Boston Celtics have won six straight games against Chicago Bulls and look to extend their advantage on Friday against them. As Boston is an overwhelming favorite with an over/under total set at 242.5 points.
This game marks a crucial test of the current Celtics squad. If Ray Allen can step up, their chances for success will increase dramatically; otherwise, they risk languishing in the bottom tier of Eastern Conference play. Read more about bulls vs celtics.
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based out of Chicago, Illinois that compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Since 1966 when founded by former professional player Dick Klein, they have won five championships, four consecutively from 1991-1996. While success and failure have both marked their journey over nearly 60 years of existence.
The Bulls once held one of the premier spots in the NBA, yet struggled for much of 2000s and early 2010s. Led by superstar point guard Derrick Rose and center Joakim Noah, they began showing promise early 2010s, reaching both Eastern Conference finals (2010-11 and 2011-12 before losing to Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics respectively), reaching 2011-12 finals before suffering injuries that ruled him out for two seasons before finally returning in 2013-14 season. Rose experienced severe back injuries that would impact him for years afterwards.
Jordan made an immediate impact in Game 2, scoring 63 points to help beat the Celtics 129-118. Bird referred to Jordan’s performance as being like that of God: his performance had Bird proclaiming him “God disguised as Michael Jordan.” Since then, the Bulls have won five more matches against Boston – including three consecutive regular season victories from 1992 to 1994.
As in 2024, when they swept Boston in four games to capture a four-game sweep in their first-round matchup.
Although one of the top defensive teams in the league, the Bulls failed to qualify for playoffs during 2017-18 season despite boasting one of the strongest defenses in the NBA and haven’t won one since 1998 despite multiple rebuilds and coach changes during that timeframe.
Recent struggles of the Bulls franchise have led some fans to question its direction, with new owner Ted Forman hoping to change culture and restore former glory days. Tom Thibodeau was recently appointed head coach and the Bulls have made significant adjustments to their strategy in hopes that it will lead to increased results on the court. Still, many fans remain doubtful of their chances at capturing a championship this year. However, they do possess an experienced group of young players that could help lead them back into playoff contention soon. Furthermore, key additions are expected this offseason including adding veteran shooting guard Kyle Korver for depth in frontcourt play as well as more aggressive offensive execution from Taj Gibson, their versatile center who can cover both forward and power positions.
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based out of Boston, Massachusetts that compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Eastern Conference as part of its Atlantic Division. Established in 1946 and having always played in Boston since their launch, this franchise holds 17 championships to its credit and boasts more winning seasons than any other NBA franchise in league history.
The Celtics were one of the hottest teams in the NBA after All-Star break, winning 20 of their final 24 games to finish with a 66-16 regular season record, their best since their championship year of 1986. Upon reaching the playoffs they easily dispatched Atlanta Hawks in six games before facing Orlando Magic for an elimination series which went seven games before Hedo Turkoglu and his squad won out against Hedo Turkoglu’s defense and ultimately Hedo was victorious.
In the conference semifinals, they worked tirelessly to knock off Philadelphia 76ers in six games and advance to meet Miami Heat, whom they had lost out against earlier that season. Though taking an early 2-0 series lead against them, eventually losing in seven games proved costly in this race for Eastern Conference supremacy.
During the offseason, the Celtics made significant adjustments to their roster. Free agents Marquis Daniels, Chris Wilcox and Keyon Dooling joined Delonte West, Al Jefferson and Gerald Green while in the draft they chose Providence swingman MarShon Brooks with the 25th overall selection before trading him to Brooklyn Nets for a second-round selection used to draft power forward JaJuan Johnson.
After beginning their season slowly, the Boston Celtics have steadied themselves by leaning heavily on defense and rebounding. A key contributor in their recent victory against Detroit Pistons was center Jaylen Brown who recorded 21 points and 10 rebounds to earn himself an All-Defense selection this year. His impressive showing has caused much discussion regarding all-defensive honors this season.
Betting Odds
On Friday night, when they visit Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics will look to extend their winning streak to seven games by becoming 7.5-point favorites and setting an over/under total of 223.5 points.
The Over has come through in both teams’ last three head-to-head matches and four of six overall. Both sides play well together on both sides of the ball, so going over is an ideal bet in this contest. In fact, three out of the last five Bulls games scored more than 109 points while four of 10 Celtics games went over the total scoreline.
Though both teams are coming off of consecutive back-to-back contests, both appear at full strength for this matchup. The Celtics should find success covering this spread since they have an 11-8-1 ATS record when being the favorite and an impressive 10-1-1 road record; by comparison, the Bulls have only managed four victories against the spread in seven attempts over that span and have struggled against it recently.
Boston has had an outstanding offense this season, ranking third in scoring at 120.2 points per game and leading in three-pointers made. Furthermore, their defense is incredible at stopping opponents’ runs of scoring runs; plus their deep roster contains several capable scorers who should help outpace Chicago on their own.
Chicago’s offense has been extremely lackluster this year. Their top players have been inconsistent and lack depth to compensate for deficiencies; as they’re just one win away from being at risk in the Eastern Conference basement, this game holds great importance for them.
The over/under is set at 223.5 points for this game and should provide plenty of scoring action. The Celtics boast the third-highest scoring average in the NBA while allowing more points per game than anyone else, setting up for an entertaining showdown and making over betting attractive option in this contest.
SportsLine’s advanced computer model has run 10,000 simulations of this game and identified an Under pick as its best bet based on player injuries, recent matchups and key trends. This powerful tool has generated winning picks in more than 50% of simulations; visit SportsLine now to view this pick and all our premium NBA picks!
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