2017-2018 NBA Previews – Bulls Odds
Looking for 2018 Chicago Bulls Predictions? We’ve got your back. Chicago finished last season 27-55, finishing 13th in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. And what a weird season it was. The 2017-18 campaign began (before it actually began) with the punch hear ’round the Association, as Nikola Mirotic found himself on the wrong end of Bobby Portis’ fist in practice.
Chicago Bulls Season Preview
Head Coach: Fred Hoiberg
2017-18 Record: 27-55
Bulls Odds to NBA Title: +30000
Bulls Odds to Win Conference: +8000
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That led to the worst start in the league, the breakout of rookie Lauri Markkanen, an eventual playoff push, the trade of Mirotic before the deadline and an ensuing offseason that saw the franchise committee big-time money to previously injured players.
Needless to say, this will be one of the more fascinating teams to watch this year, as it’s ceiling is higher than you might think, while it’s floor is also lower than you might think.
Chicago Bulls Strengths:
Scoring really shouldn’t be a problem for this Bulls team. At least not at the top of the roster.
Lauri Markkanen Jabari Parker and Zach LaVine could all realistically push 20 points per game this season. It’s unlikely we see all three actually accomplish this, but if the trio is all at least in the high teens in scoring while presenting a threat to push mid-20s or higher on a nightly basis, that’ll do the trick for a team hoping to get more out of its young core than you might normally expect.
After all, with LeBron James out East and the Cavs looking like a fringe playoff team at best, the Central Division is wide open for the first time since LeBron brought his talents back to Northeast Ohio, so the time to strike is now for just about everyone.
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On the other side of the court, the Bulls are likely to be one of the worst in the league (more on that later). But there is a potential bright spot in the form of rookie Wendell Carter, Jr.
The Duke product is not just highly regarded by scouts and media members, but by the 2018 rookie class. That speaks volumes.
Carter has a legitimate chance to be this team’s best defender by the end of his first season, and while he won’t make this team a decent defensive squad on his own, he’ll find ways to impact games in a positive way night in and night out even if his shot is going through a slump, which you can expect it to throughout his first full NBA campaign.
Chicago Bulls Weaknesses:
In 2017-18, the Bulls were 28th in the league in defensive efficiency. They gave up 109.1 points per 100 possessions, which was only better than the Cleveland Cavaliers (109.5) and Phoenix Suns (110.6).
As exciting as the homecoming of Jabari Parker is for both fans and the organization in Chicago, he’s only going to hurt the defense further. Combine that with the fact that LaVine will be his counterpart on the perimeter, and this squad needs to hope and pray that the offense is in the top five of the league.
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Simply outscoring opponents has to be the approach if this defensively inept roster is trying to make the postseason.
Chicago Bulls Betting Prediction: 30-52
The Bulls were given an over/under of 27.5 entering the season. That could be insultingly low if Markkanen takes another leap forward, Carter proves to be a defensive difference-marker and both Parker and LaVine prove that their injury histories are just that—history.
But while 37 or 38 wins would be remarkable for this team, it still wouldn’t be enough to qualify for the postseason, even out East.
The Bulls should learn fairly quickly that their defensive problems and lack of a true go-to option are more lottery-bound-team traits than playoff ones.
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Thirty wins would be considered a success as far as the O/U is concerned, even if the most optimistic fans are hoping for a huge turnaround in Year 2 of this (quite frankly bizarre) rebuild.
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