Bulls vs. Celtics prediction and odds for Monday, January 9 (Chicago built to hang)

The Chicago Bulls are starting to turn things around.

After a porous start to the season that has seen many question the validity of the team, the Bulls have put together their best stretch of the season, winners of three straight including a pair of Eastern Conference contenders in the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers. The team heads to Boston on Monday night to face the Celtics, can they continue their competitive play?

Here are the odds for this Eastern Conference matchup as the Bulls continue their climb towards .500 and a potential postseason berth.

Bulls vs. Celtics odds, spread and total

Bulls vs. Celtics prediction and pick

Chicago’s offense is rounding into form, third in the NBA in points per 100 possessions over the past two weeks en route to a 5-3 record (per Cleaning The Glass), including the strong three game winning streak. The talent is on this roster to compete with any team and it shows in their record against Eastern Conference elite, 6-1 against the Nets, 76ers and their opponent on Monday in the Celtics.

Boston’s defense continues to flounder as we start 2023, the team is below league average on that side of the ball over the last two weeks and now sixth on the season. While the Bulls are right around the league average in terms of net rating, the offense is top 10 in effective field goal percentage on the year.

Further, the Celtics are 7-10-1 since the start of December as the team has cooled off a bit since their torrid start. The market is catching up to this team and it appears that the Bulls are also starting to reach their preseason projections as a quality Eastern Conference team.

Catching this many points with a strong offense, I’ll grab the road underdog on Monday.

Track all of Reed’s bets at Betstamp HERE!

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.