NBA 2021/22 on Thursday, 23/12/2021
The Chicago Bulls will have an easy game against the Toronto Raptors. For hardly any NBA team has been so decimated by the Omikron variant and the associated safety measures as that of the Canadians!
The 2019 champions will even have problems to scrape together five halfway NBA-ready professional players. Because the alternatives available to head coach Nick Nurse are not exactly numerous.
Any serious NBA betting tip made during this crazy Christmas season must necessarily take into account the personnel situation of the respective teams on the day of the game in question. Because the success or failure of a bet can easily depend on this.
Due to the rapidly spreading Omikron variant, the entire league is currently on the line. More than 80 players are currently in quarantine, while more than a dozen matches have been postponed in the last few days alone.
But while the Chicago Bulls seem to be past their peak of cancellations, the Raptors, on the other hand, are in the eye of the cyclone right now…
Between 1 and 13 December, a total of ten Bulls players said goodbye to the quarantine timeout. But in the meantime, the most important players have returned and continued their team’s strong season so far undeterred.
Just a few days ago, the Bulls celebrated back-to-back victories over the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets – and the starting five seemed to harmonise well again despite the short time off.
They are still missing one Zach LaVine, but for Thursday against the Raptors the hard core consisting of DeRozan, White, Green, Lonzo Ball, Nikola Vučević, Tony Bradley, Marko Simonović, Alfonzo McKinnie and Tyler Cook are all in the mix.
While the home side seem to have survived their darkest Covid hour, the Canadians are in need. After the Cavaliers (8), the Raptors (7) are the team with the most Covid absences at the moment.
The 2019 NBA champions are certainly not playing a weak season. After all, they have won three of their last four games – including an impressive 119-110 victory over this season’s surprisingly strong Warriors.
Now, some basketball fans might correctly object, “If the Raptors were able to beat the Golden State Warriors just a few days ago, then it can’t be that bad against the Bulls” – but beware!
Because in the 119-110 win over the Californians Fred VanVleet (27), Scottie Barnes (21), Precious Achiuwa (17) were still allowed to play. These were also the Raptors’ top scorers, all of whom will now be missing.
But that’s not all: Of the starting five from two days ago against the Warriors, only OG Anunoby is still eligible to play. The Canadians will therefore hardly be able to field a competitive squad – and yet the game will still take place!
Yet Toronto will need every man – especially when it comes against the Bulls. Because in the 2021 calendar year, both franchises played a total of four NBA duels against each other and in all four cases, Chicago emerged victorious in the end!
The many failures also have an effect on the odds. Because no matter whether it is American or German betting providers: All seem to have understood that the Raptors only have a vague chance of a lucky punch.
A success of the home side is traded at low odds of 1.19, whereas a more than surprising triumph of the Canadians is offered at around 4.90.
Conclusion: A careful Bulls Raptors tip must necessarily address the numerous corona-related absences that completely derailed a discreet squad like the Raptors’ overnight.
The Canadians showed their best side against the Warriors just a few days ago. However, only OG Anunoby will be able to play against the Californians, the rest will have to go into quarantine.
The Bulls, on the other hand, have the worst behind them. They are still missing one Zach LaVine, but the hard core is back by now and already led Chicago to victory in the two games against Lakers and Rockets!
My prediction: Bulls win by at least nine points!
