Chicago Bulls NBA Championship Betting Odds and Predictions

The Chicago Bulls, despite missing out on Lebron James and Chris Bosh this offseason, still landed a major asset in Carlos Boozer, who should make the team much better this year as they seek to prove that they can hang with the top teams in the East. Unfortunately for the Bulls, the competition they’ll face is extremely tough – the Orlando Magic, the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat are three of the best four teams in the NBA, so Chicago figures to have a tough time just getting out of their own conference. The Bulls will be much better this year, and they should battle the Atlanta Hawks for 4^th in the East, but ultimately they aren’t Championship contenders yet.

Carlos Boozer is a huge addition if he’s healthy, which, admittedly is a big if. He’s one of the league’s best scorers in the paint, and also has one of the league’s finest turnaround jumpers. Though he’ll undoubtedly miss having Deron Williams at the point, Derrick Rose is almost as good and should get the Boozer the ball where he needs it. Boozer pairs up remarkably well with the Bulls franchise center, Joakim Noah. Boozer’s defense is relatively weak, and Noah will cover for him particularly well, as he protects the paint as well as anyone in the league aside from Dwight Howard. Together the two are one of the NBA’s best frontcourts.

The Bulls have Derrick Rose at point guard, who scores as well as anyone else in the league at the point guard position and is becoming a better passer as his career develops. With Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver, one of the league’s best three point shooters, splitting time at shooting guard, the Bulls’ backcourt is also very dangerous. Luol Deng is a more than adequate small forward, which gives the Bulls one of the best starting fives in the league. Their bench is a little bit thin, which may hurt them over the course of the season.

If Boozer and Noah are healthy, the Bulls will be a much better team than last year, and might even push the Celtics for third in the East. They should be in the third to fifth range regardless, depending on how the Celts and the Atlanta Hawks play this year. However, despite this improvement, they will have a very difficult time emerging from the Eastern Conference in the playoffs. The Magic are an elite team that should be just as good as last year, while the Heat could be the best team in the NBA this season, and maybe the best team the NBA has seen since the Shaq-Kobe Lakers won three straight titles almost 10 years ago. The Celtics may not dominate in the regular season, but they are built for the playoffs and will be a remarkably tough out in a seven game series. The Bulls may have to wait another year to compete for the NBA title, as they’re still not ready to challenge Orlando and Boston, let alone the Heat or the Lakers.

Chicago Bulls NBA Championship Betting Odds – October 18, 2010

The following are the Bulls NBA Championship odds at each of our recommended online sportsbooks.

Bodog.com +1800
Sportsbook.com +2000

Bulls NBA Championship Prediction

With odds of +2000 at sportsbook.com and 18/1 at bodog.com, I would suggest staying away from the Bulls at this point. In the NBA, over the course of a seven game series, the best team usually wins, and the Bulls simply won’t be the best team if they face Miami, Boston, Orlando or the LA Lakers in the playoffs.

If you happen to disagree with me and still want to wager on the Bulls to win the NBA Championship this year, bet on the Bulls at +2000 at Sportsbook.com. These are the most favourable odds available online at this time out of our top rated sportsbooks.