Tip-off: Thursday, 8:00 p.m. EDT
Line: Chicago -4.5, Total: 179

The red-hot Bulls come into Thursday night looking to exceed all preseason expectations and secure the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference when they host the veteran Celtics. Chicago has won four straight games and is 8-1 in its past nine contests.

Boston is currently in second place in the East, one-half game ahead of third-place Miami, and sits three games behind Chicago with only five games remaining. The Celtics have won two in a row, but haven’t been able to win three straight games since early March. Boston would love to get hot going into the playoffs and use its experience over younger teams such as the Bulls and Knicks. The Celtics are coming off a 99-82 win over the surging 76ers on Tuesday. Point guard Rajon Rondo (10.6 PPG, 11.3 APG) had a solid game, scoring 16 points and dishing out 13 assists. Rondo had a miserable March averaging 7.0 PPG and 7.4 APG while shooting 34 percent from the field. Ray Allen (16.7 PPG) is having one of his better shooting years in his career. Allen is a 39.9% career three-point shooter, but this season, Allen is dialing in at 45.3% from downtown.

Chicago has won 16 out of 18 to propel itself into first place. Many thought the Bulls would be a middle-of-the-pack team this season, but have surprised many by notching a 57-20 record. Derrick Rose (25.1 PPG 7.9 APG) is a front-runner for MVP in only his third NBA season. The Bulls also will go into the playoffs with Joakim Noah (12.1 PPG) and Carlos Boozer (17.8 PPG) both finally healthy. Luol Deng is quietly putting together a very nice year (17.5 PPG), and has been extremely versatile being able to defend both guards and forwards with his lanky athletic build.

The Celtics and Bulls rank first and second in the NBA in defense, so expect a hard-fought, offensive struggle. Boston is terrific as an underdog going 8-2 ATS, but is just 18-20 ATS in road games. The Celtics also have not followed up big wins well either, going 6-21 ATS (22%) after a win of 10 or more. Chicago, on the other hand, is 23-15 ATS (61%) in home games and 20-10 ATS against teams with winning records. Also, the past eight times these two teams met, the favorite is 6-2 ATS. I think Chicago who has most trends pointing towards them, will win, but not cover the 4.5 point spread. The FoxSheets provide two more trends backing Boston.

BOSTON is 94-58 ATS (61.8%, +30.2 Units) in road games versus good ball handling teams - committing <=14 turnovers/game - 2nd half of the season since 1996. The average score was BOSTON 94.8, OPPONENT 96.1 - (Rating = 1*).

BOSTON is 10-1 ATS (90.9%, +8.9 Units) in road games revenging a road loss vs. opponent over the last 2 seasons. The average score was BOSTON 99.2, OPPONENT 89.3 - (Rating = 1*).