Filip Tomic
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The Boston Celtics are hoping to get revenge on the Chicago Bulls after suffering their first loss of the season against them last week. Watch the game live on ESPN from 7:30 pm ET, followed by part two of Friday’s double-header between the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves. To add to the excitement, we’ve got a Same Game Parlay for this Bulls vs Celtics matchup, but you can also check out our NBA Predictions for each of tonight’s 12 games. Let’s dive in.
Boston Celtics 1-10 win margin (+165)
Jaylen Brown over 2.5 made threes (+104)
Zach LaVine over 2.5 made threes (+110)
Al Horford to record 8+ rebounds (-118)
Parlay odds: +2022
Boston Celtics 1-10 win margin over Chicago Bulls (+165)
I’m not sure if the word “desperate” is the one to use here, but the Boston Celtics certainly need a win here following a 1-3 SU run over their last 4 outings. One of those losses was against tonight’s opponent, the Bulls, 120-102 on the road. The Cs were thoroughly dominated on the glass in that game, losing the rebounding battle 60-45, which will need to be addressed in tonight’s game if they want to get the win in front of the home fans.
Despite the loss at Cleveland last time out, there are definitely some positives to take from this season for Boston. Jayson Tatum is playing at an elite level on both ends, followed by a consistent performer in Jaylen Brown. Boston is off to a slower start to their season than they would’ve liked, but we’ve already seen them do that last season and they ended the year strong. Until Robert Williams returns though, they’ll have to rack up some wins, starting tonight at home against the Bulls.
Be sure to check out our full Chicago Bulls vs Boston Celtics predictions
Jaylen Brown over 2.5 made threes (+104)
Brown is off to another solid start to the season, upping his production across the board. He went from 23.6 points per game last season to averaging 26 this season and is the ideal second fiddle to Tatum on this team. His three-point numbers have also gone up — he is averaging 2.6 makes per game on 7.7 attempts, both of which are higher compared to last year. He is one of those players that plays a lot better in home games than on the road.
Through 3 games at TD Garden, he is averaging 30.3 per game and shooting 50% from the field, both encouraging numbers ahead of tonight’s game against Chicago. I’m looking for him to take advantage of the Bulls’ poor perimeter defense – they currently rank just 26th in opponent three-point percentage allowing 40.3% of made shots from distance. He’s scored a pair of threes in both of the last 2 meetings against them, time for him to up that number to 3 tonight.
Zach LaVine over 2.5 made threes (+110)
Having Zach LaVine on the roster is a big luxury for the Chicago Bulls, as whenever DeMar DeRozan doesn’t have it going they can simply give the ball over to LaVine and he does his thing. Boston has been particularly valuable from the three-point line this season, allowing 36.2% of makes from deep, which ranks only 21st in the NBA so far this season. LaVine is by far the best three-point shooter on the Bulls, averaging 3.3 makes per game on an impressive 43.5% efficiency.
He didn’t shoot the ball well in his last game, making only 2 of 7 shots from distance, but in the game before that he torched the Nets on the road for 5 threes. He made 3 of them in the 1st meeting of the season against Boston, which was the 6th time he’s done so in the last 8 games against them. During that stretch, he averages 3.3 makes on 41% shooting from the perimeter. I expect him to make at least 3 shots from downtown tonight.
Lock in Adam Ronis’ best NBA player props for tonight — he’s 5-1 this season
Al Horford to record 8+ rebounds (-118)
For his career, Horford averages exactly 8 rebounds per game against the Bulls in 39 games played. Granted, most of those numbers came when he was playing for Atlanta earlier in his career, but he has had some really solid rebounding games against them lately as well. Prior to the game played in Chicago last week, he had a streak of 3 games in a row with at least 8 boards, collecting 10, 8 and 10.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla will definitely make it a point of emphasis for Horford to crash the glass more often tonight after they got destroyed 60-45 by Chicago. Not having Robert Williams inside the paint has been a problem, but I am encouraged by what I’ve seen from Horford over the past 2 games, where he had 12 boards against Cleveland and 8 against Washington.
Check out Friday’s NBA Mega Parlay at +1111 odds — we’re going for our 2nd win in a row!
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