The Chicago Bulls take on the Boston Celtics on Monday night in an Eastern Conference matchup. It's time for us to continue our NBA odds series and make a Bulls-Celtics prediction and pick.
The Bulls had dropped five straight before getting back on track against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday with a 10-point victory. Chicago has a 23-33 record and are in a 3-way tie for the 10th seed in the East, which would be the final spot for the play-in tournament.
As for the Celtics, they have caught fire lately and have won eight of their past 10 games to move into the top five seeds in the East. The Celtics hold a 31-26 record and can move past the Atlanta Hawks with a victory.
Here's how sportsbooks have set for the Celtics-Bulls game on Monday night.
NBA Odds: Bulls-Celtics Odds
Chicago Bulls + 6 1/2 (-105)
Boston Celtics – 6 1/2 (-115)
Over 215 points (-105)
Under 215 points (-115)
Why The Bulls Could Cover The Spread
It's safe to say that the Bulls' time after acquiring Nikola Vucevic at the trade deadline hasn't gone as planned. Of course, it helps that the Celtics injury report is rather lengthy heading into their matchup.
Update from the Celtics: Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are now available to play against Chicago … but Marcus Smart (non-Covid illness) is now listed alongside Kemba Walker (non-Covid illness) as questionable.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 19, 2021
While Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are playing, Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker are questionable. Still, the Bulls have Vucevic who should be able to go to town against the Celtics bigs.
Zach LaVine is still out as he remains in the league's health and safety protocols, so Chicago will need a huge game from Vucevic. Also, Daniel Thies might be playing better on Monday night against the team that shipped him away just a few weeks ago.
Lauri Markannen should provide some scoring and Patrick Williams might chip in a few points here and there. This game boils down to one thing for the Bulls and it's Vucevic. The big man should be able to have a monster game against Boston and could lead the Bulls to a surprising upset.
Why The Celtics Could Cover The Spread
The Celtics are one of the hottest teams in basketball and are peaking at the perfect time. Tatum dropped 44 points on Saturday against the Golden State Warriors in a victory.
Whether Walker and Smart play shouldn't matter too much for Boston as long as Tatum and Brown can play as well as they have been playing all year. The Celtics have also only lost 10 games at home all season long and should continue their success at TD Garden.
Brad Stevens has his group playing fantastic basketball as they aim for a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference after being pegged as one of the biggest disappointments in the NBA to start the season.
In all honesty, not many people can guard Tatum and he and Brown should have their ways against Chicago as they continue to climb up the rankings.
Finals Bulls-Celtics Prediction & Pick
The status of Smart and Walker do play a little bit of a factor here, but not too much. Tatum and Brown both drop 30 points apiece. Nikola Vucevic has a huge game with 35 points and 15 boards, but the absence of LaVine looms too large for Chicago to overcome. Fire up the Celtics in a double-digit victory.
Bulls-Celtics prediction: Celtics by double-digits
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