The Chicago Bulls hit the road and travel to Beantown on Monday for a matchup with the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden.
The Bulls ended a six-game losing skid on Saturday night with a victory over the Detroit Pistons. Chicago has lost seven out of its last 10 games heading to this contest and they are currently in 10th place in the Eastern Conference team standings if the playoffs began today. The Celtics also snapped their losing streak on Saturday. Boston had lost a season-worst three straight games entering their game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Jayston Tatum dropped a career-high 41 points to lead Boston to victory. The Celtics are currently in third place in the Eastern Conference ladder.
Bulls Snap Six-Game Losing Skid
The Chicago Bulls snapped their six-game losing streak with a 108-99 win over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night. The win completed a four-game season sweep of the Pistons and it also moved the Bulls to 14-26 on the season, good for third place in the Central Division team standings.
Zach Lavine is averaging 24.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game for Chicago. Lauri Markkanen is putting up 16.3 points and 6.6 boards per contest while Colby White is contributing 11.5 points per game. Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr., and Tomas Satoransky are also scoring in double figures this season.
The Bulls rank 25th in the league in scoring at 105.9 points per game. They are also 25th in rebounding at 45.3 boards grabbed per contest and are 21st in assists at 23.0 dimes per outing. Chicago is 12th in the NBA in scoring defense as they are allowing their opponents to score an average of 107.7 points per game this season.
Three Game Losing Streak Over
The Boston Celtics snapped their season-worst three-game losing streak with a huge victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night. The Celtics blasted the Pelicans 140-105 at the TD Garden, behind 41 points from Jayson Tatum, for their 15th win in 18 home games played so far this season.
Kemba Walker leads the Celtics with 21.9 points and 5.2 assists per game. The Fire and Ice combination of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum is combining for 41.2 points per game. Gordon Hayward is putting up 16.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game while Enes Kanter leads Boston with 8.6 rebounds per contest.
Boston is 14th in the NBA in scoring at 111.4 points per game this season. They rank 10th off the boards with an average of 46.0 rebounds per game and are 19th in passing at 23.1 assists per game. The Celtics have the second-best scoring defense in the league at only 104.4 points per game allowed.
Who Wins?
Chicago is 1-6 SU in their last seven games played. The Bulls are 2-3 SU in their last five games played on the road, and 2-4 SU in their last six games against the Eastern Conference. Boston is 9-4 SU in their last 13 games played. The Celtics are 15-3 SU in their last 18 games played at home, and 6-1 SU in their last seven games played against the Central Division. Head to head, the Celtics are 8-2 SU in their last 10 games played against the Bulls.
Chicago just snapped a six-game losing skid by beating the Detroit Pistons. Chicago started hot and shot over 60% from the floor while taking a 14-point lead at the end of the first period. The Bulls never looked back and held on to win over the Pistons. However, Chicago is just 7-12 on the road and the Celtics have lost just thrice at the TD Garden this season.
Boston also snapped a season-worst three-game losing streak when they beat the New Orleans Pelicans by a mammoth 35 points. Jayson Tatum is coming off his career-high scoring night and Boston looked like they were back to their winning ways again against the Pelicans.
Both teams are coming off victories but when you look at these teams, Boston clearly has the superior team here and they aren’t missing anyone important right now. Meanwhile, the Bulls are without Wendell Carter Jr while Chandler Hutchison is listed as day to day. I like the Celtics to hold serve here and win at home.
Prediction: Boston Celtics
Other Bets to Make
The Bulls are 1-5-1 ATS in their last seven games played. Chicago is 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games played on the road. The Celtics are 3-6 ATS in their last nine games played. Boston is 1-4 ATS in their last five games played at home, and 3-6 ATS in their last nine January games played. Head to head, the Celtics are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games played against the Bulls. Boston is also 8-2 ATS in their last 10 home games against Chicago.
Bulls
+9.5 (-110)
Hornets
-9.5 (-110)
Odds from BetOnline as of 01/12/20
The Celtics have outscored the Bulls by an average of 14.0 points per game in their last 10 meetings and 17.67 points per game in their last three head to head encounters. This matchup has been dominated by the Celtics. Boston also defeated Chicago 111-104 in their first meeting of the season at the United Center. The Celtics have not covered the spread well as of late but they have kept the Bulls in check in their last 10 meetings.
Prediction: Celtics -9.5
The total has gone over in four out of the last five games played by the Bulls. Chicago has seen the total go over in three out of their last five games played on the road. The over is 4-1 in the last five January games played by the Bulls. The total has gone over in three out of the last five games played by the Celtics. The under is 3-2 in Boston’s last five home games, and the under is also 5-1 in their last six games against the Eastern Conference. Head to head, the total has gone under in 12 out of the last 18 games between these two teams.
Over
+215.5 (-110)
Under
+215.5 (-110)
Odds from BetOnline as of 01/12/20
These teams have combined to score an average of 206.2 points per game in their last 10 meetings. Boston has the second-best scoring defense in the league this season while the Bulls are in the bottom six in scoring. Chicago also has a Top 12 defense so I don’t expect these teams to score many points here. I like these teams to hit the under.
Prediction: Under 215.5