- 1 Chicago Bulls vs San Antonio Spurs: the NBA’s worst defense against a 7-2 team built around Wembanyama
- 2 Chicago Bulls: 27.9% from three and a rookie scoring 21.6
- 3 San Antonio Spurs: seven straight wins and a top-five defensive rating
- 4 Free NBA Prediction: Chicago Bulls vs San Antonio Spurs
- 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 San Antonio Spurs: the NBA’s worst defense against a 7-2 team built around Wembanyama 
Every opponent Chicago has faced this season has scored at least 124 points. The Bulls allow 129.6 a game, the most in the NBA, and their net rating of minus 17.5 is the worst in the league. Those numbers are the background to Wednesday 11 November, when San Antonio visits the United Center at 8:00pm ET.
The Spurs are 7-2 and have won seven straight. The run includes Victor Wembanyama’s 52 points, 24 rebounds and eight blocks in a 112-111 win over Dallas on 4 November, all career highs, on a night he was playing through a virus and turned his ankle in the fourth quarter. Two nights later he had 30 and 14 in a 124-109 win at Sacramento.
Chicago is 1-7 and has lost six straight, which ties it for the worst record in the league. The latest was a 135-105 loss at Madison Square Garden on 4 November, when the Knicks led 84-52 at halftime. Its only win came on 23 October, 132-125 in Milwaukee.
The schedule is the one thing working for the Bulls. San Antonio plays in Portland on Saturday and Phoenix on Monday, and Chicago is the last of four straight road games, with a flight from Phoenix and one day of rest. The Bulls host Philadelphia on Sunday and then have two full days off.
San Antonio swept last season’s series 2-0. Wembanyama scored 41 with 16 rebounds in a 129-114 home win on 30 March, and 38 with 18 in the fourth quarter at the United Center on 10 November 2025, when the Spurs came back from 104-91 down to win 121-117. That was San Antonio’s first win in Chicago since March 2021.
Chicago Bulls: 27.9% from three and a rookie scoring 21.6 
Caleb Wilson, the fourth pick in June’s draft, leads Chicago with 21.6 points and 6.7 rebounds a game. He was benched for the fourth quarter at the Garden, though, a decision that drew attention because the game was already gone. Norman Powell, signed this summer on a two-year deal worth about $45 million, adds 20.3 points and has been mentioned as an in-season trade candidate.
The shooting is the root of the problem. Chicago makes 27.9% of its threes, last in the league, and 41.6% of its shots overall. Josh Giddey averages 7.9 assists but shoots 36.9% from the field, and the offensive rating of 105.9 ranks 28th.
The defense hasn’t compensated. Opponents have scored 124, 134, 133, 125, 126 and 135 in the six straight losses, and Chicago ranks 28th in points allowed off turnovers. The Bulls also play fast, at a pace of 105.2, which gives better teams more possessions to build a lead.
Help is coming in the frontcourt. Nic Claxton, acquired in a four-team trade finalized on 10 July, hasn’t played yet because of a left hamstring problem, but he was a full participant in practice on 6 November and Tiago Splitter said he’ll probably debut against Philadelphia on Sunday with a minutes limit. Jalen Smith, averaging 12.1 points and 8.6 rebounds, hurt his left hand against the Knicks but doesn’t believe it’s serious.
The lineup Chicago has used most is Giddey, Powell, Matas Buzelis, Wilson and Smith, for 97 minutes so far. Claxton is expected to take the center spot once he’s ready, which would give the Bulls a rim protector to put in front of Wembanyama.
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San Antonio Spurs: seven straight wins and a top-five defensive rating 
San Antonio’s defensive rating of 107.45 ranks fifth in the NBA, and its net rating is plus 8.07. That’s the number that separates the Spurs from most good offensive teams: they reached last season’s Finals after going 62-20, and they’ve started this one by winning games on the defensive end.
Wembanyama is averaging 29.0 points and 12.4 rebounds over eight games, and 32.5 during the win streak. His three-point shooting is low at 26.2%, but he went 16-of-28 from the field against Dallas and lives at the line when teams send help. No player since Bob McAdoo in 1974 had put up 50 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks in a game until his night against the Mavericks.
Mitch Johnson has started three guards around him. Dylan Harper averages 18.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists, De’Aaron Fox 15.9 points and 6.4 assists on 58.2% shooting, and Stephon Castle 14.7 points with 5.0 assists. In Sacramento, Castle, Devin Vassell and Harper each scored 19.
The weak part is the shooting. Depending on the count, the Spurs make between 32.2% and 34.8% of their threes, and they rank 24th in threes made. They also went 3-5 against the spread before the Sacramento game, when they won by 15 as 17.5-point favorites.
Tobias Harris, signed from Detroit this summer, is out with a left calf problem but expected back around 8 or 9 November. Jayden Quaintance is out until early December with a knee injury. Wembanyama’s ankle is worth checking on Wednesday after his heavy week.
Probable lineup Chicago Bulls: Josh Giddey, Norman Powell, Matas Buzelis, Caleb Wilson, Jalen Smith (Nic Claxton expected to debut with a minutes limit)
Probable lineup San Antonio Spurs: De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell, Victor Wembanyama
Free NBA Prediction: Chicago Bulls vs San Antonio Spurs
Our prediction: San Antonio Spurs to win by 10 points or more
The Spurs’ record against the spread is the honest argument against this pick: they’ve won plenty without covering big numbers. But Chicago’s six-game losing streak has come with an average margin of more than 16 points, and four of those six defeats were by 14 or more. A defense that’s allowed at least 124 points every night isn’t built to keep Wembanyama under control.
The fatigue question is real for San Antonio, at the end of a four-game road trip with one day’s rest, but it’s the same group that won at Sacramento on Friday and was already on the road. The Bulls get two days off, which helps their legs but not their 27.9% three-point shooting or their 28th-ranked offense.
A moneyline on San Antonio will be priced short, so we’ll take the margin instead. Last season’s game in Chicago was close until the Spurs’ fourth-quarter run, and this Bulls roster is weaker than that one. We’re backing San Antonio to win by 10 or more.
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