The Chicago Bulls (5-4) visit the Boston Celtics (4-3) in a battle of Eastern Conference powerhouses Friday. Tip-off from TD Garden is set for 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN).
The Bulls come into this one on a 2-game win streak following a big 106-88 win vs. the Charlotte Hornets Wednesday, covering as 6.5-point favorites. The Bulls saw little production from their stars G Zach Lavine and G DeMar DeRozan. Lavine scored 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting and DeRozan had 9 points on 2-of-11 shooting.
The Celtics have lost 3 of their last 4 games following a tough 114-113 OT loss vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday. Those 3 losses include 2 OT defeats to the Cavaliers and one loss to the Bulls. The Celtics were carried by their stars Wednesday. G Jaylen Brown finished with 30 points on 10-of-26 shooting and F Jayson Tatum finished 26 points on 8-of-21 shooting.
Bulls at Celtics odds
- Moneyline (ML): Bulls +230 (bet $100 to win $230) | Celtics -300 (bet $300 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Bulls +7.5 (-112) | Celtics -7.5 (-108)
- Over/Under (O/U): 223.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
Bulls at Celtics key injuries
Bulls
- F Danillo Gallinari (knee) out
- C Robert Williams III (knee) out
Celtics
- G Lonzo Ball (knee) out
- C Andre Drummond (shoulder) out
- G Coby White (quad) doubtful
For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.
Bulls at Celtics picks and predictions
Prediction
Bulls 115, Celtics 108
Moneyline
AVOID.
The moneyline here is far too rich and too risky to bet in favor of either team. Both of these teams are likely playoff teams with immense talent. One has a phenomenal defense with a mediocre offense and one has a phenomenal offense with a mediocre defense. These teams are evenly matched and even with the Celtics looking terrible recently, Tatum and Brown can pop off for 70 combined points at any time.
Against the spread
BET BULLS +7.5 (-112).
The spread is by far the safest bet for this game. Even if my prediction is wrong and the Bulls lose, they will almost certainly do so by fewer than 7.5 points. For this to be a blowout win both Tatum and Brown would need to score 30+ and they would need to have at least 2 other pieces score in the 20s, which I see as very unlikely given their recent stretch of games.
Over/Under
LEAN UNDER 223.5 (-112).
There is a fair amount of risk in this bet as I have the final score as just below this number. When these teams last met recently the strength of the Bulls’ defense beat the Celtics’ offense. The Bulls’ defense is currently ranked 6th in with 108.8 points allowed per game, the Celtics and their 7th-ranked offense scored 120 in the last meeting. Expect that defense to cause problems again in this game.