The Bulls were one of two teams to win at Oracle Arena last regular season and they were waiting in the Bay Area for the Warriors to arrive. Golden State played the night before down south against their Pacific Division rival Clippers and return home for the second of a back-to-back. Chicago won its fourth straight game, beating the Suns on Wednesday, and appears to clicking under new coach Fred Hoiberg.
You can bet on NBA odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
SCHEDULING
Chicago was one of two teams to beat the Warriors in Oracle Arena during the regular season last year and they were in the Bay Area waiting for the Dubs to arrive after knocking off Phoenix on Wednesday. Golden State plays the second of a back-to-back after an intense matchup with Pacific Division rival Clippers in LA Wednesday night. The Bulls appear to be getting more comfortable with new coach Fred Hoiberg’s system, winning their fourth straight on the first of this four-game road trip. The Golden State game will be a good measuring stick to see how the team has progressed under Hoiberg, who wants to run a more fast-paced offense while sticking to the areas that made the team successful under former mentor Tom Thibodeau. There are injury concerns as Derrick Rose missed Wednesday’s game with an ankle injury and Mike Dunleavy is still out after back surgery. Hoiberg has used his bench more, giving minutes to Doug McDermott and E’Twaun Moore while rotating them in the starting lineup with Tony Snell. A move that will likely pay off in the overall health of the club down the line.
INJURIES
Not only is Bulls guard Derrick Rose dealing with blurred vision as a side effect from the orbital surgery he had during training camp, he hurt his ankle in Monday’s win over Indiana and sat out the teams win at Phoenix to start the road trip. Rose will likely be a game-time decision.
Aaron Brooks scored 12 points in just over 19 minutes before leaving the Phoenix game with a hamstring injury. He’s questionable to play on Friday.
Warriors backup point guard Shaun Livingston didn’t play Tuesday due to a hip strain and is questionable to face the Bulls.
KEY MATCHUP
Warriors guard and MVP Stephen Curry is on another planet and he’s taken his team with him. After he scored 37 points in Golden State’s 115-110 win over Toronto on Tuesday, Curry has scored 404 this season and leads the league with an average of 33.7 per game. That would be the highest mark since Kobe Bryant in 2005-06. His point total through Tuesday is 101 more than Damian Lillard’s next closest total. And the difference between first and second is the same as the difference between second and 26th. But the guy isn’t all about scoring. His teammates shot nine of 12 off of his passes Tuesday. Of his nine assists, five were on uncontested looks, all within 10 feet of the basket. He also created four uncontested looks within three feet. In other words, you can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him. Chicago does a nice job defending opponents field goal attempts and Curry is due to have an off-nigh with Jimmy Butler hounding him. This is the time to go under on Curry’s point total, especially coming off a tough game the night before.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Is this year’s Warriors team better than the one that posted 67 victories and won the title last year? One might argue that point considering what they’ve done at the start of the year. There is no championship hangover for this club and they appear to be hungrier. They force teams to play an entire 48 and like we’ve seen, the smallest letdown from an opponent and the Dubs are all over it. When they do get behind they ratchet up the intensity, run off a bunch of points and put teams back on their heels. But the Bulls figured it out last year, handing the Dubs one of their two regular NBA season home losses, and Chicago has a longer bench as well. While it seems like the Warriors can win them all, they won’t. And Chicago wins at Oracle again in a tight one.
Chicago 110, Golden State 107
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! Bet on the NBA today as the Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors square off Friday, November 20, 2015, at 10:30 p.m. ET at Oracle Arena. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
