There's no place like home for the Boston Celtics. They've been on the road for the entirety of December, and they'll finally get back to the TD Garden on Wednesday night for the first time since Thanksgiving when they take on the Chicago Bulls.
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SCHEDULING
Live bettors should always be aware of what the schedule has to say about games, but in this case, there really isn't a distinct advantage either way. Both teams are off on Tuesday and have to travel to get to Boston.
However, we hate these one-game road trips for teams. The Bulls will have played four straight games at home before going to Beantown, and they have five straight home games coming up when this game is said and done with. The Clippers are coming to the Windy City on Thursday for another nationally televised game, and live bettors should keep in mind the possibility of Chicago having its sights set on the Clips instead of the C's, particularly if this game starts to get a little out of hand.
LACK OF TURNOVERS KEEPING C'S INVOLVED
Go back and look at these last three games for the Celtics. All three against the Heat, Kings and Spurs were covered, and two of the three were won.
You'd figure without Marcus Smart in the lineup that turning the ball over would be a real problem. Isaiah Thomas, who is now forced into a starting role instead of a bench role, doesn't have a history of being the best ball handler in the world, but of late, he's really done his job and done it well. In these last three games, he has just three total turnovers against a total of 26 assists, and if he can keep that ratio up, the Celtics are going to win a lot of games against a lot of good teams.
Boston's offense flat out isn't good enough to waste possessions on excessive turnovers. The Bulls though, aren't playing as hard-nosed defensively as we're used to seeing, and they aren't forcing teams to turn it over nearly as much as they did under Tom Thibodeau.
If the Celtics are turning the rock over too much, they won't threaten 100 points in this game, something that live bettors shouldn't forget. However, with three straight games with at least 105 dropped on foes, all of which have come on the road, the Celtics could better dictate this game if they are smart with possessions.
FOURTH QUARTER BELONGS TO BOSTON
Let's face it: Live betting in NBA games is all about the fourth quarter. On Saturday, the Bulls were beaten by the Charlotte thanks to a bad fourth quarter in which the defense fell flat. It's sort of been hit and miss for Chicago in the final stanza this year, but the consistency has come with its offensive numbers. It isn't often the Bulls hit 30 in the fourth, and that could be a real problem for live bettors on Wednesday.
The Celtics have outscored four of their last six foes by at least nine points in the fourth quarters of games. They've had this knack for keeping games close which felt like they should've gotten out of hand the same way they've managed to run away and hide from teams which they should've put away.
You can live bet on Chicago all you want in the first three quarters, but it might not do any good when it gets to be crunch time. The Celtics have the real edge with their grit in the fourth.
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Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The matchup between the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics will go down Wednesday, December 9, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. ET at the TD Garden. The matchup will be televised live on ESPN.
