The Oklahoma City Thunder will hit the road to start their 2023-2024 campaign against the Chicago Bulls. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday at the United Center. Both teams finished 40-42 last season and were 10th in their respective conferences. They also both won their first play-in game but were eliminated in the second just shy of the NBA playoffs.
Oklahoma City has won six of the last 10 straight up and are 5-4-1 against the spread during that span. However, Chicago is favored by 2 points in the latest Bulls vs. Thunder odds via SportsLine consensus and the over/under is 227.5 points. Before entering any Thunder vs. Bulls picks, you'll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past four-plus seasons. The model finished the 2022-23 NBA season on a 72-39 roll on all top-rated NBA picks, returning nearly $2,800. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Oklahoma City-Chicago. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA betting lines for the game:
- Bulls vs. Thunder spread: Bulls -2
- Bulls vs. Thunder over/under: 227.5 points
- Bulls vs. Thunder money line: Bulls: -128, Thunder: +108
- Bulls vs. Thunder picks: See picks here
What you need to know about the Bulls
Chicago is a veteran squad that remains largely intact despite an active NBA offseason. DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic and Zach LaVine are all former NBA all-stars who have been playing together for multiple seasons under Billy Donovan, and the hope is that the franchise's younger players can help provide more support.
Patrick Williams, Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White will all play major roles outside of Chicago's big three and their continued development will be critical to the Bulls evolving beyond a middle-of-the-road team in the East. Chicago will lean heavily on its defense in 2023-24 after ranking seventh in points allowed per game (111.8) and fifth in defensive rating (112.2) last season.
What you need to know about the Thunder
The Thunder have a young roster on the rise led by emerging superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He made his first All-Star appearance in his fifth NBA season after averaging 31.4 points, 5.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds in 2022-23. Oklahoma City's top six scorers were all under 25 last season, as were five of the top six rebounders and the top four in assists.
Now Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Luguentz Dort and Jalen Williams will have the benefit of Chet Holmgren returning to action after he missed his entire would-be rookie season. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft is a dynamic shot blocker who is expected to be in the NBA Rookie of the Year conversation in 2023-24.
How to make Bulls vs. Thunder picks
The model has simulated Bulls vs. Thunder 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Under and it's also generated a point-spread pick where one side hits more than 60% of the time. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
Who wins Thunder vs. Bulls and which side of the spread hits more than 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see the picks, all from the model that finished last year on a 72-39 roll on top-rated NBA picks, and find out.
