Bulls vs Celtics Picks and Odds

• The Bulls visit the Celtics on Monday, November 1st
• Boston is surprisingly a 2.5-point home favorite
• Find the odds, preview, and prediction below

The 5-1 Chicago Bulls take a trip to the TD Garden on Monday, November 1st to face the struggling Boston Celtics. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM EST.

Zach LaVine and Co. just handed the Utah Jazz their first loss of the season on Saturday night behind a 32-point effort from DeMar DeRozan. As for the C’s, they’ve lost two straight to the Washington Wizards and now sit at 2-4 on the season.

In 2020/21, the Bulls won two of three against Boston.

Bulls vs Celtics Odds

Odds as of October 31st at DraftKings.

Bulls Showing Out

All the hype surrounding this Chicago team following a productive offseason has been real so far. The Bulls are currently tied for first in the East with the New York Knicks, who actually beat them on Thursday night. However, Billy Donovan’s squad bounced back with authority on Saturday on home court against Utah.

Chi-Town rolled to a 107-99 victory in a truly impressive performance on both ends of the floor. The Bulls held a very good offensive team to under 100 points and forced 20 turnovers, which resulted in 25 points. That was certainly the difference though because they didn’t exactly shoot the ball well. In fact, Chicago drained just five three-pointers in the entire contest, going 5 for 21 from downtown.

This was by far DeRozan’s best game in a Bulls uniform, leading the offense with 32. LaVine and Nikola Vucevic chipped in 26 and 16 points, respectively as well.

Donovan’s team really pulled away in the second half, going on an 18-5 run to take a dominant 94-77 lead in the fourth. The Jazz responded and cut the deficit to just five points, but a couple of huge baskets from Vucevic sealed the deal for Chicago.

Zach LaVine’s first six games:

25.5 points
5.2 rebounds
4.5 assists
48.1% FG
40.5% threes
94.7% FT

5-1 record pic.twitter.com/GV8F2gyScq

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) October 31, 2021

The next 11 games are going to be a serious test for the Bulls to see if they’re actually going to be a legitimate contender in the East. Ahead on the schedule after this Boston matchup are the 76ers, Nets, Mavs, Warriors, and both LA teams, among others. Needless to say, it’s going to be a tough spell.

Breakthrough Coming For C’s?

Boston has now gone to overtime in three of their six outings this season, going into two extra periods against the Wizards in a heartbreaking 115-112 loss. While the C’s are definitely not off to an ideal start, there were some positive takeaways from Saturday’s affair.

First, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown showed out. Tatum dropped 27 points and dished out 15 rebounds, despite shooting 31% from the field. Nevertheless, he impacted the game in a number of ways. As for Brown, he poured in a team-high 34 and did a great job of attacking the rim and scoring most of his buckets inside. Defensively, Al Horford was dominant on the glass, registering six blocks.

Although the Celtics did come out on the losing end, it simply came down to their inability to drain shots. They went an atrocious 2 for 26 from long range. If just a few more of those attempts go down, Boston is winning this game. Many of these shots were open looks, too. It’s only a matter of time until this changes around. There is no shortage of players on the roster who can make it rain and it’s clear the C’s are in a slump right now. Better to get it out the way at the beginning of the campaign.

We battled our way into double overtime, but fell short against the Wizards, 115-112. pic.twitter.com/vi9bnR5ibZ

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 31, 2021

As for Monday’s game, Boston has yet to win at the TD Garden. Chicago is full of confidence right now and the Celtics will have the chance to build off a decent showing over the weekend and correct their mistakes. Marcus Smart and Robert Williams are both day to day with non-COVID-19 illnesses. If Smart misses out again, Dennis Schroder should get another start at PG, with Josh Richardson seeing extended minutes as well.

Bulls vs Celtics Prediction

Chicago is 4-1 as an ATS favorite this season and has outscored their opponents by 9.6 points in five victories. However, after a very respectable performance on Saturday, I think you’re going to see some fight from Boston here. The shots will start fallng and they’ll collect their first win of the campaign at the TD Garden.

Pick: Boston Celtics moneyline -140