- 1 Chicago Bulls vs New York Knicks: a stalled champion offense against a defense allowing 128
- 2 Chicago Bulls: Caleb Wilson is scoring, the defense is leaking, and Claxton is out
- 3 New York Knicks: 0-3, allowing only 108.0 a game, losing on shooting
- 4 Free NBA Prediction: Chicago Bulls vs New York Knicks
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About visuals
Chicago Bulls vs New York Knicks: a stalled champion offense against a defense allowing 128 
The New York Knicks haven’t scored more than 103 points in any of their first three games. They’ve averaged 101.7, lost all three, and become the first defending champion to start 0-2 in 15 years before Sunday’s loss to Orlando made it 0-3.
Their next opponent concedes points at a rate few teams can match. The Chicago Bulls have allowed 128.0 per game through three outings, including a 135-92 defeat in Toronto in the opener, the worst opening-night margin in franchise history.
The game is Wednesday 28 October, 8:00pm ET in Chicago. New York hosts Detroit on Tuesday, so this is the second night of a back-to-back for Mike Brown’s team. Chicago plays in Boston on Monday and gets Tuesday off.
The season series last year went 3-1 to New York. Chicago won the first meeting 135-125 on 31 October, then the Knicks took the next three, 128-116, 105-99 in Chicago and 136-96 in April. The Bulls finished 31-51, 12th in the East, while New York won 53 games and the title, beating San Antonio 4-1 in the Finals.
No odds were posted when we wrote this preview. We think the market will hesitate on the Knicks because of the record and the back-to-back, and that’s where we see the value: the shooting slump has an end date, and Chicago’s defense hasn’t shown it can stop anyone.
Chicago Bulls: Caleb Wilson is scoring, the defense is leaking, and Claxton is out 
Tiago Splitter’s first three games as head coach have produced one win, a 132-125 result in Milwaukee last Friday. Rookie Caleb Wilson scored 21 with six rebounds and two blocks, Leonard Miller added 19 off the bench and Powell had 19.
Wilson has been the story of Chicago’s start. After a 16-point debut on 7-of-21 shooting with nine turnovers in Toronto, he scored 30 points with 14 rebounds against Washington on Saturday. Buzelis added 21 and Powell 18 with four steals in that game, and the Bulls still lost 124-120 to a Wizards team that won 17 games last season.
Nic Claxton is out with a hamstring injury, and Jalen Smith has started at center in his place. Without Claxton, Chicago has little rim protection, which fits the 128 points per game it has given up. Patrick Williams has been a coach’s decision DNP three games running.
Josh Giddey is reportedly playing hurt. He scored two points on 1-of-10 shooting in the Toronto loss. Dailyn Swain and Jordan Hawkins missed the opener with illness, and their status for Wednesday hasn’t been confirmed.
Chicago averages 114.7 points, enough to stay close against teams that defend poorly. Against a Knicks team that has held opponents to 108.0 per game even while losing, the Bulls will need Wilson to carry the scoring for a third straight game.
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New York Knicks: 0-3, allowing only 108.0 a game, losing on shooting 
The losses have come by six, four and nine points. New York fell 106-100 to Philadelphia at home on opening night, shooting 37% from the field, with Jalen Brunson going 6 of 19 for 21 points and Karl-Anthony Towns posting 19 and 12.
In Boston on Friday, the Knicks lost 107-103. Towns had 22 and 10, OG Anunoby 20 and 10, and Josh Hart 10 points with 12 rebounds. Brunson shot 7 of 17 for 19, while Jayson Tatum scored 36 for the Celtics.
Sunday’s 111-102 home loss to Orlando followed a different script. New York led 12-0, Brunson scored 28, Towns had 22 points and 14 rebounds and Anunoby 22, but the Knicks lost the fourth quarter 40-27 and turned it over 14 times. Franz Wagner finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists for the Magic.
Three of the five likely starters, Brunson, Towns and Anunoby, have produced at or near their usual levels in at least one game. The issue has been efficiency, especially Brunson’s 13-of-36 shooting in the first two games, and that tends to correct itself over a larger sample.
Tuesday’s game against Detroit adds fatigue to the equation. Back-to-backs usually mean reduced minutes for veterans, and Brown has a deep enough rotation, with Hart, Mikal Bridges and Shamet available, to spread the load against a Bulls team missing its starting center.
Probable lineup Chicago Bulls: Not announced at time of publication (recent starters include Josh Giddey and Jalen Smith; Nic Claxton out)
Probable lineup New York Knicks: Not announced at time of publication
Free NBA Prediction: Chicago Bulls vs New York Knicks
Our prediction: New York Knicks to win
We’re backing the Knicks to win in Chicago. They’ve lost three games by a combined 19 points to Philadelphia, Boston and Orlando, three teams that should finish well above the Bulls, and they now face a defense allowing 128 points a game without its starting center. No price was available at the time of writing, and we’d only play the Knicks at 1.45 or longer.
The back-to-back works against this pick. New York plays Detroit 24 hours earlier, and a fatigued team shooting poorly can lose to anyone on the road. Wilson’s 30-point night against Washington also shows Chicago can score in bunches at home.
We still trust the defending champions to find their shot against the worst defense they’ve faced so far. New York won three of four meetings last season by an average of 19.3 points in those wins, and the Bulls haven’t shown anything defensively to suggest that gap has closed.
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