Oklahoma City Thunder vs Chicago Bulls Prediction, 10/26/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Chicago Bulls

Date: Saturday, October 26, 2024

Location: United Center in Chicago, IL

TV: CHSN Plus

The Oklahoma City Thunder (57-25 last season) are traveling to United Center on Saturday where they will take on the Chicago Bulls (39-43 last year).

The Thunder faced off with the Mavericks and took a loss by a score of 117-116 in their last game. Oklahoma City ended with a 47.8% field goal percentage (44 of 92) and made 15 of 41 3-pointers. From the charity stripe, the Thunder made 13 of their 17 attempts for a percentage of 76.5%. In the matter of rebounding, they collected 31 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. They also dished out 25 assists in this game in addition to forcing 10 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In reference to defending, Oklahoma City allowed their opponent to shoot 51.2% from the field on 42 out of 82 shooting. Dallas earned 25 dimes and had 10 steals in this contest. Additionally, Dallas collected 47 rebounds (14 offensive, 33 defensive) and earned 4 blocks. Dallas went 70.8% at the free throw line by burying 17 of their 24 tries. They also buried 16 out of their 34 attempts from 3-point land. When it comes to fouls, the Thunder ended up with 23 and the Mavericks recorded 20 fouls.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is someone who was a major contributor in this matchup. He totaled 36 points on 14 out of 25 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 43 mins played and also snagged 3 rebounds. Gilgeous-Alexander finished 56.0% from the floor and distributed 8 assists.

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Oklahoma City enters this one after finishing with a record of 57-25 last year. They averaged 120.1 points per contest (3rd in the NBA) on 49.9% from the floor. The Thunder shot 38.9% on shots from 3-point land (1,090 of 2,805) and 82.5% from the charity stripe. As a squad, Oklahoma City pulled in 42.0 rebounds per game and accumulated 2,223 assists last season, which was 11th in basketball in terms of passing. They turned it over 12.7 times per contest and as a unit committed 18.8 fouls every game.

When they were on the defensive end, the Thunder forced 15.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.9 personal fouls. They were 18th in the league in giving up assists to the opposition with 2,207 surrendered last season. The Thunder defensively allowed and opponent field goal percentage of 45.5% (3,328 of 7,322) and they relinquished 44.7 boards per contest as a unit. They gave up 36.1% on 3-point shots and they were 11th in basketball in PPG allowed (112.7).

For their last game, the Bulls took a defeat with a final score of 123-111 when they faced the Pelicans. The Bulls were able to pull down 41 defensive rebounds and 15 offensive boards for a total of 56 for this contest. They also gave up possession 19 times, while earning 8 steals in this game. The Pelicans were called for 20 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Bulls to the free throw line for a total of 25 tries. They were able to bury 17 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 68.0%. With regard to 3-pointers, Chicago converted 10 of 34 tries (29.4%). When the final whistle blew, the Bulls went 42 out of 86 from the floor which had them shooting 48.8%. The Bulls allowed the Pelicans to bury 45 out of 97 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 46.4% in the game. They finished the game shooting 37.8% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 14 out of 37 and finished the contest at 19 of 21 at the free throw line (90.5%). With respect to how they cleaned up the glass, Chicago permitted New Orleans to grab 43 in total (16 offensive).

Zach LaVine ended up having an impact for the Bulls in the game. He buried 10 of 17 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 58.8%, and totaled 5 rebounds. LaVine recorded 27 points in his 37 mins on the hardwood and added 3 dimes in this matchup.

Chicago had a record of 39-43 last season. The Bulls were responsible for committing 18.8 personal fouls every game and they connected on 79.1% from the free throw line. They assisted teammates 25.0 times per game (23rd in basketball) and they lost possession via turnover 12.2 times per contest. Chicago earned 9,206 pts last season (112.3 per game) and they grabbed 43.8 boards per game. As an offensive team, the Bulls hit 47.0% from the field, which ranked them 18th in the NBA.

The Chicago defense allowed 37.0% on 3-point shots (1,196 of 3,235) and opponents knocked down 77.6% of their foul shots. They allowed 27.9 dimes and 43.4 rebounds per contest, which had them ranked 23rd and 16th in those categories on the defensive end. The Bulls on defense were ranked 16th in the NBA in PPG surrendered with 113.7. They forced their opponents into 14.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and allowed teams to shoot 47.3% from the field (16th in the NBA).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Oklahoma City

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