NBA picks: Bulls vs. Lakers prediction, odds, over/under, spread ...

Update: James is in and will play off the bench. Davis is in, while Russell is out. For the Bulls, DeRozan and Caruso are both in. The Lakers are now 6.5-point favorites, but we’ll stick with our ATS pick of the Bulls at +6.5. The total is now 225, and we’ll maintain our pick on the under.

The Chicago Bulls take on the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, March 26 at 3:30 p.m. ET at the Crypto.com Arena.

Lakers PF Anthony Davis is probable (right foot) and D’Angelo Russell is questionable (hip soreness). L.A. also upgraded LeBron James (foot) to questionable to play; he was doubtful heading into Sunday. On the Bulls’ side, Lonzo Ball is out for the season (left knee), and Alex Caruso is questionable (left foot).

The Lakers are favored by 3 points at DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total set at 222.5.

Pick ATS: Bulls +4

The Bulls blew out the Trail Blazers in their latest game and have won four of their last five, while the Lakers have won three straight after beating the Thunder in their latest appearance. We can expect this to be a showdown largely centered around Davis and DeMar DeRozan, but DeRozan may find more support in Zach Lavine’s midrange scoring and in Nikola Vucevic’s rebounding abilities. The Lakers have had consistency issues this season, and with a tough Bulls defense bearing down on them, those may be highlighted once again.

Over/Under: Under 222.5

The Lakers have averaged 116.3 points over their last six games, while the Bulls have averaged 108. Chicago has also held opponents to at least 105 points in three of the past four games, including a few games under 100 points. If Caruso can get back in the lineup and play on Sunday, that would be a big boost for the Bulls’ defensively. If James returns for the Lakers, maybe we rethink this under but he should be restricted or on a minutes limit. In any case, keep an eye on the injury report.