This will be a reunion between the Bulls’ former star guard Derrick Rose, who was traded to the New York Knicks in the offseason. Rose is off to a decent start and would no doubt love to light up the scoreboard against his former team.
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Odds Analysis
The Bulls did not enter the season with huge expectations, but have defeated the Celtics, Pacers and Knicks. Chicago is 3-0 against the spread this season, including one cover on the road.
The Knicks are 1-1 both straight up and against the spread this season. It covered in a home win over the Bucks early in the season.
Player To Watch
Derrick Rose -- The former MVP has had his career really hurt by knee injuries, and the Bulls decided to cut bait at the end of the season. It’s looking like a good decision for Chicago, which brought in Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo to help start a new core along with Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott.
Rose is hoping to find a career rebirth in New York as the third wheel alongside Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. Rose is averaging 15.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game on the season and will hope to improve on those numbers in this one.
Rondo is a good defender when he is at maximum effort, so it will be interesting to see how well he tracks Rose. While the MVP days are long gone, Rose would love nothing more than to turn back the clock for one night to prove that the Bulls’ decision to trade him was a mistake.
Injury Report
Bulls forward McDermott has been off to a nice start this season, but he was placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol because of a hit to the head on Monday. McDermott is averaging 13.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game this season and has become a bigger part of the offense.
Michael Carter-Williams, who was acquired by the Bulls recently from the Bucks, has knee and wrist issues which will keep him out for more than a month. While Carter-Williams’ role wasn’t yet clear early in his tenure with Chicago, he is a useful depth piece which the Bulls won’t be able to employ for a while now.
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The Knicks hoped the addition of Rose and another former Bull, Joakim Noah, would help improve the team’s fortunes. It’s still early, but New York wasn’t competitive at all in its opener against the Cavaliers.
It is clear this team isn’t among the upper echelon teams in the East, but still hopes to compete for a playoff berth. The Bulls are in the same boat but have gotten off to a better start.
This is a tough matchup since New York has the home court advantage and has a pair of top-level players in Anthony and Porzingis. If the Bulls can pull off a convincing win, it will turn some heads around the NBA.
It’s still too early to say Chicago is an unquestioned playoff team, but it has looked really good after some roster shuffling in the offseason. The Bulls will take another step forward with a close, hard-fought road victory against the Knicks as Rose won’t be able to do enough to stop it.
NBA Odds: Bulls 103, Knicks 100
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