Celtics vs Bulls NBA Game Preview & Odds Analysis

Intro

The Boston Celtics enter as five-point favorites and seem to have maintained all momentum after making the 2022 NBA Finals. They are 3-0 with wins over the Philadelphia 76ers, the Miami Heat, and the Orlando Magic. It took a fourth-quarter surge from the Celtics to walk away from the double-header with the win in Orlando Saturday night. The Celtics VS Bulls NBA game preview will be able to provide you with everything you need before placing a bet.

As the hosting team, the Bulls are 1-2 with a win in the season opener against the Miami Heat, but fell to the Washington Wizards in the second game of the season. The Bulls returned to the United Center Friday to host the Cleveland Cavaliers in the home opener. The home team fans left disappointed, however, as the Bulls fell to the Cavs 128-96.

Head-to-Head

Early on in the 2021-22 season, the Bulls got the better of the Celtics in a 128-114 victory. The win for the Chicago Bulls improved them to 6-1, while the Celtics fell to 2-5. We know how each team went from there. In that first game, DeMar DeRozan poured in 37 points on 15-of-20 shooting from the field. Zach LaVine shot just 1-of-8 from deep and 9-for-20 overall, but converted on all seven free-throw attempts throughout the game.

The Celtics went into Chicago and got revenge in a 114-112 victory in the middle of January. Despite the absence of LaVine, the Bulls backcourt proved how deep it was with Ayo Dosunmu scoring 21 and Coby White scoring 19. No particular Celtic was above another, but six players scored more than 13 points.

The two teams played to settle the tie-breaker in the season’s final game with the Bulls having the home-court advantage. It proved to be Chicago’s worst showing of the three games, as DeRozan led the team in scoring with 16 points. LaVine only played slightly more than 27 minutes and scored just seven points on 2-for-9 shooting. The Celtics meanwhile had five players score in double figures with a game-high 25 points from Jaylen Brown.

How Boston Wins

Continuing Our Celtics vs Bulls NBA Game Preview: Even with the new pieces, the Celtics have looked like they’ve picked up right where they left off last season. They fell short in the NBA Finals, but they’ve played with toughness and tenacity they just didn’t have last year. We saw that in the opening game against the Sixers.

It’s not ideal for the Celtics to play Noah Vonleh and Blake Griffin to get many minutes long-term, but they are tasked with having to fill the minutes from Robert Williams’ absence, as well as trying not to run Al Horford into the ground in the regular season.

Down the stretch in last season’s NBA Playoffs, it felt like the Celtics offense was freestyling and just trying to survive when they couldn’t have Brown or Tatum out there. Early this season, it’s been different, as Malcolm Brogdon has been a great piece off the bench so far this season. We’ll get a better look at these two teams, at least in a head-to-head sense later in the season when the Celtics are at full defensive power.

How Chicago Wins

When the Bulls did defeat the Celtics last season, the Bulls were able to shoot incredibly efficiently from deep. DeRozan, who’s typically not a great shooter from three, went 3-for-4 from deep that night while going 15-of-20 overall from the field.

LaVine isn’t afraid to take an in-rhythm three-pointer on the fast break. While that type of approach can kill a possession early, it also might be the type of approach and performance the Bulls will need to match up with the rolling Celtics. The Bulls are coming off a huge loss in their opener, so look for the team’s stars to put on a better performance this time around.

While the team’s backcourt holds much of their success, the Bulls might want to look inside to get a victory in this one. Nikola Vucevic is a threat from the paint, on the boards and from deep. With the Celtics without one of the best shot-impacting big men for roughly the first month and a half of the season, getting Vucevic in a rhythm to compliment the backcourt could be a remedy to victory.

Total and Player Prop Analysis

Concluding Our Celtics vs Bulls NBA Game Preview: Let’s take a look at the current NBA betting trends: The total is set at 222.5 for this NBA matchup between classic foes. The Celtics defense has stymied the high-powered Sixers, as well as a convincing victory over last season’s Eastern Conference runner-up Miami Heat.

Only three players scored in the double figures in Chicago’s home opener against the Cavaliers. The Celtics have been shooting on all cylinders, but that might catch up to them in this one, especially if the Bulls can get the inside-out game going and one of the Celtics big men into foul trouble.

One prop to eye may be Tatum’s rebounding prop with the absence of Robert Williams in the middle for Boston. He’s averaging 8.3 rebounds per game this season, with his mark for this game set at 7.5 with -110 to both sides at the time of writing. His average would be better if he didn’t snag just five against Miami, but considering he had zero in the first half, finishing with five isn’t bad. Remember, this is the perfect place for all things NBA. Remember to keep it right here all season long for the latest NBA standings 2022.

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