Posted on
3/7/2008 6:14:23 PM
NBA Betting Furious Free Picks – Can Chicago Keep Up With Celtics?
By Tim Furious
Chicago Bulls (25-36) vs. Boston Celtics (47-12)
Friday, March 7th --- TD Banknorth Garden, Boston --- 8:00pm EST
NBA Betting Line: Boston -11.5 (198.5)
Chicago let the one-man army of Lebron James do his thing, and contained the rest of the team en route to a surprising 107-96 victory over the King’s Men. Now they have to deal with the best team in the Eastern Conference. The rival Celtics are only 2-8 SU in the past 10 meetings, but have decimated Chicago in their past two meetings by an average score of 18.0 points. Can Chicago close the gap on the Boston Three Party?
Chicago has gone 1-5 SU in their past 6 road games, but that shouldn’t worry their betting faithful. In that same span, they have gone 7-3 ATS in their past 10 road games, and are 7-3 ATS in their past 10 games when facing Boston. The truth is that they enjoy a lot of success playing at Boston on the road or at home. The spread scoring of the team is to blame for the recent success of the team. Ben Gordon and Luol Deng rallied for 23-points apiece, and four other Bulls notched double-digit point totals in the game against the Cavs.
Boston is only 3-6-1 ATS in their past ten games and are 1-3-1 ATS in their past 5 home games. Of course, the betting world is trying to figure out just how much of an impact Sam Cassell will have on this team. The player/coach is finally in Beantown and will rejoin Kevin Garnett for another run at a trophy. If their past success together in Minnesota is any indication, then Chicago is in deep, deep trouble. And with Pierce and Allen complimenting Cassell and KG, it’s almost unimaginable that Boston would squeak out the upset.
Boston averages 100.1 points per game, and has one of the best defenses in the league with 90.4 points against on average. They have 12 capable players that can certainly match the scoring depth of Chicago. One matchup I will keep my eye on is Noah and Garnett. Noah had a monster game against Cleveland, ripping down 20 boards. But he’ll have his hands full trying to outmuscle Garnett. Chicago has 13.5 offensive boards, meaning they’ll be able to cover up their mistakes on missed shots.
The only reason you should be betting against Boston in this one is because you are either a Bulls betting backer, or you are buying in to the notion that this Boston team won’t gel quite yet with Uncle Sam running the show. if you’re going with the latter, then you don’t watch basketball. Sam is one of the best in the game at adapting, and his chemistry with KG will be rekindled faster than you think. Rondo is proving he has the guts to guard anyone and protect his minutes, and will compliment Sam extremely well down the stretch. Then again, that previous paragraph was for the moneyline.
If you like that double-digit spread like I do, then you’ll take the Bulls with the +11.5 handicap. They are a good shooting team that can keep up with the Celtics offensive output. It’s hard pressed to think that the Bulls, who average 96.1 points per game, while lose by more than nine-points in this game. So take the Bulls with the points and let’s all kick our feet up and see just how well Uncle Sam and the Boston Three look together tonight. It’s like Christmas in Boston again.
NBA Free Pick: Chicago +11.5 (UNDER)
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