The Chicago Bulls are out to prove that they've got one of the best teams in the NBA. In order to be the champ though, you have to beat the champ. The Golden State Warriors are still rolling and are off to their best start in team history, so they'll be tough to beat Friday night in Oakland.
You'll find all of the NBA odds at BookMaker.eu for this and every game of the season.
SCHEDULING
There's never really such a thing as a good time to come to Oakland for a game with the Dubs, but the Bulls at least have a gripe that this is as good of a chance as they'll get. Golden State is playing a back-to-back here, drawing the Clips on the road on Thursday before heading home for this one.
Keep in mind though, that Golden State has already had three back-to-backs this year, and in the second leg of those games, they've crushed New Orleans 134-120, Sacramento 103-94 and Minnesota 129-116, covering the spread in two of those three games.
WHEN THE CHICAGO BULLS HAVE THE BALL
We know the Warriors can score. No two ways around that. What we didn't know about this team was how well they were going to defend this year.
It's completely unsustainable to think that Golden State can continue holding teams to just 41.9 percent shooting from the field and 27.4 percent from long range, but those are really nice stats to have at the moment.
The Bulls might not have Derrick Rose in this one after he left the game with an ankle injury on Monday night against Indiana. That has put the ball in the hands of Jimmy Butler as a point guard at times, and we don't see that working out well in the long run, especially against this team.
The Bulls are relying too much on the three-point shot as we see it, and that might be a clue that live bettors have an opportunity here with Golden State. Chicago is knocking down 37.3 percent of its long range shots, but there just isn't that ability to pound the ball on the inside any longer.
If Chicago gets into a track meet here with the Dubs, it's going to be a long game for sure.
WHEN THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS HAVE THE BALL
What we really hate about the Bulls right now is that they're allowing the most rebounds in the NBA at 50.0 per game. If they aren't going to clean up the glass and prevent second and third chances from developing for the Warriors, they're as good as dead and should be treated as such in live betting.
You'd think that Stephen Curry would slow down just a bit when he has to play two games in two nights, but that just hasn't been the case of late. He put up 53 against New Orleans and 46 against Minnesota already this year, and there's no such thing as counting on him to play fewer minutes unless the Clippers really beat the heck out of him on Thursday night.
As it is though, we see no reason why Golden State won’t have yet another basketball game in which it gets into the 100-110 point range against this Chicago defense, one which looks nowhere near the same under Fred Hoiberg as it did under Tom Thibodeau.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The duel between the Chicago Bulls and the Golden State Warriors will take place at Oracle Arena on Friday, November 20, 2015. This 10:30 p.m. ET kickoff can be seen live on ESPN.
