The 6th seeded Celtics have been in good form lately with 3 wins in their last 4 games and that’s despite missing Jaylen Brown with injury. He’s out again for this matchup but Kemba Walker did return from a 4 game absence in their latest win over the Magic. Walker showed no signs of rust as he finished with a game-high 32 pts. He’ll also get a good matchup against a Bulls defence that has struggled against point guards.<\/p>\n
Chicago’s chances of a playoff spot are pretty slim but a 120-99 win over the Hornets on Friday should give them confidence. LaVine returned from injury but the key was Vucevic as he finished with 29 pts \/ 14 rebounds. He has an excellent matchup against Boston’s defence in this clash as they struggle to contain centres.<\/p>\n
The Celtics just have more to play for at the moment in terms of playoffs and the Bulls defence will likely find it difficult against Walker\/Tatum. Boston has also covered in 4 of their last 5 games in Chicago.<\/p>\n
Stadium Record<\/strong><\/p>\n The Bulls have a poor 3-7 home record in their last 10. Boston have won 4 of their last 5 at this venue.<\/p>\n Head to Head Record<\/strong><\/p>\n The Celtics are 8-2 against the Bulls but Chicago did win the last meeting a few weeks ago, 102-96.<\/p>\n Best Bet<\/strong><\/p>\n Celtics -3 $1.89<\/a><\/p>\n The Knicks 3 game winning streak ended in Denver with a 113-97 defeat on Thursday and they’ll face another tough challenge in Phoenix. But after playing the Suns in New York recently, they should be able to develop a more improved defensive strategy. Especially against Booker after he scored 33 pts in that game.<\/p>\n After 5 wins on the trot, the Suns were simply outclassed by the Hawks in Atlanta 135-103. So the Suns will be looking to come out on their home court and start well against the Knicks. As mentioned, they beat the Knicks in New York a few weeks ago and will look to get the ball into Booker’s hands early and often after he dominated.<\/p>\n The Suns have been involved in plenty of high scoring affairs so we do like the Over trend with them involved. Overall, the Over is 8-3 in their last 11 home games and 6-1 at any venue. Meanwhile, the Knicks are 4-1 against the Over on the road.<\/p>\n Stadium Record<\/strong><\/p>\n The Suns have been tough to beat at home with a 12-1 record in their last 13. The Knicks have a poor 4-12 record at this venue.<\/p>\n Head to Head Record<\/strong><\/p>\n Phoenix beat the Knicks a few weeks ago in New York, 118-110, and have won 7 of the last 10 meetings.<\/p>\n
\nNew York Knicks (37-29) at Phoenix Suns (47-19)<\/h3>\n