Vegas odds for tonight’s Boston Celtics @ Chicago Bulls NBA showdown at 8:05 PM EST on TNT are now up on NSAwins.com and vegas linemakers have made the Chicago Bulls a -4.5 point favorite with the total listed as over/under 198. Boston(50-30) needs to win it’s final two regular season games and the Atlanta Hawks to lose it’s final regular season game Wednesday at Cleveland to secure the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. After starting the season 23-5, the Celtics have been one of the NBA’s biggest mysteries as they have played just a tad better than .500 ball at 27-25 since their hot start. Age, injuries and a growing suspicion that key veterans have tuned out head coach Doc Rivers have been the main excuses for Boston’s underachieving play this season. The Celtics won for just the third time in their last eight games at Milwaukee on Saturday night with a 105-90 victory. In a possible preview of a 1st round series between the Celtics and Bucks, Paul Pierce poured in 18 of his team-leading 24 points after halftime to lead the C’s to the much needed win. “It was a big win. I wish we could come out like this every night,” Pierce said. “We have to get some momentum going as we head into the playoffs.” Chicago(38-41) needs tonight’s game even more than Boston, as the Bulls are trying to hold onto their slim lead for the 8th and final spot in the East. Chicago jumped ahead of Toronto for the conference’s last playoff spot with a 104-88 victory Sunday at the Air Canada Centre. The Bulls rebounded from a tough double overtime loss to the lowly Nets two nights prior behind Derrick Rose’s 26 points and strong play from Joakim Noah(18 points, 19 rebounds, 7 assists). The Celtics played without Kevin Garnett saturday in Milwaukee but he is likely to start tonight. Garnett, who graduated from Chicago’s Farragut High School, sat out last year’s epic 7-game playoff series that Boston won against Chicago with a right knee injury. The Celtics are 8-0 against the Bulls when the future Hall of Fame forward has played since he joined the Celtics 3 season ago. Boston won the first two meetings this season with Garnett in the lineup by blowout scores of 118-90 and 106-80. Garnett missed the last matchup on January 14th in Chicago and the Bulls won easily 96-83. NSAwins.com’s expert handicapper Steve Kendall likes Boston to cover as +4.5 point underdogs tonight. You can bet on tonight’s Celtics-Bulls showdown at SBG Global Sportsbook and get a 20% SIGN UP BONUS on your 1st deposit! Get more NBA Game Odds for tonight’s NBA Basketball action at NSAwins.com.
