The Chicago Bulls invade the Chesapeake Energy Arena to battle the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.
The Chicago Bulls have struggled so far as they’ve lost seven of their first 11 games and they will be looking to get their season going after having their last game postponed due to health and safety precautions. In Sunday’s 130-127 loss to the Clippers, Zach LaVine led the team with 45 points and seven assists on 15 of 26 shooting, Patrick Williams added 17 points on six of nine shooting, Garrett Temple added 18 points while Coby White chipped in with nine points, eight rebounds and 13 assists. As a team, the Bulls shot a sizzling 61 percent from the field and 18 of 33 from the 3-point line as they took the early lead behind their defense in the first quarter, before getting edged out in the second half where they allowed an unforgivable 78 points.
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been in a bit of a rut as they will be hoping to avoid a third straight loss after falling to the Lakers in a 128-99 home loss on Wednesday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team with 17 points while George Hill chipped in with 10 points. As a team, the Thunder shot 43 percent from the field and 10 of 31 from the 3-point line as they suffered a slow start and found themselves trailing by 12 points at halftime, before getting blown out in the second half where the Lakers poured in 70 points.
Looking at the betting trends, the Bulls are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a losing record, 4-0 ATS in their last four road games and 5-0 ATS in their last five games overall. The Thunder are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games against a team with a losing record and 0-4 ATS in their last four home games.
Head to head, the over is 4-0 in the last four meetings overall and the over is 5-2 in the last seven meetings in Oklahoma City.
The Bulls will be itching to get back on the court after having their last game postponed, but they’re depth has already been stretched because of so many players missing, so you never know what you’re going to get from them. The Thunder look to have cooled off with a couple of losses since their three-game win streak and they’ve yet to win a home game this season. It’s hard to pick between these two teams, but I’m leaning towards the well-rested Bulls to snap out of their funk with a much-needed win here.