Bulls Celtics Odds
Posted by Jimmy Boyd - Google+
The Boston Celtics (27-24, 19-9 home) are set to host the Chicago Bulls (30-21, 15-9 away) Wednesday night on NBATV. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 EST at the TD Garden. This will be the last time these two teams face off during the regular season. The Celtics won the first meeting in Chicago 101-95, but would lose the next two. The Bulls won 100-89 at home and followed that up with a 100-99 overtime win in Boston. Oddsmakers currently have the Celtics listed as a 2-point home favorite with the total set at 183 points.
Why Chicago Will Cover:
The Bulls come into this game off an embarrassing 89-103 home loss to the Spurs, where San Antonio was playing without Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Chicago has been in a bit of a funk of late, as they have now lost four of their last six.
This may seem like a good time to fade the Bulls, but Chicago is a dangerous team on the road and coming off a loss. They have the best road record in the Eastern Conference at 15-9 and are second to only Oklahoma City (16-9) overall. Chicago is also a strong 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games following a ATS loss and are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 road games vs a team with a home winning % better than .600.
Boston has surprisingly played well without All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo, but his loss could be big in this game. Rondo has tormented the Bulls ever since these two teams met up in the playoffs a few years back. In three previous games against Chicago this season, Rondo averaged 25.3 points, 8.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds. That’s a lot of offense Boston will have to replace. On top of that, the Celtics just lost reserve Leandro Barbosa for the season in their last game against the Bobcats.
Why Boston Will Cover:
The Celtics are coming off a shocking 91-94 loss at Charlotte on Monday, which put an end to their seven game winning streak. It also marked the first time they were beat since Rondo went out for the year. While the loss to the Bobcats looks bad on paper, Boston was in a very difficult spot in that game. They had just played a triple-overtime game against the Nuggets the previous night.
I think a lot of people are waiting for the Celtics to implode without Rondo, but I don’t know that it’s going to happen. If anything this team has really picked up their play. They are doing a much better job of sharing the basketball and shutting down the opposing team on the defensive side of the ball.
While both teams will be looking to go into the All-Star break with a victory, this is clearly a much more important game for the Celtics than it is the Bulls. Boston is currently 7th in the Eastern Conference standings , just 4.5 games ahead of Philadelphia, who is currently on the outside looking in at the No. 9 spot. The Bulls know things are going to get better soon, as Derrick Rose is expected to return sometime in the next couple weeks. Boston on the other hand is going to have to play extremely well from here on out just to make the playoffs.
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