Winners in four of their last five games, it finally feels like the Chicago Bulls are getting things back on track this season. These victories haven’t come against pushover competition either, as they’ve piled on the wins over the Heat, Hawks, Knicks, and Bucks. With a meeting against the Detroit Pistons on the dock for tonight, Chicago looks to extend their winning ways and make it five wins in their last six.
While the Bulls have been building some positive momentum, things haven’t been so peachy for the Pistons. Entering the season, I doubt Detroit held high hopes of contending, but any chance they did have of making the postseason fell apart when they lost Cade Cunningham to injury for the remainder of the season. To make matters worse, an altercation in Detroit’s last game has led to two of their other three core guards being suspended for tonight’s game.
Pistons-Magic discipline:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 30, 2022
- Killian Hayes: 3-game suspension
- Moe Wagner: 2-game suspension
- Hamidou Diallo: 1-game suspension
- 1-game suspension to eight Magic: Cole Anthony, Mo Bamba, Wendell Carter Jr., RJ Hampton, Gary Harris, Kevon Harris, Franz Wagner, Admiral Schofield
Here’s how you can tune in tonight, in what looks to be a great opportunity for the Bulls’ to secure their 16th win of the season.
How to watch Chicago Bulls vs Detroit Pistons
- Date: December 30, 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 Detroit Pistons, Spread, Over/Under
- Favorite: Bulls (-7.5)
- Over/under: 229.5 points
- Moneyline: -320 Chicago/+260 Detroit
Gambling odds and information courtesy of FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. Displayed odds current as of Friday at 6:00 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, Derrick Jones Jr.; Questionable – Patrick Williams, Coby White; Probable – Alex Caruso, Javonte Green
I can’t exactly say I’m surprised to see so many players listed on Chicago’s injury report. With Cade Cunningham having already undergone season-ending surgery, Killian Hayes and Hamidou Diallo suspended due to their altercation in Detroit, and Marvin Bagley and Isaiah Livers also set to possibly miss tonight’s game, the Pistons are looking extremely thin. If there were ever a time for the Bulls to be cautious with injury management, it’s definitely when they’re up against an injury-riddled Pistons team currently sitting at the bottom of the NBA’s standings.
Game Predictions
What was it I said last time?
"“… It’s reasonable to believe the Bulls could win tonight. Which probably means they won’t. Or will they? I don’t know anymore, but since they seem compelled to do the opposite of whatever I predict, let’s take the Bucks tonight.”"
Sure enough, the Bulls would end the game on a statistically unlikely run to force overtime and eventually grab a huge victory against Milwaukee. The powers that be appear absolutely determined to force games to go the opposite way of my prediction. That being said, I’m willing to tempt fate here and roll the dice with the Bulls. At home against an already terrible team missing their best players? The odds don’t get much more favorable than this.
My Predictions (14-20)
Bulls Upcoming Games
- Dec. 31 vs Cleveland Cavaliers (22-14)
- Jan. 2 @ Cleveland Cavaliers (22-14)
- Jan. 4 vs Brooklyn Nets (23-12)