The last time the Knicks and Bulls played, it felt like a playoff matchup. Will the same atmosphere take place in Chicago when these two teams take the floor? Let’s take a look at the NBA odds and decide which way to lean at the top-rated sportsbooks.
New York Knicks vs. Chicago Bulls
Sunday, November 21, 2021 – 8:00 PM EST at United Center
It’s been a fantastic start to the year for the Chicago Bulls. In the offseason, the Bulls saw an opportunity and built a fantastic ball club that seems to gel very well. The Bulls have won three of their last four games and are currently third in the standings in the Eastern Conference. Chicago is literally just .5 games out of first place and tied with Washington for second place in the East.
Meanwhile, the Knicks are 9-7 and while that seems kind of poor, it’s still good for 5th in the East. It’s early but the Knicks currently still have a winning record and in the East, a winning record usually gets you a playoff spot. The Knicks will play a back-to-back game after defeating Houston last night, 106-99, at home. However, now they’ll be on the road to take on a Bulls team that they defeated not too long ago earlier this year in a thriller.
New York is scoring 110.5 points per 100 possessions with an effective field goal percentage of 53 percent. Offensively, the Knicks aren’t the best but they’re certainly not the worst. Julius Randle leads the Knicks with 19.6 points per game but he’s shooting 40.4 percent from the field.
Currently, the forward leads the team in rebounds and assists as well, with 10 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. He’s doing it all, but there might be too much on his shoulders at this point. Defensively, the Knicks are averaging, allowing 108.2 points per 100 possessions. Opponents are shooting just a 50.6 percent effective field goal percentage and while they’ve held opponents off the line at an above average rate, the Knicks have struggled on the defensive glass.
However, the Bulls, on the other hand, are only grabbing 22.8 percent offensive rebounds. That works in the Knicks’ favor. But the Bulls are scoring 111.1 points per 100 possessions with an effective field goal percentage of 52.9 percent. Both of those numbers are top 10 numbers in the league and they’re also turning the ball over just 13.4 percent of the time.
The Bulls are also very aggressive and get to the line plenty, however, the defense gives teams their own free throws right back with a defensive free throw rate of 19.5. Chicago is allowing just 105 points per 100 possessions and force plenty of turnovers with 16.8 percent. Zach LaVine still leads the Bulls in scoring and rebounding with 26.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. But with a supporting cast, he hasn’t had to be the only one scoring this year with DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso now wearing the Chicago uniform.
Prediction
Both teams are top 10 in points per 100 possessions and both of these teams are also in the top 10 in effective field goal percentage. The Bulls will force more turnovers but they’re also going to get to the line a lot while also sending their opponents to the line a lot. Neither team is particularly great on the glass, which could lead to second-chance buckets.
The Bulls allow 27.1 percent of offensive rebounds and if the Knicks get more aggressive, they’ll score more buckets off second chances than they’re used to. Therefore, I’ll take the over in this game at 209.5 for my NBA pick.
NBA Pick: Over 209.5 (-110) via BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
