The Chicago Bulls made some wholesale changes this summer and the Basketball betting industry has certainly taken notice. Chicago did some major deals this offseason and it’s lifted the team up considerably. Finishing out of the playoffs and in the NBA Draft Lottery last season, they know look like a squad that cold finish fourth or fifth in the Eastern Conference.
At least that’s what the bookies are now seeing now that Derrick Rose, Pau Gasol, Aaron Brooks and Joakim Noah are out; with Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo, Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant and Denzel Valentine coming in.
It’s an been a total overhaul, and the experts who cover basketball wagering, like Tom Waterhouse, see Chicago right in the middle of the pack, among NBA playoff teams in the East. Some odds-makers see the Bulls with the fifth best odds of representing the conference in the NBA Finals. The Cleveland Cavaliers are obviously the favorites, as they should be.
The Boston Celtics are right behind them, followed by the Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks. Then come the Bulls, who are given better odds than fellow contenders the Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat and New York Knicks.
Obviously, it’s the Cavs’ conference to lose. They’ve ruled the roost on this side of the bracket lately, but don’t overlook Boston. Their splash signing of Al Horford gives them exactly what they need to finally make that deep playoff run, something they have yet to accomplish in the Brad Stevens era.
If the Cavaliers aren’t challenged by Boston, then it’s likely to be an underrated Toronto team that has a great gestalt. The Raptors are much more than the sum of their parts.
As for the Bulls, they’ve made a huge jump back to respectability now, but there so many reasons to be skeptical. Coach Fred Hoiberg had a disastrous first season in charge, and now he must contend with two big coaching challenges. First he has to keep Rondo, a noted coach antagonist in line to the point where he can be his coach on the floor.
Secondly, most of the Chicago Bulls biggest weapons all play the same exact positions. Will there be enough balls to go around?
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.