2026-27 · Regular Season · Final

Washington Wizards at Chicago Bulls

Saturday, October 24, 2026 · tip-off 8:00 PM ET

WAS 1–1@CHI 1–1 records going into the game NBA.com recap ↗

Each team's share of the floor is its pregame win probability. The line starts at midcourt and moves to the split.

Team	Projected	Final	Difference
WAS Washington Wizards	120	124	+4
CHI Chicago Bulls (home)	123	120	−3

Forecast: Chicago Bulls to win, 59% win probability, projected margin 3.

Inside the Forecast

How the inputs are built

What the model received

Input	WAS	CHI
Elo ratingMargin-of-victory Elo; 1500 is average.	1288	1380
Elo gap, home minus road, incl. home court	+161
Season scoring marginPoints per game, blended with last season early in the year.	−10.7	−6.5
Games played this season	2	2
Offensive rating, last 10Points scored per 100 possessions.	110.8	107.0
Defensive rating, last 10Points allowed per 100 possessions; lower is better.	124.2	119.3
Combined pace, last 10Possessions per game, both teams.	105.6
Rotation points missingPoints per game of rotation players listed Out or Doubtful.	0.0	0.0
Rest days	1	1
Second night of a back-to-back	Yes	Yes

This forecast can't be broken down exactly: the model version that made this forecast is not available. Explanations are shown only when the model that made a forecast can be rebuilt and reproduces it. How explanations are checked

Built from the box scores

How the breakdowns work

Where each input came from. Open a row to see the games and box-score stats behind it. A breakdown is shown only when rebuilding it from the stored stats gives exactly the number the model received.

Elo ratingWAS1288CHI1380

Updated after every game from the final score only: wins, losses and margin. Each season starts by keeping 75% of last season's distance from the 1500 average.

WAS1288

Ended last season at 1206 → started this one at 1280
This season's 2 games: +8.5

WMIL128–116+13.1
LTOR102–112−4.6

CHI1380

Ended last season at 1339 → started this one at 1379
This season's 2 games: +0.7

L@TOR92–135−10.0
W@MIL132–125+10.7

Season scoring marginWAS−10.7CHI−6.5

Points scored minus points allowed per game this season, mixed with last season's margin until 20 games are played.

WAS−10.7

Scores 115.0, allows 114.0 over 2 games: +1.0 a game.

10% this season (+1.0) + 90% last season (−12.0) = −10.7

CHI−6.5

Scores 112.0, allows 130.0 over 2 games: −18.0 a game.

10% this season (−18.0) + 90% last season (−5.2) = −6.5

Offensive rating, last 10WAS110.8CHI107.0

Points scored per 100 possessions. Split into the four factors: right of center helps the team, left hurts, in points per 100 possessions compared with the league average (2025-26: 114.6).

WAS110.8scored, −3.8 vs league

Factor	WAS	League	Pts
Shooting (eFG%)	53.5%	54.5%	−1.6
Turnovers (TOV%)	12.4%	12.2%	−0.3
Offensive rebounding (OREB%)	18.0%	26.1%	−3.6
Free throws (FTM per FGA)	0.211	0.210	+0.0
Everything else			+1.7

CHI107.0scored, −7.5 vs league

Factor	CHI	League	Pts
Shooting (eFG%)	50.7%	54.5%	−5.7
Turnovers (TOV%)	13.7%	12.2%	−2.1
Offensive rebounding (OREB%)	28.1%	26.1%	+0.9
Free throws (FTM per FGA)	0.225	0.210	+0.4
Everything else			−1.1

Defensive rating, last 10WAS124.2CHI119.3

Points allowed per 100 possessions, built from what opponents did in those games. Bars point right when the defense held opponents below average. Split into the four factors: right of center helps the team, left hurts, in points per 100 possessions compared with the league average (2025-26: 114.6).

WAS124.2allowed, +9.6 vs league

Factor	Opponents	League	Pts
Shooting (eFG%)	59.9%	54.5%	−8.2
Turnovers (TOV%)	12.6%	12.2%	+0.6
Offensive rebounding (OREB%)	31.5%	26.1%	−2.5
Free throws (FTM per FGA)	0.229	0.210	−0.6
Everything else			+1.0

CHI119.3allowed, +4.7 vs league

Factor	Opponents	League	Pts
Shooting (eFG%)	57.0%	54.5%	−3.8
Turnovers (TOV%)	12.1%	12.2%	−0.1
Offensive rebounding (OREB%)	26.4%	26.1%	−0.1
Free throws (FTM per FGA)	0.204	0.210	+0.2
Everything else			−0.9

Pace, last 10average 105.6

Possessions per 48 minutes. The model uses the average of the two teams. Faster games mean more points for both sides, so pace mostly moves the projected total, not the margin.

WAS 104.2 and CHI 107.0 → average 105.6 (league 2025-26: 100.0)

Rotation points missingWAS0.0CHI0.0

Points per game of rotation players (two or more of the last 10 games this season, 15+ minutes) listed Out or Doubtful on the official injury report.

WAS0.0pts/g missing

Every rotation player was available.

Source: official injury report, 2026-10-24 17:30 ET. 7 rotation players.

CHI0.0pts/g missing

Every rotation player was available.

Source: official injury report, 2026-10-24 17:30 ET. 8 rotation players.

RestWAS1 daysCHI1 days

Days since the team's previous game, capped at 5. One day means the second night of a back-to-back.

WAS1day, back-to-back

Last played Oct 23 against TOR.

CHI1day, back-to-back

Last played Oct 23 against MIL.

The last 10 games behind these numbers, box-score totals

WAS

Date	Opp	Score	FG	3P	FT	TOV	OREB	Off	Def	Pace
Oct 23	TOR	102–112	30-79	12-37	30-35	20	6	95.3	104.7	107.0
Oct 21	MIL	128–116	45-86	6-28	32-41	11	12	123.1	112.6	103.5
Apr 12	@CLE	117–130	42-90	18-41	15-19	12	5	117.0	128.7	100.5
Apr 10	MIA	117–140	46-92	14-31	11-14	13	4	113.6	135.9	103.0
Apr 9	CHI	108–119	38-96	10-38	22-27	17	10	100.9	111.2	107.0
Apr 7	CHI	98–129	37-86	11-38	13-21	21	3	89.9	119.4	108.5
Apr 5	@BKN	115–121	44-79	9-25	18-28	20	4	116.2	122.2	99.0
Apr 4	@MIA	136–152	50-106	17-40	19-24	9	13	125.9	142.1	107.5
Apr 1	PHI	131–153	50-96	16-40	15-17	11	7	124.8	147.1	104.5
Mar 30	@LAL	101–120	41-93	7-35	12-16	9	5	101.0	117.6	101.0

CHI

Date	Opp	Score	FG	3P	FT	TOV	OREB	Off	Def	Pace
Oct 23	@MIL	132–125	46-98	12-45	28-30	14	13	120.0	113.6	110.0
Oct 21	@TOR	92–135	27-85	4-36	34-47	27	21	82.1	122.7	111.0
Apr 12	@DAL	128–149	52-106	10-38	14-19	13	11	114.3	134.2	111.5
Apr 10	ORL	103–127	38-87	10-39	17-26	20	10	95.4	118.7	107.5
Apr 9	@WAS	119–108	43-93	9-30	24-25	15	13	111.2	100.9	107.0
Apr 7	@WAS	129–98	46-94	15-45	22-27	13	9	119.4	89.9	108.5
Apr 5	PHX	110–120	41-91	10-39	18-23	18	14	105.8	117.6	103.0
Apr 3	@NYK	96–136	35-81	11-35	15-26	16	9	96.0	136.0	100.0
Apr 1	IND	126–145	47-97	13-39	19-26	20	12	114.5	134.3	109.0
Mar 30	@SAS	114–129	43-93	13-44	15-21	10	7	111.8	125.2	102.5

Off and Def are points scored and allowed per 100 possessions in each game; their averages are the 10-game ratings above. OREB is missing (–) where the source data didn't record it.

The result against the forecast

2026-27 surprise games

41%

pregame chance the forecast gave WAS, the winner

the forecast favored CHI

7 pts

margin miss

forecast +3, actual −4 for CHI

28th

most surprising result of 2026-27

of 146 graded games so far

88th

largest margin miss of 2026-27

outcome surprise 0.88 nats

Surprise is measured against this model's forecast, not against what other observers expected. Outcome surprise is −ln(winner's pregame probability): 0.69 for a coin flip, 2.3 for a 10% winner.

Team box score

What happened in the game. These numbers are not used by the forecast, and they are not offered as the reason it missed.

Team stat	WAS	CHI
Final score	124	120
Field goals	45–94 · 47.9%	40–93 · 43.0%
Three-pointers	10–33 · 30.3%	12–43 · 27.9%
Free throws	24–28 · 85.7%	28–30 · 93.3%
Rebounds	48	44
Assists	28	25
Turnovers	13	12
Steals	5	10
Blocks	7	1

How the model does with these teams over time: Washington Wizards · Chicago Bulls

More about this game

Where the forecast differed from the result

Measure	Forecast	Actual	Actual − forecast
Home margin (CHI)	+3	−4	−7
Total points	243	244	+1
WAS points	120	124	+4
CHI points	123	120	−3

Recent form before this game