NBA · Regular season, NBA Cup game

Charlotte Hornets vs Chicago Bulls: Preview and Stats

Thursday 26 November 2026, 00:00 UTC Spectrum Center, Charlotte

Our picks

Our picks for Charlotte Hornets vs Chicago Bulls come out after the official NBA injury report, at most 48 hours before tip-off, and at the latest Wednesday 25 November 2026, 21:00 UTC (3 hours before tip-off).

We are waiting for the result of a team's previous game.

Our NBA model track record for this matchup

Our winner picks on these teams

Charlotte Hornets 10 of 12 right (83%)
Chicago Bulls 8 of 10 right (80%)

Settled NBA winner picks since 21 Oct 2026.

Game details

Stage: NBA, Regular season, NBA Cup game
Tip-off: Thursday 26 November 2026, 00:00 UTC
Arena: Spectrum Center
City: Charlotte
Since last match: Charlotte Hornets: Memphis Grizzlies Chicago Bulls: Cleveland Cavaliers

Missing production & availability impact

Share of last 10 games' offensive creation (PTS + AST) and minutes sidelined.

Charlotte Hornets

Official NBA injury report not yet filed for this matchup.

Chicago Bulls

Official NBA injury report not yet filed for this matchup.

Official NBA injury report

Charlotte Hornets

Official NBA injury report not yet filed for this matchup.

Chicago Bulls

Official NBA injury report not yet filed for this matchup.

Expected 8-man core rotation

Projected starters and key bench from recent usage and the official injury report.

Charlotte Hornets

Projected Starters

F-C Naz Reid

30.1 MPG 17.0 PPG 8.5 RPG 1.7 APG
F Brandon Miller

31.4 MPG 22.8 PPG 5.6 RPG 2.6 APG
G Grayson Allen

27.9 MPG 15.0 PPG 3.0 RPG 3.2 APG
G Dennis Schröder

30.7 MPG 9.9 PPG 3.4 RPG 5.0 APG
F Moussa Diabaté

29.5 MPG 8.1 PPG 9.9 RPG 2.0 APG

Key Bench

G Sion James

26.3 MPG 6.6 PPG 3.7 RPG 3.0 APG
F Royce O'Neale

19.9 MPG 5.0 PPG 3.2 RPG 0.8 APG
C Ryan Kalkbrenner

19.0 MPG 4.5 PPG 5.3 RPG 1.4 APG

Chicago Bulls

Projected Starters

F Caleb Wilson

30.7 MPG 18.9 PPG 6.2 RPG 1.9 APG
G Josh Giddey

27.7 MPG 10.2 PPG 4.6 RPG 8.3 APG
G Norman Powell

28.9 MPG 19.2 PPG 2.5 RPG 1.6 APG
F Matas Buzelis

26.3 MPG 13.5 PPG 4.3 RPG 2.0 APG
F-C Jalen Smith

23.9 MPG 12.8 PPG 7.4 RPG 1.9 APG

Key Bench

G-F Isaac Okoro

19.1 MPG 5.2 PPG 1.4 RPG 1.4 APG
G Tre Jones

18.7 MPG 10.6 PPG 2.5 RPG 2.9 APG
F Patrick Williams

24.3 MPG 6.7 PPG 3.3 RPG 3.0 APG

OptimaGoal power & pace ratings

Full NBA power ratings

Neutral-court net point rating and 48-minute tempo rank across all 30 NBA franchises.

Charlotte Hornets

#25 of 30

Net rating -3.7 30d: -2.4

Pace: -3.7 (#28 of 30)

Chicago Bulls

#27 of 30

Net rating -5.1 30d: +0.9

Pace: 2.3 (#2 of 30)

OptimaGoal tactical & efficiency profile (0–100)

Original 0–100 indices built from each team's last 10 played games before tip-off.

Charlotte Hornets

Net 24

Shot quality (TS%) 13

3PT volume & accuracy 51

Ball security & passing 12

Rebounding control 80

Defensive disruption 40

ORtg 101.5 · DRtg 110.9 · Net -9.4 · TS 52.4%

Chicago Bulls

Net 12

Shot quality (TS%) 31

3PT volume & accuracy 31

Ball security & passing 29

Rebounding control 39

Defensive disruption 37

ORtg 106.4 · DRtg 121.0 · Net -14.6 · TS 55.1%

Charlotte Hornets · Record vs point differential Outperforming point differential (close-game luck) 4W actual vs 2.2W expected (12 GP)

Chicago Bulls · Record vs point differential W-L record aligned with point differential 1W actual vs 1.4W expected (10 GP)

Halftime splits & clutch profile

Game-state outcomes and half-by-half scoring share over the last 15 games.

Charlotte Hornets

Win rate when leading at HT 5/7 (71%)

Comeback wins when trailing at HT 1/8 (12%)

Scoring split (1H vs 2H)

1H: 52.2 (51.9%) 2H: 48.5 (48.1%)

Clutch (≤5 pts / OT): 2-2 10+ pt margins: 2-6

Chicago Bulls

Win rate when leading at HT 2/5 (40%)

Comeback wins when trailing at HT 1/10 (10%)

Scoring split (1H vs 2H)

1H: 57.1 (49.8%) 2H: 57.7 (50.2%)

Clutch (≤5 pts / OT): 0-2 10+ pt margins: 2-8

Pace & total-points trends

Scoring environment and threshold hit counts across the last 10 games.

CHA

CHI

Points scored / game 99.2 113.3

Points allowed / game 108.4 128.8

Average game total 207.6 242.1

Average 1st-half total 108.7 123.4

Possessions / 48 min 97.7 106.5

Games with 220+ pts 2/10 10/10

Games with 230+ pts 1/10 9/10

Games with 240+ pts 0/10 6/10

Scored 115+ pts 2/10 5/10

Schedule density & travel spot

Rest days, multi-game compression and current home/road stretch entering tip-off.

Charlotte Hornets

1 day rest

1 in 4 nights 1 in 6 nights Homestand · Game 1

Chicago Bulls

1 day rest

1 in 4 nights 1 in 6 nights Road trip · Game 1

Primary offensive threats

Available rotation leaders by scoring and shot share over the last 10 games.

Charlotte Hornets

#1 Brandon Miller F 23.0% pts share

22.8 PPG · 5.6 RPG · 2.6 APG · 2.9 3PM 24.7% FGA
#2 Grayson Allen G 15.1% pts share

15.0 PPG · 3.0 RPG · 3.2 APG · 3.4 3PM 11.4% FGA
#3 Naz Reid F-C 17.1% pts share

17.0 PPG · 8.5 RPG · 1.7 APG · 2.1 3PM 19.0% FGA

Chicago Bulls

#1 Josh Giddey G 9.0% pts share

10.2 PPG · 4.6 RPG · 8.3 APG · 1.0 3PM 10.4% FGA
#2 Caleb Wilson F 16.7% pts share

18.9 PPG · 6.2 RPG · 1.9 APG · 2.3 3PM 18.2% FGA
#3 Norman Powell G 16.9% pts share

19.2 PPG · 2.5 RPG · 1.6 APG · 2.1 3PM 14.4% FGA

Last five games

Charlotte Hornets

L 96-101 at Phoenix Suns (A) 13 Nov
W 124-112 vs Cleveland Cavaliers (H) 10 Nov
L 80-119 vs Boston Celtics (H) 7 Nov
L 104-114 at Brooklyn Nets (A) 5 Nov
L 91-124 vs Detroit Pistons (H) 3 Nov

Chicago Bulls

L 119-124 vs San Antonio Spurs (H) 12 Nov
L 121-127 vs Philadelphia 76ers (H) 8 Nov
L 105-135 at New York Knicks (A) 5 Nov
L 107-126 at Philadelphia 76ers (A) 3 Nov
L 111-125 at Boston Celtics (A) 30 Oct

Most recent first, all games of the season, overtime included.

Last 10 head-to-head meetings

CHA · 4W CHI · 6W

Avg total pts: 231.6 CHA avg: 115.9 CHI avg: 115.7 225+ pt games: 7/10 CHA at home: 1-5

24 Feb 2026 CHI 99‑131 CHA
3 Jan 2026 CHI 99‑112 CHA
12 Dec 2025 CHA 126‑129 CHI
28 Nov 2025 CHA 123‑116 CHI
6 Apr 2025 CHA 117‑131 CHI
17 Jan 2025 CHI 123‑125 CHA
30 Dec 2024 CHA 108‑115 (OT) CHI
13 Dec 2024 CHI 109‑95 CHA
31 Jan 2024 CHA 110‑117 CHI
8 Jan 2024 CHA 112‑119 (OT) CHI

Season profile comparison

CHA

CHI

Record 4-8 1-9

At home 3-4 0-4

On the road 1-4 1-5

Conference 11 of 15, Eastern Conference 14 of 15, Eastern Conference

Streak – Lost 5 in a row

Days of rest 1 1

Our team rating #24 of 30 #27 of 30

Pace #28 of 30 #1 of 30

Eastern Conference standings

Full NBA standings

#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	L10	Streak
1	Boston Celtics	10	2	.833	–	5-0	5-2	9-1	W5
2	Philadelphia 76ers	10	3	.769	0.5	5-2	5-1	7-3	W1
3	Detroit Pistons	8	3	.727	1.5	3-2	5-1	7-3	W2
4	Atlanta Hawks	7	5	.583	3.0	3-3	4-2	5-5	L1
5	New York Knicks	6	5	.545	3.5	4-3	2-2	6-4	L1
6	Cleveland Cavaliers	6	6	.500	4.0	4-2	2-4	5-5	W1
7	Miami Heat	5	6	.455	4.5	1-3	4-3	5-5	W2
8	Toronto Raptors	5	7	.417	5.0	2-3	3-4	3-7	L3
9	Orlando Magic	4	7	.364	5.5	0-4	4-3	4-6	W2
10	Charlotte Hornets	4	8	.333	6.0	3-4	1-4	3-7	L1
11	Indiana Pacers	4	8	.333	6.0	1-4	3-4	3-7	W1
12	Washington Wizards	4	9	.308	6.5	2-3	2-6	2-8	L6
13	Brooklyn Nets	3	8	.273	6.5	1-3	2-5	3-7	W1
14	Chicago Bulls	1	9	.100	8.0	0-4	1-5	1-9	L8
15	Milwaukee Bucks	1	11	.083	9.0	1-6	0-5	1-9	L8

Solid cut lines mark Top 6 (direct Play-offs) and Top 10 (Play-in Tournament).

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