On the night of Dec. 2, the Chicago Bulls and second-year head coach Billy Donovan are once again set to hit the road away from the friendly confines of the United Center for a couple of games. Donovan and the Bulls are set to take on former Chicago head coach Tom Thibodeau and the New York Knicks for the third time already this season, with each of the first two coming at the United Center in Chicago.
The Bulls and Knicks each have one win over the other in the two meetings so far this season. The first time that these two teams met this season came back on Oct. 28 at the United Center, in a tough one-point loss for the Bulls to the Knicks. And the second meeting between these two teams resulted in a Bulls win at the United Center on Nov. 21 by the final score of 109-103.
Moreover, the Bulls come into this third meeting with the Knicks on the season so far with a record of 14-8. Their last game resulted in a convincing 133-119 home win over the Charlotte Hornets at home at the United Center on Nov. 29. The Bulls got a decent break between games following this win over the Hornets.
Meanwhile, the Knicks come into this game sporting a record of 11-10 following their 112-110 loss to the Brooklyn Nets back on Nov. 30. The Knicks have a home record so far this season of 5-6. And the Bulls have a road record of 7-3 on the season.
Here’s a look at the betting odds and prediction as the Bulls are set to take on the Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY, on Dec. 2, with tip-off time set for 6:30 p.m. CT.
Chicago Bulls vs. New York Knicks betting odds
According to WynnBet, the Bulls are a slight two-point favorite over the Knicks around six hours ahead of tip-off. And the over/under is set around 210 points for this game.
The ESPN matchup predictor contradicts the spread for this game, giving the Knicks a 57.1 percent chance to beat the Bulls on this night.
Chicago Bulls vs. New York Knicks prediction
The Bulls did suffer a bit of a setback this week with the news that third-year point guard Coby White will be in quarantine in the league’s health and safety protocol thanks to a positive COVID-19 test. This could mean White missing for at least the next week or two for the Bulls, depending on how long it takes to get him through the health and safety protocol.
Bulls guard Coby White has tested positive for coronavirus, coach Billy Donovan says.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 1, 2021
This is unfortunate news for White, though, who was starting to pick up his play in the last week or so since making his season debut in the middle of last month. White will now have another hurdle to face to work his way comfortably into a good spot in this Bulls’ rotation.
What this White news also means is that the Bulls are going to have to find another spark plug for bench scoring in the days and weeks ahead. This will place some added pressure on the likes of star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan, shooting guard Zach LaVine, forward Derrick Jones Jr., point guard Alex Caruso, etc. to bump up the pace in terms of offensive production.
The four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA Team selection DeRozan had a much better outing against the Knicks the second time around compared to the first. He registered 31 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals, and no blocks, in the Bulls’ Nov. 21 win over the Knicks.
This seems like an opportunity for DeRozan to once again prove his status as a dark horse MVP contender with a big outing on the road against the Knicks. If he continues his momentum against the Knicks that he built up in the six-point win on Nov. 21, the Bulls should be in a good position to win this game.