Less than an hour ahead of tip-off against the Oklahoma City Thunder, second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls are ready to try and right the ship with some players returning from injury. But the Bulls are also going to be missing some key players again on this night.
In this meeting with the Thunder, the Bulls will be without star forward DeMar DeRozan. There doesn’t look to be any injury news to speak of for DeRozan. He’s just getting an off night to rest up as the Bulls are in the back end of back-to-back games.
Moreover, the Bulls are coming into this meeting with the Thunder trying to snap a two-game losing streak with a record of 28-17. Their last game resulted in a convincing double-digit loss to the Orlando Magic back on Jan. 23.
Meanwhile, the Thunder come into this game with a record of 14-32 after their Jan. 22 94-87 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Thunder are currently riding a five-game losing streak heading into this meeting with the Bulls.
Here’s a look into the betting odds and game prediction as the Bulls are set to take on the Thunder on the road at Paycom Center in OKC on Jan. 24, with tip-off time set for 7 p.m. CT.
Chicago Bulls vs. Oklahoma City Thunder betting odds
According to WynnBet, the Thunder are now a 1.5-point favorite against the Bulls just ahead of tip-off for this game. And the over/under is set at 217 points.
The ESPN matchup predictor gives the Bulls a 35.6 percent chance to beat the Thunder.
Chicago Bulls vs. Oklahoma City Thunder prediction
I was wrong in the last few games for the Bulls in terms of what the outcome would be. Some of the injury issues the Bulls are facing of late, along with some bad second-half closeouts, have caused this team to come out on the wrong side of the win column.
Knowing that DeRozan is out against the Thunder won’t help anything either. But what will help for the Bulls is the return of star shooting guard Zach LaVine and wing Javonte Green. With center Nikola Vucevic also dealing with a knee injury, this should be LaVine’s night to shine.
With a lot of touches likely to go LaVine’s way on this night with DeRozan and Vucevic limited or out due to various reasons, get set for a big return for the one-time All-Star selection.
Before the news came down that DeRozan would be missing this game against the Thunder, the Bulls were actually a slight favorite. But this still isn’t an easy spot for the Bulls in the back end of back-to-back games on the road.