The 2024-25 NBA schedules have been announced and the The Chicago Bulls The social media team came up with a fun animation to build excitement.
Here’s a look at the full 80-game schedule. Two more games will be added between December 8 and 19 depending on which teams advance to the final stages of the NBA Cup tournament.
It’s fun to drum up excitement during the NBA’s lull, but ultimately each team is scheduled for 82 games, half at home and half away. They’ll play each Western Conference team twice and each Eastern Conference team at least three times.
Still, there are some exciting stories to be discovered, some interesting statistics to be studied, and some predictions to be made about all of this.
Notable games
- The Bulls begin the season on the road with two games against the New Orleans Pelicans on October 23 and the Milwaukee Bucks on October 25.
- Alex Caruso returns to the United Center for the Bulls’ home opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Oct. 26
- Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs arrive in Chicago on January 6
- DeMar DeRozan returns to Chicago on January 12 as the Bulls host the Sacramento Kings
- Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic will be at the United Center on January 27
- Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors are coming to town on February 8
- LeBron James arrives March 27
The Bulls have played on national television five times this season, including two on ESPN and three on NBA TV.
- November 7 vs. Minnesota (NBA TV)
- November 20 in Milwaukee (ESPN)
- November 23 vs. Memphis (NBA TV)
- January 17 vs. Charlotte (ESPN)
- April 6 vs. Charlotte (NBA TV)
The Bulls’ longest home streak is five games:
- January 10: Washington Wizards
- January 12: Sacramento Kings
- January 14: New Orleans Pelicans
- January 15: Atlanta Hawks
- January 17: Charlotte Hornets
Their longest road trip is six games:
- March 15: Houston Rockets
- March 17: Utah Jazz
- March 19: Phoenix Suns
- March 20: Sacramento Kings
- March 22: Los Angeles Lakers
- March 24: Denver Nuggets
NBA Cup Matches
- November 15 in Cleveland
- November 22 vs. Atlanta
- November 26 in Washington
- November 29 vs. Boston
Distribution by month
October
- Away matches: 3
- Home matches: 2
- Back to back: 1
- Scale Strength: .634
November
- Away matches: 9
- Home matches: 7
- Back to back: 4
- Scale Strength: .524
December
- Away matches: 4
- Home matches: 6
- Back to back: 1
- Scale Strength: .522
January
- Away matches: 7
- Home matches: 9
- Back to back: 1
- Program Resistance: .458
FEBRUARY
- Away matches: 4
- Home matches: 7
- Back to back: 2
- Scale Strength: .467
March
- Away matches: 10
- Home matches: 5
- Back to back: 2
- Scale resistance: .570
April
- Away matches: 3
- Home matches: 4
- Back to back: 1
- Scale Resistance: .440
Other key dates:
- NBA Cup Championship: December 17, 2024
- NBA Trade Deadline: February 6, 2025
- NBA All-Star Weekend: February 14-16, 2025
- NBA Play-In Tournament: April 15-18
- NBA playoffs start: April 19
The subtleties of the calendar thanks to Positive Residual
The Bulls’ average opponent winning percentage this year is .511. That number will change as teams win and lose games, but for now, the Bulls have the 13th-toughest schedule in the league.
The Positive Residual Vegas-informed Estimate of Team Strength (VETS) team rating system ranks the Bulls as the fifth-worst team in the NBA.
The Bulls have only played 13 consecutive games, which is less than the average of 14.9 back to back.
The Bulls play 13 games with a rest advantage over their opponents, tied for third. They play just nine games with a rest disadvantage, tied for fourth. Their net difference of +4 equalizes the Golden State Warriors for the highest in the league.
Most books peg the Bulls’ win total at 30.5, but those numbers have since dropped. VegasInsider.comFanduel and MGM have the Bulls at 27.5, while Caesars has them at 28.5.
That puts the Bulls in fifth-worst form in the NBA and 13th-worst in the Eastern Conference. That’s bad enough to put the Bulls in a very positive position to retain the protected top-10 pick they owe the San Antonio Spurs in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Predictions:
We went through the game-by-game schedule on the CHGO Bulls Podcast and picked a win or loss for each game. Here’s where we think the Bulls will finish:
Matthew: 26-54
Will: 26-54
Big Dave: 28-52
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