The Boston Celtics are off to an undefeated 3-0 start, meaning interim head coach Joe Mazzulla doesn’t know what losing feels like as a head coach — at least not when the games count in the standings at least.
Against a rebuilding Magic team who is winless thus far, Boston kept up with Orlando even while on the second night of a back-to-back. Al Horford sat out due to low back stiffness, but Noah Vonleh and Grant Williams held down the center position in his stead. Jayson Tatum was the hero of the night with his first 40-point outing of the 2022-23 season, and with the effort, became the first player in the history of the Celtics franchise to score 100 points in the first 3 games of a season.
The Chicago Bulls, Monday night’s opponent, started off the season with a shocking victory over the Miami Heat but have since dropped two straight to the Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers. Against the Cavs, the reintegration of Zach LaVine into the lineup didn’t have its intended effect.
With Chicago coming into this one staring at a 3-game losing streak and Boston coming in with a chance to go 4-0, different motivations make for what should be a competitive matchup. Hardwood Houdini has your odds and a prediction for the October 24 battle between the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls on NBC Sports Boston, NBC Sports Chicago, and NBA League Pass (all odds provided by WynnBET):
Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls odds, spread
The Celtics are 4.5-point favorites against the Bulls. Chicago is a +170 underdog while Boston’s ML is set at -205. The over/under for the game has been placed at 230.5 points.
Celtics vs. Bulls prediction
We haven’t seen a true clamping down performance from the Cs yet, and while Chicago is a far more offensively inclined team, this has the makings of a game that falls short of a fairly high over/under total.
Pick: 230.5u (-110)
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.