Blake Daniels, October 24, 2022

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The Boston Celtics take their unbeaten record to the Windy City where the struggling Chicago Bulls await them on Monday night.

Boston is off a strong 3-0 start with wins over the Sixers and Heat already. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have picked up where they left off last season and are proving to be a tough duo to handle. This will be Boston’s third road game of the season and they are 2-0 SU away from the TD Garden this year. The Celtics are the early title favorites and they are so far proving their worth as such.

Meanwhile, Chicago looks to end a two-game losing skid on Monday. After beating Miami on opening night, the Bulls have dropped back-to-back games, including a 32-point blowout in their last game. The Bulls got Zach LaVine back the last time out but DeMar DeRozan struggled with only 13 points against the Cavs and the Bulls were unable to keep pace with the scoring for their second consecutive loss.

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics entered the 2022-23 season as the favorites to win the NBA championship. Boston is coming off an appearance in the 2022 NBA Finals where they were two wins away from winning the title. Unfortunately, they lost three in a row to the Golden State Warriors.

The Celtics reloaded by adding Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari during the offseason. Gallinari has yet to play a game due to injury but Brogdon has proved to be a key acquisition and is one of the five Celtics scoring in double digits.

Boston opened the season with a win over their chief Atlantic Division rival Philadelphia 76ers and then went on to defeat the Miami Heat in their second game. The Celtics beat the Heat in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals.

Jayson Tatum is coming off a 40-point game in a win over the Orlando Magic, in a game where the Celtics shot 41% from three ball. Derrick White added 27 and was two away from tying his career high in scoring while Jaylen Brown is scoring over 20 points per game this season.

Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls opened their season on a high note as they upset last season’s Conference Finalists Miami Heat while playing without both Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball. Chicago has since fallen on hard times as they dropped a two-point game to the Washington Wizards and then lost by 32 points to the Cleveland Cavaliers the last time out.

Against Cleveland, the Chicago offense faltered. They fell behind by 9 points after one, 16 at the half, and were outgunned 35-17 in the final period for the blowout loss. One reason for their offensive woes was DeMar DeRozan who scored only 13 points after averaging 35 in their first two games of the year.

The good news for the Bulls if you want to look at it that way is that Zach LaVine played his first game of the year after Chicago went cautious with his repaired knee. LaVine played in only 28 minutes but managed to put up 23 points in a losing effort.

Don’t expect LaVine to play more minutes on Monday however and it may be possible that the Bulls won’t let him play back-to-back schedules like Monday’s game against Boston. What’s certain is that Lonzo Ball is still out and the Bulls miss both his playmaking and defense. Chicago is allowing the highest field goal percentage among all teams in the league.

Celtics vs Bulls SU Prediction

The Celtics are 14-5 SU in their last 19 games played against the Bulls. Boston is also 3-1 SU in their last 4 games played against Chicago.

Boston Celtics SU trends:

• The Celtics are 3-0 SU in three games played this season.
• The Celtics are 2-0 SU in 2 road games played so far this campaign.
• The Celtics are 6-1 SU in their last 7 games played against the Eastern Conference.
• The Celtics are 5-2 SU in their last 7 games played in October.

Chicago Bulls SU trends:

• The Bulls are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games played.
• The Bulls are 2-10 SU in their last 12 games played against the Eastern Conference.
• The Bulls are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games played against the Atlantic Division.
• The Bulls are 6-3 SU in their last 9 October games.

Boston has lived up to its preseason billing as title favorites with three straight wins to start the year. The Celtics have proved to be a superb offensive team as they are 5th in the league in scoring points. With the double-barrel offense of Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brown, Boston has been hard to stop early on.

Tatum and Brown are averaging a combined 59.7 points per game this season but the Celtics also have three other double-digit scorers in Derrick White, Grant Williams, and Malcolm Brogdon. Marcus Smart and Al Horford aren’t even in that mix, and neither is Payton Pritchard. With so many weapons available and healthy, the Celtics will be tough to beat here.

The Bulls have been cautious about Zach LaVine’s surgically repaired knee and he missed the team’s first two games of the season. LaVine played only 28 minutes against the Cavs but should be able to suit up for this game. It remains unclear, however, if the Bulls will play him over 30 minutes which will be to their disadvantage against a high-scoring team like Boston.

DeMar DeRozan is coming off a subpar performance against the Cavs and he should be back to his old prolific self on Monday. However, with Boston’s ability to throw the likes of Brogdon, Smart, and even Jaylen Brown to defend him, it won’t be an easy night for DeRozan and the Bulls.

Chicago’s offense continues to miss Lonzo Ball. They have been inconsistent after three games played. The Celtics’ defense isn’t as good as it was last season but given how the Bulls have struggled to score points, I think that the Celtics should do enough on defense to pick up the win here.

Boston’s offense plus Chicago’s inability to force missed shots should lead to a fourth consecutive win for the Boston Celtics to start this season.

Prediction: Boston Celtics

Celtics vs Bulls ATS Prediction

The Celtics are 1-4 ATS in their last 10 days played against the Bulls. Boston is, however, 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games played in Chicago.

Boston Celtics ATS trends:

• The Celtics are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games after scoring more than 125 points in their previous game.
• The Celtics are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 Monday games.
• The Celtics are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a losing home record.
• The Celtics are 21-7-1 ATS in their last 29 road games.
• The Celtics are 20-8 ATS in their last 28 games following an ATS loss.
• The Celtics are 16-7-1 ATS in their last 24 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
• The Celtics are 20-9-1 ATS in their last 30 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
• The Celtics are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400.

Chicago Bulls ATS trends:

• The Bulls are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
• The Bulls are 0-7 ATS in their last 7 home games.
• The Bulls are 7-16-1 ATS in their last 24 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
• The Bulls are 7-18-1 ATS in their last 26 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
• The Bulls are 9-24 ATS in their last 33 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
• The Bulls are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games following a straight-up loss.
• The Bulls are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
• The Bulls are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Monday games.
• The Bulls are 3-12-1 ATS in their last 16 games playing on 1 day’s rest.
• The Bulls are 3-12 ATS in their last 15 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
• The Bulls are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following an ATS loss.
• The Bulls are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a double-digit loss at home.
• The Bulls are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a straight-up loss of more than 10 points.

Celtics vs Bulls Over/Under Prediction

The total has gone under in five out of the last 7 games played between these two teams. The under is 19-7 in their last 26 meetings played in Chicago.

Boston Celtics over/under trends:

• The under is 5-2 in the Celtics’ last 7 road games.
• The under is 13-3-1 in the Celtics’ last 17 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of less than .400.
• The under is 4-1 in the Celtics’ last 5 games playing on 1 day’s rest.
• The under is 5-2 in the Celtics’ last 7 vs. a team with a losing straight-up record.
• The under is 7-3 in the Celtics’ last 10 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
• The under is 7-3 in the Celtics’ last 10 games following an ATS loss.
• The over is 6-0-1 in the Celtics’ last 7 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400.
• The over is 7-2 in the Celtics’ last 9 games after scoring more than 125 points in their previous game.
• The over is 6-2-1 in the Celtics’ last 9 road games vs. a team with a losing home record.
• The over is 5-2 in the Celtics’ last 7 Monday games.

Chicago Bulls over/under trends:

• The under is 6-2 in the Bulls’ last 8 overall.
• The under is 6-0 in the Bulls’ last 6 Monday games.
• The under is 5-0 in the Bulls’ last 5 vs. a team with a winning straight-up record.
• The under is 7-2 in the Bulls’ last 9 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
• The under is 5-2 in the Bulls’ last 7 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
• The under is 5-2 in the Bulls’ last 7 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
• The under is 7-3 in the Bulls’ last 10 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
• The under is 11-5 in the Bulls’ last 16 games following an ATS loss.
• Over is 7-3 in the Bulls’ last 10 games following a double-digit loss at home.

The arrival of Malcolm Brogdon has made Boston a better scoring team. Although Brogdon isn’t putting up his usual numbers, he is still contributing 12.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game and he’s helped made Boston the league’s 5th best-scoring team this season. Boston has scored at least 120 points in two of three games played so far this season and has shot over 50% in those games.

Meanwhile, the Bulls are coming off a game where they allowed 126 points to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Chicago is allowing the highest opponent field goal percentage this season. And since the Bulls are coming off a 96-point effort against the Cavs, they should have a big scoring game on Monday. DeRozan is coming off an uncharacteristic 13-point effort. I think he bounces back with a strong game as well. A better offensive showing by the Cavs and their inability to stop the Celtics’ offense should push the score over the total.

Prediction: Over 223.5