76ers vs Bulls Predictions, Odds & Spread (Oct. 29)

• The Philadelphia 76ers are 1-point underdogs when they visit the Chicago Bulls Saturday night
• Joel Embiid is questionable to play as he’s dealing with knee soreness
• Read below for the 76ers vs Bulls preview, with odds and predictions

The Philadelphia 76ers put together their best win of the young season Friday night, without superstar Joel Embiid.

That might be the scenario they face again Saturday, when they visit the Chicago Bulls.

Both teams will be playing the second night of a back-to-back. The Bulls were downed 129-124 in San Antonio, spoiling an historic night for veteran DeMar DeRozan.

Philly cruised to a 112-90 win in Toronto over the Raptors.

It all gets underway at 8pm ET from the United Center, in a game that can be seen live on NBA TV.

76ers vs Bulls Odds

Odds as of October 29 at FanDuel. Claim the FanDuel Sportsbook promo code to bet on the 76ers vs Bulls game.

Perhaps some injury uncertainty has crept into this one, as NBA odds have this close to a pick’em, with Chicago a slight 1-point favorite and -118 on the moneyline.

Philadelphia Betting Analysis

Embiid sat out Friday in Toronto with knee soreness, and the top-5 candidate in the 2022 NBA MVP odds is listed as questionable against the Bulls.

44 PTS | 8 REB | 4 AST

have a (career) night, @TyreseMaxey! 🤩

🎥 presented by @palottery pic.twitter.com/UfhVUsJoRA

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 29, 2022

De’Anthony Melton started in place of the 5-time All-Star and last year’s scoring champ, but it was Tyrese Maxey who stole the show, dropping a career-high 44 to gain a split in the 2-game mini set in the Great White North.

Maxey hit his first 10 shots, including seven from 3-point range, finishing 15-for-20 from the field and 9-for-12 from distance, to go along with eight rebounds and four assists.

DMelt emerges from the red sea. 🌊 pic.twitter.com/VdAwy5qhSf

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 29, 2022

Melton and Tobias Harris chipped in with 13 apiece, while James Harden took only nine shots, scoring 11 points, adding four rebounds and four assists.

Philly led wire-to-wire to pick up just their second win of the year.

Defensively, Philly held the Raptors to 38.4% shooting, including a 9-for-39 mark from downtown (23.1%)

Chicago Betting Analysis

Drilling a trademark midrange jumper in the first quarter, DeMar DeRozan became just the 50th player in NBA history to crack the 20,000 point plateau. That was about the extent of the celebration, though, as the Bulls’ 2-game win streak came to an halt.

Pop called a timeout to celebrate DeMar reaching 20k points

Respect 🤝 pic.twitter.com/CLMLc0OED7

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 29, 2022

DeRozan had 33 points on 11-for-20 shooting. Reserves Coby White and Andre Drummond were the other top scorers. White had 19 points, four rebounds and four assists and Drummond finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds and three steals.

Chicago was playing without Zach LaVine, who missed the game for a planned rest day for the continued management of his left knee. LaVine had knee surgery in the summer, and has experienced some soreness.

Keldon Johnson is ONLINE with his 5th three-pointer of the night 🙌pic.twitter.com/gQF2f6dJSX

— Spurs Nation (@SpursNationCP) October 29, 2022

This is the most points the Bulls have surrendered in the early going. Coming into the Spurs game, their high-point total allowed was 109, and they were holding teams to a 103-point average.

San Antonio shot 16-for-38 from downtown (42.1%), as teams continue to punish the Bulls from distance. Opponents are shooting 42.5% from three-point range, which is second-worst in the NBA.

76ers vs Bulls Prediction

Both of these teams were pretty competitive with this rest scenario. Philly was 6-5 on the second night of a back-to-back a year ago, while the Bulls were 9-8. They were just two of 10 teams with winning records.

The spread is a little different: the Bulls are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games playing on 0 days rest. For the Sixers, they’re 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a straight up win.

2/6/22
Joel Embiid vs Bulls (32 min)

40 points (14-23 FG) (2 3’s) (10-11 FT)
10 rebounds 3 assists 2 blocks pic.twitter.com/Ju9xffoOYt

— Jayhawks In The NBA (@NBA_Jayhawks) February 6, 2022

The 76ers were a perfect 4-0 in the season series last year, including 9-point and 11-point wins in Chicago. The closest margin for victory in any of the head-to-head matchups was five points.

Obviously, Embiid’s status is the most important thing here. It literally took a career night from Maxey to stop the Sixers from dropping to 1-5 on the season.
Assuming he plays — and even if he doesn’t — I think Philly rolls.

Pick:

• 76ers +1 (-108); 1 unit to win 0.93 units
• NBA Betting Record: 1-3 ATS, 1-0 ML, -1.65 units