Chicago Bulls vs. Boston Celtics Prediction, NBA Odds

Edgar Chaput | Updated Jan 09, 2023

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The Bulls are looking good now after some big wins over the weekend. They’ll carry that momentum into Boston on Monday night to face the Celtics.

Chicago
35-38
AT
January 09, 2023, 7:30 PM ET
TD Garden
Boston
51-23
Pointspread +9 -112
Moneyline +297
Over / Under o +235

76%

Betting Action

24%

Matchup NBA Odds
Pointspread -9 -108
Moneyline -363
Over / Under u +235

76%

Betting Action

24%

Matchup NBA Odds

Chicago swept Philadelphia and Utah over two nights, two games that tested their mettle. For their part, the Celtics had their hands full with the Spurs on Saturday, edging out a close victory.

The Celtics are viewed as -8.5 favourites on the NBA odds. The O/U is set at 237.

Bulls vs. Celtics NBA Betting Odds

Despite their different fortunes in recent years, these teams play each other tightly. It’s all even at five games apiece in the last ten contests. Chicago has even claimed a couple at TD Garden, so they won’t be afraid to face the East’s top squad in its den. This is the final of four meetings this season, with the Bulls leading the series 2-1.

The fruits of Chicago’s efforts against the spread have been commendable. At 22-19, Billy Donovan’s ensemble has been a solid choice for betters so far. Of note for this contest: even though the Bulls fell to the Celtics once already, they are a perfect 3-0 ATS when playing their conference rivals.

Boston continues to be a puzzling choice for betters who consider the spread. As the number one team in the NBA, they’ve only mustered a 21-18-1 record ATS. We talked about some of their failings in our most recent Celtics game preview. The issue stems from the fact that they appear to take lower-ranked teams lightly and Saturday night in San Antonio came achingly close to being another example.

Chicago Bulls

Friday night in Philly, a 126-112 win, was arguably the more impressive of their two efforts. The 76ers are ahead of them by several games in the standings, even though Joel Embiid was out due to injury. It was the Zach LaVine show. He flew all over the court and performed some poster-worthy jams, compiling 41 points in the process on brilliant 14-19 shooting, to say nothing of his inspiring 11-12 from beyond the arc.

24 hours later they were back in front of their fans at the United Center to face the Utah Jazz. To the fans’ delight, there was no letdown, least of all from LaVine, who went 12-21 (6-12 from three) for a team-leading 36 points. His fellow scorer DeMar DeRozan was also feeling it, regularly making his trademark jumpers from outside the paint and finishing with 35 points. The Jazz fought all night, but the Bulls charged their way to a 126-118 victory. Chicago is 4th in field goal percentage and 6th in three-point shooting. If only they shot more: 19th in field goal attempts.

Boston Celtics

The Celtics almost missed a layup on Saturday night. We don’t mean they missed a key easy bucket in the game against the Spurs, but rather that a team ranked far lower in the standings playing on back-to-back nights (with the game starting 19 hours after the previous one ended) pushed Boston to the brink.

The better team overall still won 121-116, but it was by no means easy. Every time it looked as if Joe Mazzulla’s men were making their getaway, the Spurs clawed their way back. Both teams shot the lights out (Celtics at 49.5% and Spurs at 49%), but San Antonio outrebounded Boston 51-43 and dominated in the paint 70-54. A key to victory was Malcolm Brogdon joining Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in putting his stamp on the game. A 23-point night (5-6 from three). Shot block machine Robert Williams III is starting to look like his former self as well.

Marcus Smart is listed as Day-to-Day.

NBA Prediction: Who Will Win Bulls vs. Celtics?

NBA Predictions
SportsInteraction
  • CHI
  • +9 -9
  • BOS
Matchup NBA Odds