Betting on the Bulls: Sportsbooks’ Outlook as NBA Season Heats Up

It’s fair to say that expectations for the Chicago Bulls were not super high going into the 2025/26 NBA season. In mid-October, just before the season got underway, the Bulls were predicted to hit somewhere around 37 wins for the season, with some analysts giving their Playoff hopes at just under 7%. Pragmatic fans would have been in agreement, whereas the more optimistic might have felt the Bulls were being sold a bit short.

The latter group probably felt vindicated when the Bulls stormed to a 5-0 start to the season, a run that saw them defeat strong teams like the Knicks and Pistons, both of whom look like they are going to be among the top contenders in the Eastern Conference. Alas, the Bulls then managed to lose five of the last six, going into mid-November at 6-5. Not an awful record by any means, but there is a sense that reality has hit home.

The Bulls have defied some of the gloom

The question, though, is whether the expectations around the Bulls have changed a month into the new season.  In the simplest terms, we can say yes, as DraftKings’ NBA betting lines have changed for the Bulls from game to game, as have the team’s futures odds.

Of course, that’s not to say sportsbooks believe that the Bulls are NBA Championship contenders – far from it – the team is still priced at huge odds, somewhere around +15000, to go on a miraculous run to the Finals. Miracles do happen, but it’s going to require something different from the roster than what we have seen so far.

Yet, if we can put on our pragmatic hats for a moment, it’s the odds for the Bulls to make the Playoffs that look most interesting. The current price at the time of writing from DraftKings is -110 for the Bulls to make the Playoffs, and +100 not to do so. Now, here’s the kicker: the implied probability of those -110 odds is 52.4%, meaning the Bulls (in betting terms) are more likely to make the Playoffs than not. That is at least something positive for fans to hold onto in the coming months, especially if the team can stay above .500.

Analysts have had to revisit their predictions

Yet, to answer our previous question, refer back to what we said about the Bulls being given a 7% chance to make the Playoffs in the preseason prediction articles. In fact, ESPN put the Bulls’ chances at 6.1%. Now, we are not saying that sportsbooks’ odds always match the predictions of sports broadcasters and analysts, but it is clear that the Bulls have done better than they expected, and that is showing up on the sportsbooks’ radar.

There is, of course, a long, hard road ahead. Billy Donovan has recently criticized the depth of quality on the roster. And we have seen even in this early part of the season that momentum can work both ways. Yet, there has certainly been enough evidence for fans to be hopeful.

The post Betting on the Bulls: Sportsbooks’ Outlook as NBA Season Heats Up appeared first on ChiCitySports.