Chicago Bulls vs. Houston Rockets: Betting odds and prediction
In the back end of back-to-back games on the night of Dec. 20, second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls are set to take on a rapidly improving Houston Rockets team at home at the United Center. Donovan and the Bulls got back to game action after some postponements within the last week on Dec. 19, by knocking off the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Bulls had two games postponed within the last week due to COVID-19-related issues with a ton of player absences in the health and safety protocol. At one point, the Bulls were missing a double-digit number of players due to the health and safety protocol.
But the Bulls should now have some confidence going as they downed a Lakers team that was also shorthanded on Dec. 19 at home. The Bulls topped the Lakers by the final score of 115-110 on Dec. 19, thanks to a clutch performance from star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan on a 38-point night.
DeRozan was the spark that got the Bulls this big win over the Lakers to cap the weekend. The Bulls are now sporting a record of 18-10 heading into this meeting with the Rockets on Dec. 20.
Meanwhile, the Rockets come into this game with a record of 10-20, following a 116-107 road win over the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 18.
In fact, since the Bulls faced the Rockets in Houston in late November, they’ve really caught fire. The Rockets were riding a 15-game losing streak coming into their first meeting with the Bulls last month. Since the Rockets beat the Bulls, they’ve won nine of their last 13 games.
Here’s a look into the betting odds and game prediction as the Bulls take on the Rockets at the United Center in Chicago, with tip-off time set for 7 p.m. CT.
Chicago Bulls vs. Houston Rockets betting odds
According to WynnBet, the Bulls are a six-point favorite over the Rockets a few hours ahead of tip-off on Dec. 20. Meanwhile, the over/under for this game is set at 222.5 points.
The ESPN matchup predictor gives the Bulls a 59.5 percent chance to beat the Rockets.
Chicago Bulls vs. Houston Rockets prediction
There will still be a lot riding on this game for the Bulls in terms of how DeRozan can show out. While the Bulls do look to be a much better team on paper than the Rockets, even with how well Houston is playing of late, that didn’t mean anything in the first matchup between these two teams this season.
The Bulls are also still set to be without star shooting guard Zach LaVine, among a few other key players, likely until after the Christmas break.
The key matchup to watch in this game will be DeRozan for the Bulls against the veteran scoring guard Eric Gordon for the Rockets. Gordon, big man Christian Wood, and guard Ja’Sean Tate have sparked this recent rally for the Rockets in terms of success in the win column.
If DeRozan can come through with even some of the effectiveness he had in the Bulls’ win over the Lakers in the front end of these back-to-back games, this team will be in the driver’s seat against the Rockets.
But the Bulls can’t take Gordon and the Rockets lightly. Here are some of the teams that the Rockets beat in their last 13 games: Bulls, Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks, and Charlotte Hornets.
Non-Myles Turner trade targets for the Bulls. dark. Next
The Bulls’ chances here still look good to beat the Rockets. Fans should anticipate a close game here, though, as the Rockets are playing much better in the month of December compared to the start of the regular season.