The Chicago Bulls were one of the most active NBA teams this offseason, and so far it has paid off as the 4-0 Bulls are the only unbeaten team standing in the Eastern Conference. They do have a tough home test Thursday vs. the one-loss Knicks.
Let’s see how the Knicks vs Bulls teams arrive for you to place your bets on NBA.
How to Bet Knicks at Bulls NBA Odds & TV Info
- When: Thursday, 8 PM ET
- Where: United Center
- TV: NBA TV
- Stream: NBA.com, NBA TV app
- Radio: Tunein.com
- NBA Odds: Bulls -4 (total 215)
Last Meeting
New York won two of three last year vs. Chicago, including the finale meeting in April 113-94 in Manhattan. Julius Randle scored 34 points and RJ Barrett added 22 points. The Knicks outscored the Bulls 37-19 in the fourth quarter after leading just 76-75 through three. Nikola Vucevic had 26 points and 18 rebounds for Chicago, which played without star Zach LaVine. The Knicks won the season series 2-1.
Why Bet on New York?
The Knicks come off a 112-99 win over Philadelphia on Tuesday to end a 17-game losing streak in the series. New addition Kemba Walker had his best game as a Knick with 19 points, five assist and three rebounds. Walker scored 10 points second quarter, which is a big reason why the Knicks took a 20-point lead into the locker room. Add in Derrick Rose, and the Knicks got 32 points, six rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks from the point guard position.
Julius Randle tallied had 16 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. After attempting 14 free throws in Sunday’s loss to the Magic, Randle didn’t get to the line at all Tuesday. Evan Fournier had 18 points in the win. With Tuesday’s 4-of-6 showing, Fournier is now 16-of-32 from three-point range through four games. RJ Barrett had 10 points and seven rebounds. Barrett produced 19 points on only 11 shots during the season opener, but over the past three games he now has 29 points while shooting 34.3 percent.
New York remains without center Nerlens Noel. He has been dealing with knee and hamstring injuries, which have kept him on the shelf so far this season, as well as the preseason. Noel played last season for the Knicks on a one-year deal and averaged 5.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks in about 24 minutes per game. He was the only player in the NBA to average at least 2.00 blocks and 1.00 steal per game. That earned Noel a three-year, $32 million contract. It’s possible Noel returns Thursday.
“He’s ramped up pretty good right now,’’ Coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Hopefully it will be soon. It’s when he’s ready to go. So he’s been taking some contact. He’s real close.’’ Thibodeau of course is a former Bulls coach.
In the meantime, Mitchell Robinson has done a phenomenal job as the starter, contributing 8.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and logging 1.3 blocks per game.
Why Bet on Chicago?
The Bulls are 4-0 for the first time since the 1996-97 season. The last time Chicago opened a season 5-0 was that same year. The team has only had two 5-0 starts in team history (also 1995-96). Entering this year, Chicago had not even been over .500 at any point during a season since March 2017.
The last team to start a new season 4-0 after being at least 10 games below .500 the year before was the 2007-08 Boston Celtics, who won 8 straight to start the new year after going 24-58 the season before.
The Bulls won in Toronto on Monday, 111-108. All-Star center Nikola Vucevic was in question with an illness but played and had 17 points and eight rebounds in 34 minutes. Former Raptor DeMar DeRozan had 26 points, including 10-for-10 from the free-throw line. Alex Caruso added eight points and collected four steals off the bench, adding to the Bulls league-leading 41 steals so far this season
Lonzo Ball continued to play well with 15 points, five assists and three rebounds. “He’s everywhere,” star Zach LaVine said. “Hits his open 3s, pushes the transition, brings a real energy and physicality to the defensive end. All-around player, man. We’re glad to have him.”
LaVine had 22 points, five assists and four rebounds but it has come out that he’s playing through a small ligament tear in his non-shooting thumb. One wouldn’t have noticed as LaVine has played at least 32 minutes in each of the first four games, averaging 25.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists.
The Bulls have not ruled out eventually sitting LaVine down and allowing the injury to rest if the discomfort continues. However, LaVine plans on playing if he just has to manage the pain and doesn’t have to worry about the injury worsening.
“I think right now it’s just trying to figure out how to manage the pain and keep it safe,” LaVine said Wednesday. “Then going forward, I’ll get more information on it if I plan on playing with it.”
Last season Chicago ranked at the very bottom of the league (30th) in getting to the charity stripe, averaging 17.5 attempts per game, and connecting on 79.1% (11th). So far in four games this season the numbers are looking better across the board, with an average of 20.3 attempts (16th) and make-rate of 86.4% (2nd).
Expert Prediction
- Bulls 113, Knicks 109
NBA Betting Center
Odds and Lines
Latest NBA News:
