Tag Archives: Matas Buzelis

Thunder @ Chicago Bulls preview (Game 63 of 82)

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  • Oklahoma City Thunder (47-15, 1st in the West) @ Chicago Bulls (25-36, 12th in the East)
  • When: Tuesday, 03 March 2026 at 7:00pm CST
  • Where: United Center in Chicago, IL
  • TV: FDSN-OK
  • Offensive Rating: CHI: 112.6 (24th) / OKC: 117.2 (6th)
  • Defensive Rating: CHI: 117.0 (25th) / OKC: 106.1 (1st)
  • Net Rating: CHI: -4.4 (24th) / OKC: 11.1 (1st)
  • Current Streaks: CHI: Winner of 1, loser of 11 straight prior to that / OKC: Winners of 2 straight, 5-1 since the All-Star break

The Tip-Off

Funny how you get an MVP back in the line-up and all the struggles from the previous 3 weeks are forgotten. When healthy, the Thunder are still the team to beat in the NBA. While this season has been mired by the “potholes in the road” by injuries, they are still arguably the best team in the NBA, by a significant margin. Friday night showed that. Denver gave it their best shot with Nikola Jokic having a monster triple-double and Jamal Murray pitching in 39 points. And yet, even with a chance to win it in overtime with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sitting, the Nuggets looked like they were the team that was suffering from the altitude in OKC. SGA’s time off the floor may have unlocked different aspects of the team that could yield positive returns come playoff time. Isaiah Joe, Jared McCain, and Cason Wallace each were significant contributors to the Thunder beating the Nuggets in OT.

This is the first of two meetings this season between the Thunder and Bulls. OKC has now won 6 straight games against Chicago, dating back to the 2022-23 season, with an average margin of victory of 16.5 points.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

  • Line: OKC -10.5
  • O/U: 229.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Branden Carlson – OUT (back)
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – OUT (abdominal strain / injury management)
  • Isaiah Hartenstein – OUT (calf strain / injury management)
  • Ajay Mitchell – OUT (abdominal strain / ankle)
  • Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
  • Jalen Williams – OUT (hamstring)

CHI

  • Zach Collins – OFS (toe)
  • Noa Essengue – OFS (shoulder)
  • Jaden Ivey – OUT (knee)
  • Anfernee Simons – OUT (wrist)
  • Jalen Smith – OUT (calf)
  • Patrick Williams – OUT (quad)

Three Big Things

  1. Defending a Hodge-podge – The Bulls currently are just a cobbled up gaggle of undersized point guards, Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis, and non-center centers. The unusualness of their current line-ups is where they can trip opponents up. The Thunder are made to defend the line-ups of today’s basketball. But if there is no Jokic, Doncic, or Ant Edwards to hyperfocus on, this team’s defense can sometimes be left scrambling, especially against guard heavy line-ups (see Charlotte and Utah).
  2. Josh Giddey revenge game? – We just saw Ousmane Dieng have one of the best games of his career in his return to OKC right before the All-Star break. There were, of course, plenty of variables at play that could have contributed to such a performance, such as not having any play-makers available and the team having a “1-2-3 Cancun!” mentality after a roller-coaster first half of the season. But coming into tonight, there are similar variables at play: No play-makers available to them and the team possibly looking forward to the game on Wednesday in New York. There is trap game potential in this game and it could be spearheaded by Giddey.
  3. Cason Wallace – With SGA, Mitchell, and Dub being out for tonight, the team will likely look to Cason to be their de-facto play-maker. And he’s been great since the All-Star break, averaging 6.5 assists per game, while boasting a 3:1 assist to turnover ratio. In that same span, he’s also averaging 15.3 points on 45/50/90 shooting splits.

Chicago Bulls vs. Thunder preview (Game 75 of 82)

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  • Chicago Bulls (33-41) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (62-12)
  • When: Monday, 31 March 2025 at 7:00pm CST
  • Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
  • Offensive Rating – CHI: 113.0 (20th) / OKC: 119.1 (4th)
  • Defensive Rating – CHI: 115.3 (24th) / OKC: 106.1 (1st)
  • Net Rating – CHI: -2.4 (21st) / OKC: 13.0 (1st)

The Set-Up

Ahhh, yes. The Josh Giddey for Alex Caruso trade. Slightly vilified on Chicago’s end early on, but slowly creeping towards being a win/win trade for both teams. After a rough start to the season, Giddey is close to averaging 20/9/8 over the past 2 months. On the flip side of things, Caruso also started off slowly, but is starting to show how valuable he can be for this team as a 3&D player and big time glue guy. Much to the chagrin of basketball Twitter, there are actually trades where it’s a win/win for both teams. Chicago got themselves a point guard to build off of in what is looking like a new rebuild. And OKC got themselves another rotation piece to put around to put around their core three of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren. OKC is having a historic season, while Chicago is becoming one of the most exciting young teams in the league. Win/Win! Giddey wasn’t going to work in OKC. He and SGA need the ball in their hands and SGA is the better player. It wasn’t Josh’s fault that he was slotted next to an eventual MVP. But in Chicago, he is able to play his brand of basketball and has flourished. I, for one, am happy for him and hope that he continues his great run of late…just not tonight.

This is the second and final meeting of the season between these two teams. The first meeting took place way early in the season, with OKC coming out victorious, 114-95.

Betting Info

  • Line: OKC -15.5
  • O/U: 238.5

Injury Report

OKC

  • Ousmane Dieng – OUT (calf)
  • Alex Ducas – OUT (quad)
  • Isaiah Hartenstein – Questionable (hip)
  • Chet Holmgren – Questionable (hip)
  • Ajay Mitchell – OUT (toe)
  • Nikola Topic – OUT (knee)
  • Aaron Wiggins – OUT (Achilles)
  • Jaylin Williams – Questionable (hip)

    CHI
  • Lonzo Ball – OUT (wrist)
  • Ayo Dosunmu – OUT (shoulder)
  • Kevin Huerter – OUT (thumb)
  • Tre Jones – OUT (foot)
  • EJ Liddell – OUT (illness)

Three Big Things

1. Since the All-Star Break – While the Thunder have been completely dominant post-ASB, the Chicago Bulls have done a good job of handing the keys off to their players of the future and allowing them to see how they fare against the rest of the league. Giddey, Coby White, and Matas Buzelis have acclimated themselves well to their expanded roles on the team during that time and have allowed for a rosier picture to be painted for a franchise that has been mired in mediocrity for the better part of the past decade. Since the ASB, the Bulls are 11-8 and are 13th in offensive rating, 9th in defensive rating, and 10th in net rating. They are first in pace during that time, 4th in assist/turnover ratio, and 5th in defensive rebound percentage. Over the course of the season, the Bulls have changed the way they play and found a bit of a groove.

2. Pace – As mentioned above, the Bulls lead the league in pace since the All-Star break. Giddey has done a great job of late in grabbing and going, while spraying the ball out to play finishers like Buzelis, White, and Nikola Vucevic. The Thunder are usually the team that likes to run, but this may be a game where they let their halfcourt offense shine. Chicago has done a good job of protecting the ball over this past month and a half, so turnovers may not be in abundant supply in this game.

3. Big Health – With all three centers being game-time decisions today, the matchup against Vucevic may be an interesting one. I doubt all three bigs sit, but if the Thunder are prioritizing health for the playoffs, then Kenrich Williams and Branden Carlson may be the next men up.