The Boston Celtics will be in Windy City for a matchup against the Chicago Bulls. Will the Celtics win their third game in a row? Or, will the Bulls win their first game in three games?
Catch this game live on Thursday, April 7, at 8 AM, Manila time
Away: Boston Celtics (49-30/21-17 on the road)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Marcus Smart
- SG: Derrick White
- SF: Aaron Nesmith
- PF: Grant Williams
- C: Daniel Theis
Boston is in rhythm again. After a pair of losses to the Toronto Raptors and the Miami Heat, the Celtics have won back-to-back, heading into Thursday’s meeting with the Bulls. Boston beat the Indiana Pacers at home last Saturday, 128-123, before taking down the Washington Wizards also at home last Monday, 144-102. Wins like those make any team feel good about themselves, and even if Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Al Horford end up sitting this game out, the Celtics can still remain competitive.
Marcus Smart has shown he can lead the way when needed and he’ll be running the backcourt with Derrick White, who’s been quite the trade-deadline pick up for the Celtics. The Celtics, who are No. 1 in the league in scoring defense with just 104.3 points allowed per game, are 4-0 against the spread in their last 4 road games versus a team sporting a winning record at home.
Home: Chicago Bulls (45-33/27-11 at home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Ayo Dosunmu
- SG: Alex Caruso
- SF: Javonte Green
- PF: DeMar DeRozan
- C: Nikola Vucevic
Despite another scoring outburst from DeMar DeRozan, the Bulls were not able to outlast the Milwaukee Bucks in a 127-106 home loss to Giannis Antetokounmpo and company Wednesday morning. Boston is always going to be a tough customer, but if Tatum and Brown get ultimately ruled out, that would be a welcome development for the Bulls, who might also be without Zach LaVine. The high-flying UCLA product is day-to-day with a knee issue that also forced him out of the Milwaukee game.
Nikola Vucevic must be aching to get back on the court after a stink job against the Bucks, as he came up with just seven points on a salty 3/19 shooting from the field. With Boston’s frontcourt without Robert Williams’ Vooch could potentially have a much more productive outing just like in the Bulls’ 128-8-114 November win at home against the Celtics. In that game, Vucevic had a near triple-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds to go with nine assists and two blocks. The Bulls are 12-5 ATS in their last 17 home games.
PREDICTIONS:
Spread: This game is a bit tricky considering the number of key players with uncertain statuses. With that said, it’s probably a good time to go against the public because this smells like a trap game waiting to happen. Taking the Celtics to cover (-6.5).
Over/Under: I don’t see the Celtics’ defense shining here with Tatum and Brown expected to miss the action and with Robert Williams not around to defend the paint for Boston. Taking the Over (224.0).
