After cruising to a 36-point win over the Orlando Magic, the Boston Celtics continue their road trip in Chicago to take on a Bulls team that's won just three games since knocking off the C's at the Garden back on April 19th. Chicago is still alive for a playoff spot and coming off a 21-point road win over Charlotte on Thursday night.
Here's a betting preview of Celtics vs. Bulls --Â odds provided by our partner, PointsBet Sportsbook.
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Celtics (35-31) at Bulls (27-39): 7:30 p.m. ET, United Center
PointsBet Spread: Celtics -4Â
Boston is a four-point favorite heading into tonight's matchup despite the fact that Jaylen Brown will not be playing (ankle) and the Celtics lost at home to the Bulls a few weeks ago. The C's were without Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart and Robert Williams for that contest, a 102-96 loss. Â
The only other matchup between Boston and Chicago was back in January: a 119-103 win at the United Center for the Celtics. Chicago is actually one of the worst home teams ATS this season, going just 12-19-1 at the United Center.
Boston Celtics
As noted above, the Celtics last played Wednesday while the Bulls played a game in Charlotte last night so Boston certainly has a rest advantage. Â The Celtics are 7-1 ATS in their last eight road games coming off a rest day. The Bulls are just 2-6 ATS the last eight times they've played on the second night of a back-to-back. Â
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Another big factor for the C's is Kemba Walker, who made his return on Wednesday after missing four games. Boston is 7-1 ATS in the last eight games that Walker has played and 9-2 ATS in the last eleven with Kemba. As for Robert Williams being questionable, the Celtics are 5-2 ATS over the last seven with Williams but just 26-26 ATS for the season. Meanwhile, the C's are just 1-5 ATS with Brown on the floor over the last six. Â
PointsBet Total: 224
The previous two matchups between these teams both went UNDER with the last game featuring less than 200 points. But Boston has been playing in a lot of high scoring games of late, which is why the C's have hit six straight OVERs. The OVER is 5-1 in the last six games that Kemba Walker has played.
Fournier-Walker connection among encouraging C's trends
Meanwhile, the UNDER is 10-5 when the Bulls are playing on the second night of a back-to-back, including 9-2 over the last eleven. The UNDER is also 15-3 in the last eighteen games in which the Bulls are hosting an Eastern Conference team.
NBC Sports EDGE likes these Player Props...
Kemba Walker (BOS): U 20.5 points (+110) ... Kemba scored 32 points Wednesday after missing the previous four games. He did not play in either matchup vs. Chicago this year.
Daniel Theis (CHI): O 6.5 rebounds (+110) ... Theis has 4 straight games of 7+ rebounds. He had 6 rebounds against BOS back on 4/19.
NBC Sports EDGE likes these out-of-town Player Props...
Anthony Davis (LAL): U 22.5 points  (-115)
DeMar DeRozan (SA): U 21.5 points (-105)
Dorian Finney-Smith (DAL): O 11.5 points (-105)
Dejounte Murray (SA): U 16.5 points (-110)
Moritz Wagner (ORL): U 6.5 rebounds (-135)
Jakob Poeltl (SA): U 7.5 rebounds (+105)