Chicago Bulls vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 12/19/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Chicago Bulls vs Boston Celtics

Date: Thursday, December 19, 2024

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: NBC Sports Boston

The Chicago Bulls (12-15) are on their way to TD Garden on Thursday where they will meet the Boston Celtics (21-5).

The Bulls played the Raptors and earned the victory with a final of 122-121 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Bulls ended up with 23 and the Raptors totaled 21 fouls. They made 9 out of their 26 tries from 3-point land. Toronto finished the game at 73.3% from the charity stripe by knocking down 22 of their 30 attempts. On top of that, Toronto had 44 rebounds (10 offensive, 34 defensive) and added 8 blocks. Toronto earned 28 dimes and had 7 steals for this game. In reference to defending, Chicago allowed their opponent to shoot 48.9% from the floor on 45 out of 92 shooting. They also doled out 33 assists in this contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 18 turnovers and getting 12 steals. Pertaining to pulling down rebounds, they collected a total of 41 with 8 of them being of the offensive sort. When they shot from the free throw line, the Bulls converted 22 of their 28 tries for a rate of 78.6%. Chicago ended the contest having earned a 46.2% FG percentage (43 of 93) and converted 14 of 40 3-pointers.

Nikola Vucevic is one player who was a major factor for this contest. He ended up walking away with 24 points on 10 of 17 shooting. He played 32 mins played and grabbed 5 boards. Vucevic finished 58.8% from the field and totaled 3 assists.

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Chicago comes into this contest with a win-loss record of 12-15 this season. They turn it over 15.3 times per game and as a squad they are committing 18.6 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Chicago is pulling in 44.3 rebounds per contest and has racked up 794 assists for the year, which is 3rd in the NBA in terms of passing. The Bulls are connecting on 37.8% on shots beyond the perimeter (446 of 1,179) and 79.7% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 118.9 pts per contest (6th in the league) while hitting 47.4% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Bulls are forcing 12.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.0 personal fouls. They concede 34.4% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 29th in the NBA in PPG allowed (121.9). The Bulls defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 48.1% (1,234 of 2,565) and they surrender 46.4 rebounds per contest as a squad. They rank 30th in the NBA in allowing assists to their opponents with 788 relinquished on the campaign.

The last time they took the court, the Celtics got the victory with a final of 112-98 against the Wizards. The Celtics snagged 40 defensive boards and 16 offensive rebounds totaling 56 in the game. They also gave up possession of the ball 18 times, while getting 11 steals in the game. The Wizards committed 25 fouls for the game which got the Celtics to the charity stripe for a total of 24 shots. They were able to make 14 of those for a percentage of 58.3%. When talking about three-point attempts, Boston knocked down 18 of 46 tries (39.1%). Overall, the Celtics finished the game shooting 40 out of 93 from the floor which gave them a rate of 43.0%. The Celtics permitted the Wizards to convert 40 out of their 99 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 40.4% in the matchup. They shot 32.5% from distance by shooting 13 of 40 and finished the contest at 5 out of 8 at the free throw line (62.5%). In reference to rebounds, Boston allowed Washington to collect 51 overall (17 on the offensive side).

Jayson Tatum pitched in for the Celtics for this contest. He converted 12 of 26 in the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 46.2%, and earned 12 rebounds. Tatum earned 28 points in his 35 minutes on the hardwood and had 2 assists for the matchup.

Boston has a record of 21-5 on the season. On the offensive side of the court, the Celtics are shooting 45.8% from the field, which ranks them 19th in the NBA. Boston has accumulated 3,118 points this season (119.9 per contest) and they average 44.8 boards per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 26.0 times per contest (14th in basketball) and they lose possession via turnover 12.1 times per game. The Celtics commit 16.4 personal fouls per game and they hit 79.6% from the free throw line.

The Boston defense concedes 35.0% on shots from distance (322 of 921) and their opposition makes 77.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They concede 24.3 dimes and 44.2 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 5th and 20th in basketball. The Celtics defensively are ranked 7th in the NBA in points per game surrendered with 109.8. They are able to force 13.5 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.1% from the floor (9th in the league).

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Boston and under the total points

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