With five days remaining in the NBA’s regular season, the Eastern Conference’s 10 postseason participants have been determined. The Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls are among the six clubs that have avoided the league’s play-in tournament and earned a pass straight into the playoffs. However, both teams are still jockeying for playoff positioning heading into their head-to-head clash that tops the Wednesday NBA odds board.
Boston is among a three-team cluster tied for second place. All three squads have a remote shot at catching Miami atop the Eastern Conference standings. And all three are within a whisker of securing home-court advantage at least through the postseason’s first round.
Meanwhile, the slumping Bulls have fallen out of the chase for a top-four seed, but they can still overtake Toronto for fifth place.
As reflected on the Wednesday NBA odds board — which shows the Celtics as a significant road favorite — this game means quite a bit more to Boston. However, Chicago recently has owned this rivalry both on the floor and at the betting window.
How will this one play out? Props.com breaks down Celtics vs. Bulls, the only matchup between teams with a winning record on the six-game Wednesday NBA odds menu.
Odds via WynnBet and updated as of 5:45 p.m. ET on April 6.
Boston Celtics Vs Chicago Bulls
Tipoff/TV: 8:10 p.m. ET/NBA League Pass
Celtics: 49-30 SU/42-36-1 ATS
Bulls: 45-34 SU/41-37-1 ATS
Spread/Total: Celtics -7/224.5
Season series: The teams have split two meetings this season, both in Boston, with Chicago rolling 128-114 on Nov. 1 and the Celtics answering with a 114-112 victory Jan. 15. The Bulls cashed in both games and are 4-0 ATS (3-1 SU) in the last four meetings (all as an underdog).
Did you know: Prior to Jan. 15, the straight-up winner had covered the point spread in 28 consecutive Bulls-Celtics battles (playoffs included)
About Boston: The Celtics have been idle since Sunday’s 144-102 annihilation of the Wizards, easily cashing as a hefty 13-point home chalk. That followed Friday’s 128-123 win over the Pacers as a 15-point home favorite, which snapped Boston’s first two-game slide since dropping home games to Charlotte and Portland on Jan. 19 and 21, respectively. Since those two defeats, the Celtics are 26-6 SU/20-12 ATS, including 13-3 SU/11-5 ATS on the road. Boston, which has scored at least 124 points in seven of its last nine contests, is in a three-way tie for second place in the Eastern Conference standings. The Celtics, Bucks and 76ers are all 49-30, 2.5 games behind first-place Miami (52-28). All three teams need one more win or one loss by fifth-place Toronto to lock up home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Editor’s Note: Looking to become a sharper NBA bettor? Check out our NBA betting guide for a few wagering tips.
About Chicago: The Bulls’ ongoing tumble down the Eastern Conference standings continued Tuesday with a 127-106 home loss to the Bucks as a 6.5-point underdog. Point guard and second-leading scorer Zach LaVine missed the game with a knee injury and his status for Tuesday is up in the air (see below). Chicago is now just 6-13 SU/5-14 ATS since Feb. 26, including 3-4 SU/ATS at home. The ill-timed slump has dropped the Bulls down to sixth place in the Eastern Conference, 6.5 games behind first-place Miami and one game back of No. 5 seed Toronto. The good news for Chicago: It has clinched a playoff spot, thus avoiding the NBA play-in tournament. (At worst, the Bulls — who are 2.5 games ahead of seventh-place Cleveland — could finish tied with the Cavaliers. But Chicago owns the tiebreaker based on its 3-1 record against Cleveland this season.)
Injuries: Three Celtics starters — guard Jaylen Brown (knee), and forwards Al Horford (back) and Jayson Tatum (knee) — are listed as probable. All three are expected to play, with Horford being the biggest question mark. … By midday Tuesday, all signs pointed to LaVine playing against the Bucks, but he ended up being a late scratch. He’s once again listed as probable Tuesday.
Notable Trends
- Boston is 5-1 ATS in its last six road games
- Boston is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 as a road favorite
- Chicago is 10-22 ATS as an underdog this season
- Chicago is 23-48 ATS in its last 71 as a home ’dog
- Over for Boston is on runs of 15-5-1 overall and 7-1 as a favorite
- Under for Chicago is on runs of 14-6 overall, 7-2 as a home underdog and 4-0 when playing on back-to-back days
- Boston is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 visits to Chicago
- Under is 11-2 in the last 13 series meetings in Chicago
Boston Celtics Vs Chicago Bulls Odds and Action
UPDATE 5:45 P.M. ET: About 2.5 hours ahead of game time, Boston is a 7-point chalk on WynnBet’s Wednesday NBA odds board. That matches the opener, though the Celtics were at -7.5 overnight and briefly got as low as -6 this morning. And an aside: WynnBet is testing out offering -108 juice on both spreads and totals, rather than the standard -110. Boston is landing 68% of spread bets and 71% of spread dollars.
The total has been all over the map, opening at 225, rising to 226 late Tuesday, plunging to 220.5 late this morning, then moving out to 224.5 by mid-afternoon. Ticket count is 3/1 and money just shy of 2/1 on the Over.