Chicago Bulls vs Denver Nuggets Prediction: Nuggets have gotten stronger

Denver failed to beat Chicago last season, but in the preseason they have a chance to take a mini rematch. Bookmakers estimate the odds of the teams to be roughly even — which way will the scales tip?

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls finally made the playoffs last season, but making any progress will be difficult. The competition in the Eastern Conference has only grown, and the Bulls have failed to strengthen their roster. Their only hope is DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic playing better than he did during the regular season. There's also a chance that some of the youngsters will be promoted to the next level. Billy Donovan's team started the preseason with a loss to New Orleans. The Bulls coach didn't use his teammates much. Vucevic was the only player to make more than 10 shots from the field. DeRozan earned a lot of fouls and became the most productive Chicago Texans with 22 points.

Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets are looking intriguing after Nikola Jokic's two enchanting seasons. Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. are finally back, and they were exactly what Denver missed in the last playoffs. The club's management did a good job over the summer getting Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown, thus strengthening the defense. That said, the start of the preseason has not yet been very impressive as Michael Malone's team lost to Oklahoma State 101-112. Jokic made only 1 shot on 15 minutes, while Porter and Murray were much more visible. Denver's Zeke Nnaji was the most productive player in the game with 17 points.

Head-to-head encounters

Denver won 8 of their last 10 face-offs with Chicago, but the Bulls have the final word. The Bulls came out on top in their last meeting, 97-109. Murray, Porter, Hyland and Rivers did not appear on the floor for the Nuggets, while Chicago was without DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, Patrick Williams and Coby White.

Key stats

• Chicago won 3 of 10 home matches;
• Denver won 5 of the last 10 away matches.

Expert Betting Tips

Chicago failed to beat New Orleans when they made good field-goal attempts; now the Bulls will have a more drawn-out game. Denver is unlikely to load up on Jokic, who just recently returned from the EuroBasket, but they have a long bench and quite a few promising young players. The Nuggets will allow less turnovers and have a lot of decent shooters, while Chicago simply has no one to create space for their teammates. Lonzo Ball's injury only exacerbates the situation, and there aren't many worthy candidates at point guard. We suggest betting on the following outcomes:

• TU (220.5) for 2.00;
• W2 (incl. OT) for 2.40;
• W2+TO (218.5) for 4.00.