NBA: Chicago Bulls VS Boston Celtics Pick and Predictions 01/09/2023

Game: 7:40 PM ET,  Monday, January 9th, 2023

Venue: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts 

TV:  NBA League Pass

Bulls: 19-21, 9th place Eastern Conference

Celtics: 28-12, 1st place Eastern Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Celtics -8.5, O/U 238.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Celtics -8.5, O/U 239

Fanduel: Point Spread: Celtics -8.5, O/U 238.5

Bulls: SF Demar DeRozan, PF Patrick Williams, C Nikola Vucevic, SG Zach LaVine, PG Ayo Dosunmu

Celtics: PF Jayson Tatum, SF Jaylen Brown, C Al Horford, SG Derrick White, PG Marcus Smart

An Eastern Conference battle of familiar foes… The visitors are mired in the middle while the home team is nestled in 1st pace.  The Chicago Bulls finished last season as an exciting team with lots of momentum towards the future.  This year the bottom dropped out from under them. A big problem for the Bulls is that PG Lonzo Ball never made it back to the court after knee problems and knee surgery.  His absence plus a failure to develop PF Patrick Williams, plius another year of wear and tear on DeMar DeRozan has led to a losing team that has no momentum whatsoever.  The Celtics have the best big three in basketball in SF Jayson Tatum, SG Jaylen Brown, and PG Marcus Smart.  They are all two way players with offensive abilities ranging from quality to all-star.  The Celtics stumbled a bit with injuries to too many big men.. which has resulted in both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum playing 1 spot out of position with Tatumn at the PF and Brown at the SF… good thing for them, they are very deep at guard and could install SG  Derrick White into the starting line-up.  They will eventually need a big man… but they have them and just need health for them.  The great betting opportunity here is in figuring out what starting line-up the Celtics will put on the floor and just how much they will win by?

The Chicago Bulls are on a 3-game winning streak, bringing them to winners of 7 of their last 10 games. They won their last game over the Utah Jazz 126-118… a big win ATS.  In that game they got 35 points, 2 rebounds, and 7 assists from mid-level master SF DeMar DeRozan.  He took no 3-pointers whatsoever but went 9 of 10 from the foul line. DeMar was helped along by 36 BIG POINTS from SG Zach LaVine who hit 6 of 12 from beyond the arc.  Both these guys are deep into NBA success with big contracts and a decade + in the league… One of them.. If not both? Should be traded if the winning doesn’t get them above .500 at the trade deadline.

The Boston Celtics are the best team in basketball, on a 2-game winning streak, and winners of 6 of their last 10 games.  6 of 10 is bad for the Celtics.  They won their last game against the San Antonio Spurs 121-116… but since the Spurs are SO TERRIBLE it was a loss ATS because the spread was -15 in favor of the Celtics… I will never tell you to bet on a -15 in the NBA in favor of the favored…. In that win Boston got 34, 4, and 2 from Tatum, 29, 4, and 2 from Brown and a BIG 23 points off the bench from SG Malcolm Brogdon.  To further illustrate how deep the Celtics are at shooting guard… Brown is backed by White who is backed by Brogdon… all three of those guys are worthy NBA starters… If the big man problem persists?... White and Brogdon could end up as trade chips… but at the moment they will be needed since Marcus Smart tweaked his knee and will be listed as Questionable against the Bulls.

 

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CHI: 19-21, 20-18-2 ATS, 20-19-1 O/U, 8-12 on the road.

BOS: 28-12, 21-18-1 ATS, 21-18-1 O/U, 15-5 in home games.

The Bulls are 12th in scoring with 115 points per game, 23rd in rebounds with 42.4 per game, 12th in AST/To ratio switch 1.8, and 15th in blocked shots with 4.8 per game,

The Celtics are 1st in scoring with 118.8 points per game, 12th in rebounds with 43.9 per game, 1st in AST/TO ratio with 2.0, and 6th in blocks per game with 5.4.

Our prediction for Monday, January 9th is…. Celtics 120 - Bulls 109

The Celtics should run over the Bulls.  The Bulls are jump shooters and the Celtics are loaded with scorers who are also 2-way players.  The extra Boston defense will stymie the Bulls who are already bad on the road.  Bet on the Celtics… UNLESS Vegas assigns a double digit spread greater than 12… Then flip it and bet on the Bulls.

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Chicago is 4-0 ATS versus the Celtics in Boston the last 3 seasons.

Chicago is 7-2 ATS versus the Celtics the last 3 seasons.

The Celtics are 3 OVER and 11 UNDER when the total is 220 or greater.

Bulls: SF DeMar DeRozan.  DeMar came from USC and was taken later in the first round than he would have liked.  He proved himself easily in the pros (in toronto) and has been a fiery offensive player ever since.  As an older guy he has completely mastered the mid-range jumpshot just as everyone else has given up on it. He will always be a fine player… but as he gets long in the tooth… the question is how fine?

Celtics:  SG Derrick White.  Derrick came over from the San Antonio Spurs and could be a solid starter anywhere else… also if the Spurs had held onto him and Dejounte Murray they would not be as terrible as they are now.  But if ifs and buts were candy and nuts?... so what we have is a multi-purpose tool on the Celtics roster that could go big or simply allow Brown to take all the shine.

Bulls: Billy “I won college championships a long time ago” Donovan

Celtics: Joe “ I lucked into the best rookie coach winning percentage by complete accident” Mazzula