NBA 2021/22 on Tuesday, 04.01.2021
The Chicago Bulls could continue their winning streak, which by all appearances even survived the New Year’s Eve party, with a win over the Orlando Magic. In any case, the infamous momentum is clearly on the side of the home side.
In my Bulls Magic tip, we will also look at the many contrasts that clearly distinguish both teams of the times. Because for more than a few, Chicago is increasingly becoming a potential title contender…
The Bulls are unstoppable and in fact I think the bookmakers are underestimating the current Eastern Conference leaders a little bit. Because nobody really has them on their radar!
The bookmaking giant Bet365, for example, is offering almost astronomical odds of 26.00 for an overall NBA victory for the team from Illinois – and that despite the fact that the Red and Whites have started this year with a really capable squad.
It’s not for nothing that the Bulls are riding the longest winning streak in the league at the moment. The narrow 120-119 win over the Washington Wizards was their seventh in a row
One reason why the league leaders are doing so well at the moment is that, with the exception of Tony Bradley, Lonzo Ball and Marko Simonovic, no player has fallen victim to the Corona measures. The strong starting five is therefore almost intact!
For the Magic, on the other hand, it hardly seems to make a difference who exactly is starting for them. In their current form, they will hardly be able to pose a threat to the Bulls.
After all, Orlando has only won 19.4% of its games so far. Only the Pistons have a worse record in the NBA! And the statistics suggest that it seems to be even more difficult for them to win a game away from home!
Interestingly, the franchise with the most away losses in the NBA (17) will face the team with the fewest home losses in the Eastern Conference (4) on Tuesday.
That alone indicates that the Bulls should have an easy game. Incidentally, the last head-to-head meeting just under a month ago, which ended in an absolute debacle for the underdogs, also gives us reason to believe this.
At the end of November, the Bulls literally smacked the Magic against the wall in a 123-88 victory! The duo of DeRozan and LaVine – who will also start tonight, by the way – proved to be the deciding factor with a total of 45 points!
In the last meeting, it was the low field-goal rate of 37.5% that particularly hurt the Magic. In all likelihood, that won’t change much in the rematch either, as the Bulls have a stout in-the-paint defence.
Although I think a win for the home side is most likely due to their current form, Orlando will probably not be dispatched in the same way as a month ago.
The Wagner brothers are getting better and better and prevented an embarrassment in the two recent doubleheader losses against the Bucks.
With a difference of 18 and 17 points respectively, the gap to the overall NBA winner in 2020/21 could be reduced to a “reasonable level”.
In terms of the odds, however, it is very clear who is the heavy favourite tonight. German bookmakers are trading a win for the home side at odds that on average lead to a payout of only one tenth of the bet.
On the other hand, in the event of a win by the underdogs, a profit factor of seven can be expected. While I also think the Bulls have a clear advantage, the handicap bet should still not be set too high …
Conclusion: The Bulls will probably not be able to be traded by the bookmakers as a glaring outsider for the NBA overall victory for much longer. Especially since the Eastern Conference leaders have now won seven games in a row.
The Magic, on the other hand, are the franchise with the second-weakest record overall, which also has little penetrating power in the half court. Not for nothing did Chicago embarrass the underdog to the bone almost a month ago.
It won’t be quite as bad this time, but the bottom line is that the team with the most away losses in the NBA will meet the franchise that has suffered the fewest home defeats in the EC so far.
My Bulls Magic tip: The host will end up with at least 13 points difference
