The 2020-21 season of the Chicago Bulls has ended with a 31-41 record.
It was not enough to make it to the NBA Playoffs. Chicago will once again be on the sidelines, which is disappointing considering the splashy purchase of Nikola Vucevic at trade deadline.
A fascinating offseason is now in the works. The Bulls do not have their first round pick, unless it lands among the top four lottery numbers. Chicago sent Vucevic a protected top-four first rounder to the Orlando Magic.
What did the bulls do in 2019-20?
In a season that was cut due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulls were 22-43. Chicago was not selected for the NBA Bubble in Orlando.
After a promising offseason, the Bulls had playoff hopes for 2019-20. But those quickly disappeared. Chicago suffered a series of injuries to key players, and was generally below average even when they were healthy.
Their Eastern Conference 11th-placed.338 win percentage was a result of their winning percentage. The Bulls fired Boylen as head coach and removed Paxson, Forman, as their most prominent basketball executives.
Despite hosting the 2020 NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta, no Bull was chosen to the Eastern Conference squad.
Chicago Bulls Point Spreads
When people talk about betting on spreads, they mean the spread. This is the margin of victory that bookmakers assign to their favorite team. Last season, the Bulls were 37-34-1 against the spread (ATS), which placed them in the middle of the NBA pack.
This example will show you how a point spread works.
Detroit Pistons (+4.5).
Chicago Bulls (-4.5).
To indicate that they are the favorite team, the Bulls will have a minus sign (-), next to their point spread. The underdogs will always have a plus symbol (+). The Bulls are favored by 4.5 points. This means that to cover the spread with an ATS bet on them, Chicago must win by at least five points. Detroit, however, would cover if it lost by four points or less.
Chicago Bulls Moneylines
If you only care about who wins, the margin of victory is irrelevant. Moneyline bets only bet on the winner of the game. After going 31-41 in 2020-21, the Bulls lost seven units to Moneyline bettors. Like point spreads, the favourite is marked with a minus sign (-), and the underdog with a plus sign (+).
Let’s go back to our earlier example to better understand the Moneyline.
Detroit Pistons +165
Chicago Bulls -200
The odds are written in American format and the numbers appear next to +/- signs. These numbers can be read like math questions, where the answer is always 100 dollars. To win $100, you would need to risk $200 when betting on the Bulls as -200 favorites. A $100 wager on the underdog Pistons would yield $165. The odds of winning depend on which sportsbook you use, so make sure to download the Action Network app to ensure that you always find the best line.
Team Records
Here’s Chicago’s regular season record for each year in the past decade.
- 2021: 31-41
- 2020: 22-43
- 2019: 22-60 (Missed playoffs).
- 2018: 27-55
- 2017: 41-41 (Lost the first round playoffs).
- 2016: 42-40 (Missed playoffs).
- 2015: 50-32 (Lost the second round playoffs).
- 2014: 48-34 (Lost the first round playoffs).
- 2013: 45-37 (Lost the second round playoffs).
- 2012: 50-16 (Lost the first round playoffs).
2011: 62-20
Bulls Futures
Will the Bulls reach the playoffs in 2021-22? What are their chances of winning the Eastern Conference?
These are future bets. The outcome of these wagers is often not known until the end. Futures can also include players. These futures could be on whether they will surpass a certain number of points or win the league MVP award.
Last Updated on November 18, 2021
