The Chicago Bulls will look to build off of Monday night’s win, as they head to Milwaukee for a showdown with Giannis and the Bucks as betting underdogs.
The Chicago Bulls will face the Milwaukee Bucks for the first time this season following last year’s playoff defeat in the first round of the postseason. After opening the season with nine straight wins, the Bucks now find themselves in the midst of a 3-4 stretch, standing at 12-4, one half game behind the Celtics for first place in the Eastern Conference.
On Monday night, the Chicago Bulls snapped a four-game losing streak, beating the aforementioned Celtics in Boston 121-107 led by a combined 50 points from Demar Derozan and Zach LaVine. While that win stopped the bleeding, another one in the win column against another top end opponent could really go a long way to putting this season back on a successful track and could be a huge boost to the confidence of this basketball team.
The injury report for this game is short, but it will see Goran Dragic absent from tonight’s game off of the bench, and will most likely increase the overall minutes of Ayo Dosunmu, Alex Caruso and Coby White.
Monday night was kind to our bankroll as well as the Bulls win column, as Patrick Williams notched 17 points, a season high to coast over the over 9.5 point total. I called for more three point opportunities for Williams, and at least in the first half the Bulls listened as the kid went 3-4 from three point land, boosting his season average to 42% from behind the arc.
Call me crazy, but with the increased confidence and consistent role, I am going back to the well for the second night in a row, and potentially until the oddsmakers adjust his point totals to reflect his role and output. Let’s get a Bulls victory and another strong showing from Williams tonight. Best of luck, happy Thanksgiving, and GO BULLS!!
2022 Bulls Best Bet Record: 8-9 (1W Streak)
Patrick Williams Over 9.5 Points (Sportsbook Odds May Vary)
As mentioned, I am going back to the well with Williams until his point totals are adjusted to his role and output. The opening games of the season were ugly, and rightfully so, it turned a large portion of the fan base off of Williams. However, over the past few weeks, Williams has elevated his confidence all over the floor and is beginning to cause a direct impact to the game.
Over his past seven outings, Williams has scored in double figures five times, shooting at least 50% from behind the three-point line in six of those seven games. Some may expect the shooting percentages to regress a bit, but as I called for on Monday, going forward I am begging the Bulls to give Williams more opportunities from behind the arc.
The Chicago Bulls rank 28th in the NBA in three pointers made per game, and at the clip that Williams is shooting, in addition to a shot release that is really difficult to defend, the Bulls need to instill more and more confidence in Williams to shoot the ball.
Time on the floor for Williams was a bit sporadic to open the season, but as we are progressing, his role is becoming more concrete, and in tonight’s case, his defensive efforts will be paramount in slowing down Giannis, causing me to expect his minutes could land north of 30 tonight. If you’re giving me that type of playing time, I will happily take a swing at Williams hitting double figures.
I’ll give the Bulls a fighting chance in tonight’s game, but it’s certainly going to take a full 48-minute effort from just about every able body. Let’s get the Bulls to 8-10 and let’s get this blog back to an even 9-9 with a double digit effort from Patrick Williams. Happy Thanksgiving, thank you for following along, and GO BULLS!!
Chicago Bulls at Oklahoma City Thunder: 1 Best Bet
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