Thunder vs. Bulls Prediction, Odds and Best NBA Prop Bets for Tuesday, March 3

The Oklahoma City Thunder have won back-to-back games since Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdominal strain) returned to action, but he has been ruled out on the front end of a back-to-back on Tuesday along with Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein and Ajay Mitchell.

Still, the Thunder are heavily favored on the road on Tuesday against the Chicago Bulls.

Chicago snapped a lengthy losing streak on Sunday, beating the Milwaukee Bucks by 23 points, but it has the third-worst net rating and the worst offensive rating in the NBA over its last 15 games. The Bulls are just 2-13 during that stretch, and they’re clearly trying to bottom out to land a better pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Meanwhile, the Thunder have just a three-game lead over the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference and need every win they can get to secure the best record in the NBA.

OKC has the No. 1 defense in the league, and it allowed just 87 points in a win over Dallas on Sunday. So, Josh Giddey (who is facing his former team) and the Bulls may be in for a long night on Tuesday on the offensive end.

Let’s take a look at the betting odds, a player prop pick and my prediction for this interconference battle.

Thunder vs. Bulls Odds, Spread and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread

Thunder -10.5 (-105)
Bulls +10.5 (-115)

Moneyline

Thunder: -425
Bulls: +330

Total

227.5 (Over -118/Under -102)

Thunder vs. Bulls How to Watch

Date: Tuesday, March 3
Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
Venue: United Center
How to Watch (TV): CHSN, FanDuel Sports Network (Local)
Thunder record: 47-15
Bulls record: 25-36

Thunder vs. Bulls Injury Reports

Thunder Injury Report

Jalen Williams – out
Thomas Sorber – out
Nikola Topic – out
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – out
Isaiah Hartenstein – out
Ajay Mitchell – out
Branden Carlson – out

Bulls Injury Report

Zach Collins – out
Noa Essengue – out
Jaden Ivey – out
Anfernee Simons – out
Jalen Smith – out
Patrick Williams – out

Thunder vs. Bulls Best NBA Prop Bets

Thunder Best NBA Prop Bet

Cason Wallace OVER 4.5 Assists (-144)

Another missed game for SGA opens the door for Cason Wallace to run the Thunder offense, and he’s one of my favorite player prop picks on Tuesday:

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace should go back to a featured role on Tuesday night with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Ajay Mitchell and Isaiah Hartenstein out of the lineup on the front end of a back-to-back.

Wallace had a huge month of February – and a strong start to March – with SGA (abdominal) sidelined for a good chunk of time. He’s averaging 13.8 points and 5.0 assists per game since Feb. 1, picking up at least five dimes in eight of his 13 games.

Now, he takes on a Chicago team that ranks 28th in the NBA in opponent assists per game and 25th in defensive rating this season. Wallace is coming off an eight-assist game on March 1 with SGA in the lineup, and he should be the lead guard during his minutes on Tuesday night.

This prop is a massive discount against a Bulls team that has gone in the tank over its last 15 games, winning just two of those matchups.

Thunder vs. Bulls Prediction and Pick

Earlier today, I shared in my NBA Best Bets column – Peter’s Points – why I’m taking the UNDER on Chicago’s team total against the No. 1 defense in the league:

The Oklahoma City Thunder have several key players out of the lineup on Tuesday night, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein and Ajay Mitchell, but I’m backing their defensive infrastructure in this game.

OKC has the No. 1 defensive rating in the NBA and is allowing the second-fewest points per game (107.8) in the league this season. Even though some of their best offensive players are out, the Thunder will still have defensive stalwarts like Lu Dort, Chet Holmgren, Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace in action against this Chicago Bulls team.

Chicago won its last game, but it was on an 11-game skid before that. The Bulls have won just two of their last 15 games and are dead last in the NBA in offensive rating (106.2) during that stretch.

That makes them incredibly hard to trust against an elite OKC defense that held Dallas to just 87 points on Sunday. While Chicago is a top-10 team in the league in pace this season, the Thunder are just 14th and rank 19th in that metric over their last 15 games.

I’ll fade this struggling Chicago offense that has six games with 107 or fewer points since Feb. 1.

Pick: Bulls Team Total UNDER 108.5 (-110 at DraftKings)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.

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