NBA Picks: It is a Black Friday matinee as the Chicago Bulls visit the Boston Celtics. Many people have Friday off so there are a number of sporting events in the day on Friday from college football and college basketball to NBA and NHL. This matchup in the NBA has the Bulls a likely road favorite against the Celtics. Here is a look at the matchup and NBA predictions.
Long Bulls Road Trip is Almost Over
The circus road trip for the Bulls is almost over. The trip that occurs every year when the circus is in town started in Los Angeles on the 17th of this month and wraps up in Brooklyn on Sunday. The team went 1-2 in their first three games of the trip. The Bulls went 4-4 against the spread in their first eight road games this season with five of the games going under with one push. The Bulls are averaging about 100 points per game this season while allowing 98 per contest.
The team hasn’t had Derrick Rose that often this season but so far Jimmy Butler has picked up the slack. He has been doing as much as Rose could, averaging 20.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals a game. Butler said that people need to stop worrying about when Rose will play.
“Man, (Rose’s) head is in the same place all of our heads are in, and that’s wanting to win a championship,” Butler said. “That’s what he’s getting ready for. That’s what we’re getting ready for. We want him to be 100% — not 99% — because you come back too early and you’re risking another injury. He’s fine. He’s our leader, and he knows what he’s doing.”
Boston Celtics 4-8 SU, 5-7 ATS
The Celtics come into this game having lost five of their last six games. They have been off since Sunday when they lost 94-88 at home to Portland. The team is just 2-5 ATS at home this season. They have gone over in 9 of their 12 games this season including six of seven going over at home. The Celtics are averaging 105 points per game while allowing 107 points per contest.
Series Notes
The Bulls have won 7 of their last 10 in this series and they are 7-2-1 ATS. The Celtics upset the Bulls 106-101 earlier this month in Chicago. That win broke a three-game losing streak for Boston in the series. Two of the last three in the series have gone over. The Celtics have won six of the last ten at home in this series with three of the last four going over.
NBA Predictions
We’ll look for the recent trends to continue and for this game to go over the total.
