Bulls vs. Knicks Prediction and Odds: Can New York Upset Chicago?

The rubber match between the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls will take place on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. 

The first two matchups between these two teams were in Chicago, with the Knicks winning the first game by a point and the Bulls winning the second by six. 

New York is coming off a two-point loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, but it has shown up in big games this season. Can Julius Randle and company get back on track tonight? 

Here are the odds via WynnBET:

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Bulls vs. Knicks Odds, Spread and Total

Spread:

• Bulls -2.0 (-110)
• Knicks +2.0 (-110)

Moneyline:

• Bulls: -125
• Knicks: +105

Total:

• 212.5 (Over -110/Under -110)

Bulls vs. Knicks Prediction and Pick

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau made a major move this week, removing guard Kemba Walker from the rotation and putting Alec Burks in the starting lineup. 

Burks is averaging 24.0 points per game in his two starts this season, and the Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks before narrowly losing to Brooklyn. The move to Burks has improved New York’s defense, and Thibodeau loves the switchability that the lengthy wing gives the team. 

“I just don’t like the way we’ve been trending, the inconsistency of our team,” Thibodeau said earlier this week. “I want to get bigger. I want our defense to get bigger at the point of the attack. So basically that’s it. You got to do something different.”

Prior to Walker’s benching, The Athletic’s Fred Katz pointed out a disturbing trend that has occurred for New York with Walker in the lineup this season.

“The Knicks allow 99.0 points per 100 possessions when Walker is on the bench,” Katz wrote. “That’d be the best defensive efficiency in the NBA if it belonged to a team. They allow 116.3 when he is in the game, which would be the worst defensive efficiency.”

Right now, New York is 20th in the league in defensive rating, but I think the Knicks are a live dog in this spot against Chicago. 

New York hasn’t been a great home team this year, going just 4-7 against the spread, but it’s hard to view them as the same team with this lineup change. I’m backing New York in this spot, and I like the Knicks even more if RJ Barrett (non-COVID illness) is able to go. 

Pick: Knicks Moneyline (+105)

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