NBA Daily Picks: Thursday, October 27
By Jeremy Karll
Boston Celtics @ Chicago Bulls
Listen, a back-to-back to start the season is never easy for any team. The Celtics do have the fortune of having a very deep rotation, with only two players playing over 30 minutes in a blowout game yesterday. That should give them fairly fresh legs, and the advantage of being able to keep their high-tempo offense against a team who will want to slow the game down.
Despite the NBA landscape changing to a three-point shooting league, the Chicago Bulls refuse to accept that. They did sign former Celtic R.J. Hunter, who probably won’t play considering he only signed yesterday, and also have Doug McDermott, but the Bulls big free agent signings both don’t have a great outside shot — Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo. Plus, Jimmy Butler is not a great three-point shooter, either.
That being said, the United Center is not an easy place to win at. In fact, the Bulls have gone 7-1 in their last eight home openers, with their lone loss coming in overtime to Cleveland two years ago. The United Center is historically one of the loudest arenas, and Bulls fans will show up with the World Series on a travel break.
Still, the Bulls have a weird dynamic with their non three-point shooting team. That makes Boston’s problems guarding the three-point shot against the Nets less concerning. It will come down to the wire and it won’t be an easy win, but the Celtics bench can tire teams out, and their starters can have a much bigger role in bigger games.
Pick: Boston Celtics