Celtics vs. Bulls NBA expert prediction and odds for Saturday, March 23 (C’s keep winning)
Betting odds, pick and prediction for the Boston Celtics' matchup with the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.
By Peter Dewey
The Boston Celtics just keep on winning, picking up an eighth straight win on Friday night, even though they didn’t have Al Horford, Jayson Tatum or Jrue Holiday in action against the Detroit Pistons.
Now, Boston will play the second leg of a back-to-back against the Chicago Bulls, who they blew out in Chicago back on Feb. 22, 129-112.
Boston has been resting players with the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference essentially locked up, so there could be some concern there on the second night of a back-to-back.
Does that mean we should trust the Bulls? I’m not ready to go that far.
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Let’s dive into the odds and my best bet for Saturday’s matchup:
Celtics vs. Bulls odds, spread and total
Celtics vs. Bulls how to watch
- Date: Saturday, March 23
- Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
- Venue: United Center
- How to watch (TV): NBC Sports Boston, NBC Sports Chicago, NBA TV
- Celtics record: 56-14
- Bulls record: 34-36
Celtics vs. Bulls injury reports
Celtics injury report
- Not submitted yet
Bulls injury report
- Lonzo Ball – out
- Alex Caruso – probable
- Henri Drell – out
- Andrew Funk – out
- Zach LaVine – out
- Patrick Williams – out
- Coby White – probable
- Julian Phillips – out
- Adama Sanogo – out
Celtics vs. Bulls key players to watch
Boston Celtics
Payton Pritchard: With Boston sitting key players – especially Holiday – in recent weeks, Pritchard has really stepped up in an expanded role. Since March 1, the former first-round pick is averaging 11.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 45.0 percent from 3.
Chicago Bulls
DeMar DeRozan: In the last matchup against Boston, DeRozan struggled, shooting just 7-for-17 from the field and scoring 19 points. He’s had to step up with Coby White dealing with a hip injury, but White (probable) is expected to play tonight. DeRozan has averaged 25.1 points per game since facing Boston.
Celtics vs. Bulls prediction and pick
After Tatum, Horford and Holiday all sat last night, my expectation is that Tatum and Horford will both suit up in this game.
Holiday has been dealing with an actual injury, so the Celtics may opt to play Derrick White in both legs of the back-to-back, if not, we’ll see a steady dosage of Prtichard and Sam Hauser.
Boston is beating everyone – and beating them badly – over this streak, winning eight straight games and seven of them by double digits.
Chicago may be a play-in team in the East, but the Bulls aren’t great, ranking 20th in the NBA in net rating this season (Boston is No. 1).
Not only that, but Boston has covered the spread in five straight games as a road favorite to move to 16-14-3 against the spread in that spot.
I think the C’s can cover this spread and pick up a ninth straight victory.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.