By Stephen Nover
Bulls plus 12 at Celtics
Boston is at low ebb right now coming home after going 1-4 SU, 0-5 on a five-game road trip that concluded this past Sunday in Portland with a 100-94 loss to the Trail Blazers. The Celtics’ lone win during their trip came against the 2-11 Suns in overtime.
The question now becomes are the Celtics ready to take out their frustrations against the Bulls today? The evidence says no. Boston likely wins, but not by double-digits.
The Celtics are still trying to find their way. Brad Stevens is working on ironing out his rotation. Not only is this Boston’s first game back from a long trip – often a bad spot for the home team – but the Celtics have revenge games up next hosting Toronto on Friday and Utah on Saturday. The matchup against the Raptors is the biggest for the Celtics so far this season. So Stevens has little reason to extend his starter’s minutes against the lowly Bulls especially if the game gets out of hand, which leaves the backdoor swinging open if it comes down to a garbage time scenario with the point spread on the line.
Boston is at its point spread worst, too, when laying 8 1/2 or more points having failed to cover in that situation the past 10 TIMES, including going 0-4 ATS in that role this season.
The Bulls are a young team with some of their better players injured. Zach LaVine is having a breakout season, though. He’s currently the fifth-leading scorer in the NBA averaging 27.1 points a game. Chicago has covered in its last three away games. Only twice in their last 11 games have the Bulls lost by more than nine points.
(Editor’s note: Stephen Nover is one of the top NBA ‘cappers in North America and he’s off to another great start this season going 21-13 for 61 percent on his premium/free plays. If you are interested in Stephen’s sports service please email or message him.)
