Bulls vs Celtics Betting Preview & Tips: Back Boston at Home

The Boston Celtics are coming off of a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday in what might have been the most exciting game we’ve seen across the NBA all season. In a tight game, both teams traded baskets in the final minute of the game. Down two with under ten seconds left, Jason Tatum took the ball coast-to-coast and scored on a ferocious dunk to tie the NBA game score.

The Cavs had enough time left of the clock for one final possession but Tatum once again came up big, blocking a three-point attempt by Donovan Mitchell to send the game into overtime. The Cleveland Cavaliers would go on to win in OT, beating the Celtics for the second time in the last three games. After a loss like that, Boston will be coming into Friday’s game against Chicago looking for a bounce-back win. Let’s dive into our Bulls vs Celtics betting preview and see if there is any value in backing the home team to cover.

Game Information

We start our Bulls vs Celtics betting preview by taking a look at the opening line for this game. The spread opened with the Celtics as the 6.5-point favorite but has moved up slightly and currently sits a -7. The total for this game sits at 223.

Boston has lost 3 of their last four games, including a 120-102 loss to the Bulls in Chicago. There were a few uncharacteristic things that happened in that game that have us leaning toward laying the points with the Celtics. First off, Boston shot lights-out to start the game and led by as much as 19 at one point in the first quarter before everything went downhill from there.

The Celtics couldn’t buy a shot after that and the Bulls went into the half with a 19-point lead. That’s a pretty large swing if you ask us and it’s hard to imagine Boston shooting as badly as they did in those final three frames.

Grant Williams also had an early exit after getting tossed early in the fourth quarter. All-in-all, after a good start, the wheels completely fell off for Boston.

The Celtics were also without their head coach Joe Mazzulla after he received two technicals and was ejected from the game in the third quarter. Grant Williams also had an early exit after getting tossed early in the fourth quarter. All-in-all, after a good start, the wheels completely fell off for Boston. Those types of games are very uncharacteristic for Boston and not something we expect to happen again, which is why our NBA betting predictions would be for the Celtics to cover the spread.

Can the Bulls Repeat their Performance?

The Bulls, however, deserve a lot of credit in that game. They didn’t get down on themselves after getting into an early deficit and continued to play hard. That’s something that Chicago has shown over their last few games, beating the Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets on back-to-back nights.

Nikola Vucevic also had 18 points and a monster performance on the boards pulling down 23 rebounds, including 10 offensive boards, the first time these two teams met. NBA teams stats tell us that the Bulls rank just above the Celtics in net rating and well above them in defensive rating.

The Chicago Bulls certainly have a chance to win this game, or at least cover the spread, but they’ll need a little more help from their bench after all non-starters combined for just 32 of the team’s 120 points in that first meeting.

They also better hope that the Celtics struggle shooting the ball again because with Boston coming off a heartbreaking loss, our Bulls vs Celtics preview likes Tatum and company to cover.

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