Celtics vs. Bulls Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for January 9 (Boston Fails to Pull Away at TD Garden)

Celtics vs. Bulls Game Info

• Date: Monday, January 9, 2023
• Time: 7:30 PM ET
• Venue: TD Garden -- Boston, Massachusetts
• Coverage: NBA TV, NBCS-BOS, and NBCS-CHI

The 2022-23 NBA season continues on Monday with six more games, including a battle between the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics. The Bulls rank ninth in the Eastern Conference with a 19-21 record, while the Celtics check in first with an impressive 28-12 record. Fans are in for an exciting one here.

Chicago enters as a victor in five of its last seven games after taking down the Utah Jazz by a score of 126-118 on Saturday. Meanwhile, Boston has won six of its last eight games following a 121-116 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. Which playoff hopeful will come out on top tonight?

Celtics vs. Bulls Odds & Spread

All NBA betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.

Celtics vs Bulls Betting Information

Favorite	Spread	Favorite Spread Odds	Underdog Spread Odds	Total	Over Total Odds	Under Total Odds	Favorite Moneyline	Underdog Moneyline
Celtics	-8.5	-	-	237	-110	-110	-370	295

• All NBA betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: BOS: (-355) | CHI: (+285)
• Spread: BOS: -8.5 (-108) | CHI: +8.5 (-112)
• Total: 236 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

The Celtics enter this contest as clear home favorites on moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 7:30 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 236 points, which is about average when compared to Sunday's projected totals.

Celtics vs. Bulls Betting Trends

• The Celtics have put together a record of 19-18-2 against the spread this season.
• This season, Celtics games have hit the over 19 times out of 38 chances.
• Bulls games this year have hit the over on 18 of 38 set point totals (47.4%).
• Against the spread, Boston has performed better at home, covering 11 times in 19 home games, and eight times in 20 road games.
• Against the spread, Chicago has performed better at home (11-8-0) than away (9-9-1).

Celtics vs. Bulls Prediction & Pick

The duo of Demar DeRozan and Zach LaVine is clicking in all facets of the game for Chicago right now. The two All-Stars combined for 71 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists in Saturday's win. Their efforts have helped the Bulls rank fourth in shooting percentage (49.0%) during this NBA season.

Keeping up with Boston at TD Garden is going to be tough, though. The Celtics are 15-5 straight up at home this season and own an average scoring margin of +9.6. They have thrived at in front of their own fans, scoring 122.6 points per game (No. 2 in NBA) on a 49.4% shooting mark (No. 5 in NBA).

Boston is 7-2 straight up in its last nine home games against Chicago, so I'll side with the Celtics.

Final Score Prediction: Celtics: 121 | Bulls: 116

Celtics vs. Bulls Best Bet

I like the Celtics' chances of winning this game outright, but I do not like their chances of covering a massive 8.5-point spread. Boston is only 1-4 against the spread (ATS) in its last five games and 3-6 ATS in its last nine games against a Central Division opponent. Those are far from inspiring trends.

Chicago is 8-2-1 ATS in its last 11 games overall and 4-1 ATS in its last five away games. It is also 7-1 ATS in its last eight head-to-head games against Boston. The Bulls have already defeated the Celtics twice this season and their only loss in the series came by just 4 points. This one will be close.

Bet: Chicago Bulls +8.5 (-112)

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.