Washington Wizards vs Chicago Bulls Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 12/04/2024, 00:44  by Joseph King | Modified on 12/04/2024 at 00:44 in NBA Predictions

The 14th-place Washington Wizards play host to the ninth-placed Chicago Bulls for the penultimate game in the NBA regular season. The Wizards 15-65 record means they currently rank as the second-worst team in the NBA with a 1.5 game lead over the bottom-place Detroit Pistons. The only thing left for the hosts to play for is to avoid the ignominy that comes with finishing the year as the league’s worst squad. They come into this contest off the back of a 130-121 away loss to the Timberwolves on Tuesday, a result which marked their fourth defeat in a row and their seventh from the last eight overall. Washington will likely have its leading scorer Kyle Kuzma (22.2 ppg) miss out here after the 28-year-old has missed the last three in a row as well as five of the team’s last six games.

Chicago comes into this one on the second leg of a road back-to-back after they were able to secure a 127-105 away victory over the Pistons on Thursday evening. Demar Derozan led the way with 39 points for his Bulls in a win that snapped a two-game losing streak. It also marked only their fourth win in the past 11 games as Chicago has struggled for consistency in the last few weeks. However, the win was significant as it locked up ninth-place for the Bulls which gives them home court advantage for their play-in tournament game vs the Hawks. Chicago’s 38-42 record gives them a two-game lead over the 10th-placed Hawks with only two games left in the 2023/24 regular season. The Bulls have won two of their three meetings with Atlanta this season, meaning that they possess the tiebreaker advantage should they finish with the same record.