Chicago Bulls vs Boston Celtics | Predictions, Preview , Odds & Free Pick | Sportsbookbuzz.com

NBA Free Pick – Saturday, January 8, 2011

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Boston Celtics @ Chicago Bulls
Saturday, January 8, 2011 at 8:00 pm EST on NBA TV

This Saturday night, the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Celtics take on the Central Division-leading Chicago Bulls in a battle of Eastern Conference heavyweights. Tip-off from the United Center in Chicago is set for 8 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast live on NBATV.

This is the third of four meetings between these two teams this season with Boston holding a 2-0 edge. The Celtics won the first game 110-105 in overtime as a 7 ½-point home favorite. The second time around they won 104-92 as a five-point home favorite.

Boston continues to roll, winning seven of its last 10 heading into Friday night’s game against Toronto. It leads New York in the Atlantic Division by seven games and has the best record in the Eastern Conference at 27-7 straight-up (17-16-1 against the spread).

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Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins remained sidelined with injuries, but Glenn Davis and Shaquille O’Neal have done a good job in their absence. Paul Pierce continues to lead the team in scoring with 19 points per game and Ray Allen is adding another 17.5 points. Rajon Rondo is the league-leader in assists with 14 per game and is averaging 10.4 points as well.

The Celtics are averaging 98.8 points per game and giving up an average of just 91.1 points per game, which is tops in the NBA. They are shooting a league-best 50.3 percent from the field and hitting 37.4 from three-point range. The only area of concern is they are ranked 28^th in the league in rebounds with an average of 38.9 per game.

Chicago is also 7-3 SU in its last 10 games heading into Friday’s contest against Philadelphia. It has opened up an eight-game lead over Indiana in the Central Division with an overall record of 23-11 SU (19-14-1 ATS) and is currently in third place in the East behind Boston and Miami.

The Bulls are also without their big man underneath Joakim Noah, who is out until mid-February with a thumb injury, but Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng have done a good job filling the void. Derrick Rose remains one of the top 10 scorers in the league with 23.8 points per game and is eighth in the NBA in assists with 8.3.

Chicago is shooting 46.3 from the field and averaging 99.6 points per game. The Bulls are hitting 35.5 percent from three-point range but are one of the worst teams in the league from the free-throw line. Their 70.8 shooting percentage is ranked 28^th in the league. Despite the loss of Noah, Chicago is still third in the league in rebounds with an average of 44.3 per game and has a +4.00 advantage over its opponents.

Boston is 2-2 ATS in its last four road games and just 1-4 ATS in its last five games overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in seven of its last nine games.

Chicago is 3-3 ATS in its last six games at home and 2-3 ATS in its last five games overall. The total has gone ‘over’ in its last three games.

Head-to-head, the Celtics have won five out of the last seven games SU including the two wins this season and is 5-3 ATS in the last eight. The total has gone ‘over’ in seven of the last 10 games.

The Bulls should open as a mild home favorite this time around and, unless the line creeps over five points, remain a solid pick to get their first win of the year over Boston with the season-series shifting to the United Center.

The odds makers have the Chicago Bulls as a -2 point favorite with an over/under of 187.5.

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