Chicago Bulls vs Detroit Pistons Prediction: Pistons hit with suspensions, Bulls gaining some steam

NBA is on and this has been a fascinating phase of play as we are heading into the New Year which means we won’t be far removed from the midseason window. As we head deeper, things are going to be trickier as teams can no longer big lapses, some lapses also bring in trades or certain lineup adjustments. Then there are unforeseen lineup changes throughout the seen, caused by either injuries or suspensions. The Detroit Pistons just saw a bunch of players getting suspended due to an altercation, they will take on the Chicago Bulls in this affair.

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls come into this game after one of their best wins of the season as they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 119:113 in Overtime. They were down by six with a minute to go but then Patrick Williams, DeMar DeRozan, and Ayu Dosunmu made late-game shots to send the game to Overtime. During the Overtime, DeRozan scored eight straight points to seal the deal and he finished with 42 points.

This was Bulls’ fourth win in five games which is the best five-game return the team has enjoyed. Three of these wins have been away from home and against teams with around a 50% win record. DeMar has been the leading scorer but the scoring balance has been much better lately. The defense has improved a lot too but the trouble is that a terrible start has thrown the Bulls' record to just 15 wins and 19 losses. They have a lot of catching up to do.

Detroit Pistons

The Pistons come into this game after completing a 121:101 win against the Magic as Alec Burks stacked up 32 points. It was a game that saw a big altercation as players off the bench got involved too and as a result, more than 10 players got suspended. Anyway, this won broke a six-game losing trail and the Pistons have only won two in a row only once throughout the season. The team has been without Cade Cunningham for long and that has exacerbated their issues.

Signing Bojan Bogdanovic may have avoided even more losses for the Detroit unit that has just nine wins and has piled up 28 losses. Bojan has been averaging over 20 points a game whereas the rest of the offense has been unreliable. One shining light has been the rebounding chops displayed by Jalen Duren, a rookie who has made grabbing 10+ rebounds a habit. Overall, Detroit is in shambles are perhaps riding the Victor Wembanayama train.

Injuries

• Pistons: OUT: Cade Cunningham Killian Hayes, Hamidou Diallo, Isaiah Livers. QUESTIONABLE: Marvin Bagley;
• Bulls: OUT: Lonzo Ball. QUESTIONABLE: Derrick Jones Jr, Patrick Williams, Coby White. PROBABLE: Alex Caruso.

Player Props Predictions

• Expected Leading Scorers: DeMar DeRozan(30+ Points), Bojan Bogdanovic(21-25 Points);
• Expected Leading Rebounders: Jalen Duren(12-16 Rebounds), Nikola Vucevic(9-12 Rebounds).

Expert Betting Tips

The Pistons are short-handed for this game whereas with DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine active, the Bulls can exploit their fragile defense. The Bulls have been playing their best ball lately and with players other than DeMar stepping up, things look encouraging for them through and through. That is why I back the Bulls to come up with a big win here. I predict a scoreline of 126:113 in their favor.