Thursday night in the NBA will see the Chicago Bulls host the Boston Celtics. The game is scheduled for an 8:00 pm tipoff and will be televised nationally TNT. Currently Chicago is favored by 7.5 points with the total being set at 180.5 points for this game. The East-leading Chicago Bulls are looking to regain a winning streak after losing to Boston on Sunday afternoon.
Free Analysis: The Bulls lost at Boston just a few days ago and will be looking for some revenge tonight. They lost that game without the reigning MVP in Derrick Rose and it certainly looks like they must try to do it again minus their injured star at home this time. With Rose likely to miss his fourth straight game because of his back problems, the Eastern-leading Bulls are looking to avenge their latest loss while trying for a fourth consecutive home victory over the struggling Celtics. In Sunday's game Chicago had a terrible time shooting the basketball, finishing under 39 percent from the floor. However, even in defeat, the Bulls finished their nine-game road trip with a pretty good 6-3 record. Rose hasn't been officially ruled out for tonight's game, but it doesn't look good for him either. "(My back's) getting better," said Rose, who is averaging 22.0 points and 7.8 assists this season. "I shouldn't have any problems in the long run. I'm going to take my time and be smart." While the betting world is going to care a lot about Rose's status, the Bulls should still be OK without him. Don't believe so? They're 6-2 on the season when Rose doesn't play. Plus they are dominant at home this season, sporting a 10-1 record at the United Center. In Tuesday's game against Sacramento, Luol Deng had 23 points with a career-high 11 assists while Joakim Noah added 22 and 11 boards. The Bulls and Celtics have split games this season. On Sunday Carlos Boozer and C.J. Watson each had 22 points while Noah added 16 with nine boards. Chicago has won three straight at home against the Celtics and have done a great job defensively against Boston, holding them to just 84.3 points on 40.1 shooting in those three straight Ws. Boston is coming off a terrible loss last night when they were dump-trucked by the Detroit Pistons, 98-88, at home. Looking ahead at all? Probably. Boston was playing very well a few weeks ago, winning nine of 10 games, but recently they've fallen on some hard times. Rajon Rondo has tried to shoulder some of the burden of Kevin Garnett being out. He recorded 32 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds against the Bulls last weekend and scored a career-high 35 last night in the loss to Detroit. However, the Celtics were outscored 25-16 in the final quarter. Richard Hamilton is expected to be out for tonight's contest for the Bulls while Garnett likely will miss the game as well. Boston is just 4-5 away from home this season and has lost three out of four games overall. They still sport the best scoring defense in the league, giving up just 87 points a game.
Free Pick: Don't like the Celtics in this spot, even without Rose playing for the Bulls. Chicago is an impressive 10-1 overall at the United Center this season while Boston has struggled on the road. Garnett is still considered to be out for tonight's game and without him, the C's could be in some trouble inside. It's going to take a pretty strong effort from Rondo, Pierce and Allen if the Celtics are going to be able to hang around in this contest, and I don't think they can do it. I like the Bulls to win by double digits.
Free Picks: Bulls at Celtics Bettinghttp://PregameVideos.com - Revenge game for Celtics and Last game in 9 game road trip for Bulls plus other factors NBA bettors need to know about Bulls at Celtics (Sunday, February 12, 2012) from Pregame.com - Including predictions from Bryan Leonard and analysis from host Vegas Runner.