Losing to the San Antonio Spurs last night, the Chicago Bulls have dropped a golden opportunity to start the year 4-2 and get an early edge in the Eastern Conference. Instead, the .500 Bulls are now set to enter an absolutely brutal stretch of games where 10 of Chicago’s next 12 opponents were all playoff teams last season. That harsh road begins at home tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Philadelphia hasn’t been immune to its own share of hardship this season, as they’ve gotten off to a rocky 2-4 start to the year. They seem to be ramping up now that Tyrese Maxey is hitting his stride, averaging an unbelievable 37.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5 assists on 82.6% true shooting over the last two games.
Hopefully, the addition of Zach LaVine to the starting lineup will help this Bulls team look much more competent than they looked in San Antonio last night. Diving head first into this rough stretch on the schedule while already having a negative record could be disastrous, so a win tonight is crucial.
How to watch Chicago Bulls vs Philadelphia 76ers
- Date: October 29, 2022
- Time: 8:00 p.m. ET, 7:00 p.m CT
- Where: United Center, Chicago, IL
- Watch: NBC Sports Chicago, NBA TV
- Stream: FuboTV
Chicago Bulls vs Philadelphia 76ers Odds, Spread, Over/Under
- Favorite: 76ers (-1.5)
- Over/under: 221 points
- Moneyline: +108 Chicago/-126 Philadelphia
Gambling odds and information courtesy of FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. Displayed odds current as of Saturday at 9:00 a.m. CT.
Projected Chicago Bulls Starting Lineup and Injury Report
- PG: Ayo Dosunmu
- SG: Zach LaVine
- SF: DeMar DeRozan
- PF: Patrick Williams
- C: Nikola Vucevic
- IR: Out – Lonzo Ball
After resting in last night’s contest against the Spurs, Zach LaVine will return to the starting lineup tonight. Dropping the easy game in San Antonio, the Bulls now stare down the possibility of losing both games in this back-to-back. Chicago would be wise to rethink this strategy in the future, instead of assuming they can put all the load on DeMar DeRozan’s shoulder to earn wins against bottom-feeder teams. Watch the status of Ayo Dosunmu, who took a shot to the head in last night’s game. Although he was eventually able to return to the game, the team will need to monitor his situation for any potential concussion symptoms.
Ayo Dosunmu slipped and hit his head hard on Keldon Johnson’s knee. He enters concussion protocol.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) October 29, 2022
Staff Predictions
Even without their leading scorer in Devin Vassell, the Spurs were determined to continue my streak of awful luck in these predictions. The Bulls have thus far played to their level of competition, dropping all four games against lottery teams from last year while defeating the two 2022 playoff teams they’ve faced this year. For that reason, I’ll do the opposite of what I’d normally do here, and pick the Bulls to beat the 76ers with LaVine back in the lineup. It won’t be easy, however, as despite a rough start to the year it seems Tyrese Maxey is truly coming into his own as a third star alongside Joel Embiid and James Harden.
Correct Predictions: (1-5)
Bulls Upcoming Schedule
- Nov. 1 @ Brooklyn Nets (1-4)
- Nov. 2 vs Charlotte Hornets (2-3)
- Nov. 4 @ Boston Celtics (3-2)