Chicago Bulls at Boston Celtics Betting Pick/Player Prop
19 April 2021
Chicago snapped a rough five-game losing streak with a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night. The Bulls bring a record of 23-33 into this game, and they are out of a playoff spot in the East.
Boston is one of the hottest teams in the NBA at this time, winning six straight games. The Celtics are now 31-26 on the season and are looking to get into the top-four of the Eastern Conference.
The Boston Celtics are six-point favorites over the Chicago Bulls.
Bulls Battling Through Adversity
Adversity has been a common theme for the Bulls so far this season, and now Chicago is playing without their best player. Zach LaVine is currently out of the lineup due to COVID-19 protocols, and the Bulls will be missing his 27 points per game.
All-Star center Nikola Vucevic is capable of carrying this team, and he was dominant in the win on Saturday night. Chicago is scoring more than 112 points per game, but three-point shooting will be a huge key for the Bulls on Monday night.
The defensive end of the floor has been a big issue for the Bulls all season long as this team is giving up nearly 114 points per game. Chicago will need to find a way to slow down the Celtics if they want to pick up a victory.
Celtics Clicking on Offense
It’s taking nearly 50 games, but the Celtics have finally started clicking on the offensive end of the floor. Boston is only averaging 112.7 points per game, but the Celtics have been putting up some huge numbers on offense during this six-game winning streak.
Jayson Tatum leads the Celtics with 26 points per game, and he has started to emerge as one of the top players in the league. Jaylen Brown has also chipped in with nearly 25 points per game, and the Celtics are starting to get contributions from bench players as well.
The Celtics are still just an average defensive team, but they have also been much better on that end of the floor during this winning streak. Boston looks like a team ready to go on a deep run in the playoffs.
Celtics Cruise to Victory
Boston has finally started to put things together on both ends of the floor, and that is scary for the other teams in the Eastern Conference. This team is on an absolute roll at this time, and it’s hard to see the Bulls putting a stop to that.
Chicago made a big splash at the trade deadline, but the moves just haven’t made much of a difference. Adding Nikola Vucevic will pay dividends next season as well, but it’s not going to help them out in this game.
Playing shorthanded is a huge disadvantage for the Bulls, and they won’t be able to keep up for four quarters. Bet the Boston Celtics -6.0 over the Chicago Bulls in this clash in the Eastern Conference on Monday night.
Player Prop
Nikola Vucevic (-105) Over 2.5 3pt FGs
After seeing his three-point production drop immediately following the trade from Orlando, Vucevic has picked up the pace once again.
The long-range center is averaging 2.8 made 3s on 5.7 attempts in the month of April. He has not made fewer than 3 3s and attempted fewer than 5 since going 2-for-3 against Minnesota on the 11th.
Over the last 4 games, Vucevic has averaged 3.5 made 3s and attempted an average of 8. With Zach LaVine sidelined by health and safety protocols, Vucevic becomes the primary focus of Billy Donovan's offense. In the 2 games he has played without LaVine, Vucevic is averaging 24.5 ppg with 6 made 3s on 12 attempts.
The Celtics defense, which is ranked only 18th in the league in FG percentage (37.2), provides an opportunity as well. With the Bulls looking for him to carry much of the offensive load, we'll take Nicola Vucevic to go over 2.5 made 3s tornight against the Celtics.
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