Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas
The (19-21 SU, 20-18-2 ATS) Chicago Bulls and (28-12 SU, 21-18-1 ATS) Boston Celtics will take the court on Monday for an Eastern Conference clash. Chicago, 8-12 SU and 10-9-1 ATS on the road, beat Utah 126-118 in their last game. Boston, 15-5 SU and 12-8 ATS at home, defeated San Antonio 121-116 on Saturday.
The Bulls are 2-1 against the Celtics this season. They won 121-107 in the most recent matchup on Nov. 21 in Chicago. Boston is 130-109 all-time versus Chicago.
Tip-off from TD Garden is at 7:40 p.m. ET. Bulls guard Alex Caruso (ankle) and forward Javonte Green (knee) are questionable with injury designations, and Celtics guard Marcus Smart (knee) is doubtful. The Celtics are eight-point spread favorites, and the game total is 237 points.
The Bulls have won three straight, picking up victories over Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Utah. It was a significant three-game winning streak for Chicago after it lost consecutive games versus Cleveland. The challenging stretch isn't getting any easier, though. The Bulls take on Boston on Monday and end the week against Golden State.
In the last matchup between the Bulls and Celtics, Chicago snapped a nine-game Boston win streak. It was a statement win, per Bulls guard Zach Lavine (22 points), who was coming off a dismal 1-for-14 shooting performance against Orlando.
“Big time,” LaVine said. “We've lost a lot in a row, and they've won a lot in a row. I think we're a really good team, but we go through little lapses or times where we play bad. That's how fast the game can change.”
Zach LaVine is 17-of 25 from three (68%!!!) in our last two games.
Vote Zach ?? https://t.co/FIqGfhqP9E pic.twitter.com/OfUSSZXIlk
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 8, 2023
The Bulls score 115.1 points per game and shoot 49.0 percent from the field (fourth-highest in the league). They're also sixth in three-point percentage (37.7%) and fifth in free-throw percentage (81.7%). Chicago's schedule-adjusted offensive rating is ranked 15th, and its effective field goal percentage (55.2%) is 10th, per Dunks and Threes.
DeMar DeRozan leads Chicago in scoring at 26.4 points per game. The Bulls also count on contributions from LaVine (23.3 PPG) and Nikola Vucevic (16.8 PPG and 10.9 RPG), Patrick Williams (9.9 PPG and 4.1 RPG), and Ayo Dosunmu (9.8 PPG and 3.2 RPG).
Chicago surrenders 115.5 points per game, and its opponents shoot 47.7 percent from the field, including 37.2 percent from distance. The Bulls have a -1 rebounding margin and 1.76 assist-per-turnover ratio. They're 16th in schedule-adjusted defensive rating and 27th in opponent effective field goal percentage (55.5%).
No House Advantage: Bet on player over/unders VS THE HOUSE to 21x your bet OR play in PICK 'EM contests against other people! Click here to get a 1st deposit match up to $50 1st w/ promocode WandW!