Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns will travel to the Windy City to play the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. This season has started rough for the Suns and Bulls for different reasons, but they have enough talent to be contenders in their respective conferences.
The Suns snapped their three-game losing skid last week with a 14-point victory over the Detroit Pistons. Durant was the leading scorer with 41 points, five assists, and four rebounds. The Bulls also snapped their three-game losing streak with a 130-113 win over the Jazz. Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan paced the Bulls with 24 and 21 points, respectively.
Here are the odds and our best bet for Phoenix-Chicago:
Suns vs. Bulls odds, spread and total
Suns vs. Bulls how to watch
- Date: Wednesday, Nov. 8
- Game Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
- Venue: United Center
- How to Watch (TV): NBA League Pass
- Suns Record: 3-4
- Bulls Record: 3-5
Suns vs. Bulls injury reports
Phoenix Suns injury report
- Bradley Beal (questionable, back)
- Devin Booker (out, calf)
- Damien Lee (out, knee)
Chicago Bulls injury report (H3)
- Lonzo Ball (out, knee)
- Alex Caruso (probable, elbow)
- Patrick Williams (probable, finger)
Suns vs. Bulls key players to watch
Phoenix Suns
Kevin Durant: With Booker and Beal missing time because of injury, Durant has had to be the Suns’ main offensive threat. The 35-year-old superstar forward is posting 29.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. Durant is shooting an efficient 52.1% from the field and 34.6% from three-point range.
Durant has scored 30-plus points in three road games this season and will likely have to do it again tonight against the Bulls, who have three formidable scoring options (LaVine, DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic).
Eric Gordon: Gordon has given the Suns a nice boost in the starting lineup as they’ve needed another scoring option behind Durant. The 34-year-old has found the fountain of youth, scoring 15.3 points per game on 46.8% shooting from the field and 36.4% from deep. The last time Gordon averaged 15 or more points per game was in the 2020-21 season with the Rockets (17.8).
Chicago Bulls
Zach LaVine: LaVine hasn’t shot the ball well from beyond the arc this season (32.2%), but he’s still scoring 22.5 points per game. The 28-year-old played well in Monday night’s win against the Jazz, dropping 24 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 from deep. LaVine has scored 20 or more points in five out of his last six games despite only having three games with two or more made threes.
Nikola Vucevic: The 33-year-old center has had a quiet start this season, but he’s averaging a double-double with 15.1 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. In the Bulls’ win over the Jazz on Monday, the veteran center only had 10 points and eight rebounds.
However, Vucevic had a vintage performance at the beginning of the month against the Dallas Mavericks, where he had 21 points and 20 rebounds. The Bulls will be looking for Vucevic to crash the boards against Suns center Jusuf Nurkic.
Suns vs. Bulls prediction and pick
As we pointed out earlier, neither team has played their best to start this season. But they have a chance to create a winning streak tonight. The Suns could get Bradley Beal back, who will help out on the offensive end, but expectations should be low. If he plays, there’s another scorer for Durant. But if not, it will be up to the future Hall of Fame forward to take over the game.
As for the Bulls, they should be a lock to win, but you don’t know which team will show up on a nightly basis. Therefore, I’ll make a play on the total for tonight’s game. The UNDER is 2-2 at home for the Bulls, while the UNDER is 3-1 for the Suns on the road.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.