShark YouTube page for picks and analysis, or download the free odds tracker app.
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