Pre-Gamin’: Bulls at Thunder (7:00 CT) – Projected Lineups, How to Watch, More - Bleacher Nation (2025)

Josh Giddey revenge game! Here we go!

Game Info

Chicago Bulls (33-41) at Oklahoma City Thunder (62-12) – 7:00 p.m. CT on Chicago Sports Network (TV) and670 The Score(Radio)

Projected Starting Lineups

Chicago Bulls

1. Coby White
2. Josh Giddey
3. Matas Buzelis
4. Patrick Williams
5. Nikola Vucevic

Oklahoma City Thunder

1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
2. Lu Dort
3. Jalen Williams
4. Isaiah Hartenstein
5. Chet Holmgren

Odds

Chicago comes into today’s game as 14-point underdogs against Oklahoma City atDraftKings Sportsbook.

What To Watch For

• The Bulls had a hiccup at home against Dallas on Saturday, but still, they’ve been playing great basketball as of late. Tonight will put them to the test more than any other game in the previous month-long stretch has as they go on the road to take on the NBA’s best in the Thunder. Good news for Chicago, it looks like Josh Giddey will get his chance at a revenge game in his old arena against his old team. He was on the injury report earlier, but as of now, it looks like he’ll give it a go. He’s been playing the best basketball of his career as of late, and I’m very intrigued to see how he looks against his old team. If Chet Holmgren and/or Isaiah Hartenstein don’t play for OKC, look for him to be aggressive in attacking the paint early and often.

• Speaking of Hartenstein and Holmgren, their availability will obviously have a big impact on Nikola Vucevic tonight. If they’re out, Vooch could have a big night in the paint going up against a smaller Thunder lineup. He did have a nice night, at least offensively, against the Mavericks last game out with 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. It might have been his best game since returning from his calf injury. On the flip side, if Holmgren and Hartenstein can go, they can probably take advantage of Vooch a bit down low, and I would think OKC would try and get to the paint quite a bit.

• Despite the one-point loss, Matas Buzelis had one of his best games as a Bull with 28 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists against the Mavs on Saturday night. He was red-hot from three, shooting 5-7 and was 10-17 from the field overall. This should be a really fun test for him. How will he look coming off such a great game? Will he rise to the occasion, going up against the best team in the NBA on the road? These are the types of tests that are so fun to watch young, promising players take, especially ones like Buzelis who play with so much confidence. I’m really looking forward to watching him in this one tonight.

• We get to watch Alex Caruso tonight!

Injury Report

Chicago Bulls

• Lonzo Ball DOUBTFUL (wrist)
• Kevin Huerter OUT (thumb)
• Tre Jones OUT (foot)

Oklahoma City Thunder

• Chet Holmgren QUESTIONABLE (hip)
• Jaylin Williams QUESTIONABLE (hip)
• Ousmane Dieng OUT (calf)
• Aaron Wiggins OUT (Achilles)
• Alex Ducas OUT (quad)

written by

Matt is from the Chicagoland area and has been working in Chicago sports since 2015 with stops at WGN Radio, the Chicago Blackhawks, Stadium, and NBC Sports Chicago prior to landing at Betsperts. Matt covers just about everything for Betsperts and Bleacher Nation but focuses on the NHL and college football.