Chicago Sports

Former President Barack Obama appeared on “Monday Night Football with Peyton & Eli” — aka the ManningCast — on ESPN2 to help the brothers poke fun at each other, implore viewers to vote and talk about his beloved Bears.

The first-quarter appearance was a year in the making. Peyton broached the idea with Obama while playing golf together at The Riviera Country Club in California. With the Bears playing the Patriots on Monday, it was a natural fit.

Obama, who made Chicago his adopted home, hasn’t been shy about his allegiance to the Bears. He welcomed the Super Bowl champion ’85 Bears to the White House in 2011. The team hadn’t visited because of the space shuttle Challenger disaster two days after the Super Bowl.

Peyton jokingly asked if Obama felt guilty that he had welcomed the Super Bowl champion Packers earlier that year.

“It was hard having the Packers in and having to be nice to them,” Obama said. “I moved to Chicago in ’85. You show up in this city, and you’ve got this team that captures everybody’s imagination. The fact that they never got their White House due, I figured, what’s the point of being present if you can’t make up for that?”

Eli later joked about Peyton having 197 plays in the playbook for his 11-year-old son’s football team.

“The problem is, it’s believable that he might actually have 197 plays,” Obama said. “You might not be making this up. My suggestion is similar to my suggestion for the Bears: simplify that offense.”

When the Bears faced first-and-goal from the 3-yard line, Peyton asked Obama what play he’d call.

“Run straight up the middle,” Obama said. “I think their attitude is run it again and make sure we don’t do something too complicated that might lead to a turnover.”

Then quarterback Justin Fields ran off tackle for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead.

“I’m trying to figure out, have they scored 10 points in the first half in a while? Or in the first quarter?” Obama mused.

Eli asked if Obama’s Chicago sports fandom has been renewed since he left the White House.

“Since I left the White House, we’ve had a little drought pretty much across every sport,” Obama said. “But you look at the Bears, young team, new coach, they’re playing hard. I’m a big believer in you’re loyal all the way through, as long as they’re playing hard, as long as they look like they care, then I’m gonna stick with them and keep rooting for them. Our day will come again. It may take a while.

Obama will be followed by comedian Bill Burr, a Patriots fan, and actor Vince Vaughn, a Bears fan who grew up in Buffalo Grove and graduated from Lake Forest High School.

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Providing an in-season update his predecessor rarely gave, Bears general manager Ryan Poles emphasized his collaboration with Matt Eberflus and the Bears competitiveness under their first-time head coach. But he knew that wasn’t exactly what Bears fans want to hear. He pretty quickly switched gears.

“I know Justin [Fields] has been a big topic and his development,” Poles said before the Bears’ game against the Patriots on Monday night at Gillette Stadium. “We’re encouraged with the progress. I know it’s not on the statistics and on paper all the time, but he is getting better in a lot of different areas.

“As a whole we’ve got to continue to play better around him as well to allow him to keep playing well and get his confidence going and execute at a high level.”

That right there is the biggest point of contention regarding Fields’ development. Two months into the season, the criticism still stands — that Poles has short-circuited Fields’ development by giving him a modest corps of wide receivers; and a makeshift offensive line that has led Fields to develop bad habits — happy feet and indecisiveness –and most of all, put him at risk of taking one hit too many.

Poles pushed back on that notion before Week 1 — saying he was building an entire team and not one side of the ball, and expressing belief in the playmakers he had. And he reiterated that point Monday, saying Fields has enough support to make a fair evaluation of where he is in Year 2.

“We’re still able to evaluate everybody in our current situation,” Poles said. “I’m convicted with the things that we did this offseason and in the draft. And we’ll continue to chip away.

“Everything we’re going to do is to sustain success over a long period of time. Within that, I think we can still evaluate our players — from the quarterback to guys on defense and all the positions.”

That was clearly Poles’ biggest message of all, that while fans, media and other critics examine every move this team makes with a microscope and see most developments as defining, he’s still taking the long view and seeing every step –forward or backward — as part of the process.

So it didn’t sound like Fields’ uneven-at-best, regression-at-worst start to this season has caused Poles to second-guess his grand plan and maybe fortify the offense with a proven wide receiver or playmaker before the Nov. 1 trade deadline. He didn’t rule it out. But he’s not feeling any desperation about it.

“Regardless [of Fields’ situation], were always going to be active in terms if picking up the phone to see if that is something that can improve our team …and it makes sense for us,” Poles said, “not only for now because — I’ve always talked about this — it’s sustaining success for a long period of time.

“It’s not the short fix all the time. Just blending that together is tough because it takes a lot of discipline to do. That’s what we’re balancing.”

In a rebuilding season where there are benefits to losing games, Poles’ strategy can only become a major disaster if Fields doesn’t make it through the season. Fields came into Monday night’s game with 23 sacks in just 138 drop-backs — easily the highest sack rate in the NFL.

Poles agreed with his coaches that Fields, the offensive line and general protection schemes share the blame for that. But it all starts up front. With Poles’ background as an offensive lineman, it figured he would put together a quality offensive line. But so far, it’s been shaky.

Guard Lucas Patrick hasn’t been the foundation piece he is expected to be. Fifth-round rookie tackle Braxton Jones, a starter since Week 1, has shown promise but also has made rookie mistakes. Cody Whitehair is on injured reserve. Center Sam Mustipher was benched in favor of Patrick against the Patriots, with veteran Michael Schofield starting at left guard. It was the fourth different starting lineup this season, and third in the last four games.

That hasn’t helped Fields.

“As an offensive lineman, you’re always worried about that,” Poles said. “You want your [quarterback] upright all the time. When you watch the tape, there is give and take on that. It’s a little bit of [Fields] executing faster. But there are also some protection things that need to improve. So it’s really a holistic view that needs to improve to stay upright.”

Publicly at least, Poles is leaning on the highlights in his evaluation of Fields. “With young players, what you’re looking for are flashes,” he said. “And I think he has shown some flashes of getting the ball out on time, being accurate, some of the deep shots — like the one to Pettis [a 40-yard touchdown against the Commanders] was incredible. So continue to do those things — that’s what we’re looking for.”

All those things also happen to be flaws in Fields’ game. So it remains to be seen if Poles has the same optimism at the end of the season that he does now. Asked if he can make a decision on Fields after this season or needs a second year in Luke Getsy’s offense — presumably with an improved supporting cast — Poles predictably left his options open.

“We’re taking that one game at a time,” Poles said, “and evaluating how he approaches every single game and executes it, and then we’ll build long-term from there.”

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Mac Jones is active for Monday night’s game against the Bears and will start at quarterback, coach Bill Belichick told the team’s pregame radio show.

Belichick refused to name a starter this week, and the Patriots called Jones — as well as 11 other teammates — questionable for “Monday Night Football.” Rookie Bailey Zappe, who had won both his starts after replacing Jones when he hurt his ankle, was the other candidate to start.

The Bears prepared for both quarterbacks. Head coach Matt Eberflus and defensive coordinator Alan Williams said doing so was not a tremendous challenge, citing their similar playing styles. They figured the Patriots would run a similar offense regardless of who started.

Jones has struggled this season, losing two of the three games that he started and posting a lowly passer rating of 76.2. Zappe posted a 111.4 passer rating in three games, which included a loss to the Packers in relief of Brian Hoyer.

The highlight of the Bears’ inactives report was who was not on it: N’Keal Harry, who has recovered from high-ankle surgery, will play for the first time this season. The Bears traded the Patriots a 2023 seventh-round pick for the former first-round choice in July.

Bears inactives include cornerback Lamar Jackson, tight end Jake Tonges, defensive lineman Kingsley Jonathan and receiver Isaiah Coulter.

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It was a nice plan.

Then again, Alex Caruso was full of solid ideas on media day a month ago, especially when asked about protecting himself from himself.

“I’ve definitely got to be maybe smarter,” Caruso said then. “Maybe a 50/50 ball that’s going out of bounds, you might let one or two go out and save it for the postseason. But I say that now sitting in front of a microphone. When I get out there, it might be different.”

It always has been with Caruso.

That’s why coach Billy Donovan said on Monday, that while there’s not a minutes restriction on Caruso, there is a close watch of what he’s putting into each game.

“I think one of the things that’s been a little challenging for him is his minutes have greatly increased here than they had been,” Donovan said. “We’ve got to make sure that he’s productive in his minutes, and the way he plays, he’s reckless. And I say that in a very complimentary way. He puts himself into the game and he’s probably going to be susceptible to these types of things. We have to watch him. When he starts getting up in the 30-plus minutes over a period of time, I think that’s a big toll on him. Because generally his loads are, even for his number of minutes, are high because of how much he exerts in a game.”

And those minutes have a history of the outcome of the game.

In Bulls wins last season in which Caruso was healthy and playing, he averaged 27.5 minutes per game, and in losses it was 28.6 minutes per game. It was like that with the Lakers during the 2020-21 and the 2019-20 season as well.

The way Donovan sees it there is a balance to make sure that Caruso plays with fire, but not keep him out there too long and allow that fire to burn out or for him to injure himself.

“That’s what got me here,” Caruso said of playing with the intensity he brings. “That’s why the Bulls want me on the team. That’s why Billy loves what I do with my energy and my defense and how I bring other guys along. I don’t think I can change that.”

Donovan didn’t either. That’s why he snickered when reminded of what Caruso said in September about playing with less reckless abandon.

“I mean that sounds good, but I think if there’s a loose ball he’s not going to sit there and say, ‘This is probably one I’m not going to go after,’ ” Donovan said. “I want him to be who he is. He plays the game all out and he’s going to give you everything he has.”

Numbers game

Through the first two games, Donovan only went 10 deep into his rotation. That changed in the Cavaliers game, not only because Zach LaVine returned to the starting lineup, but also because Donovan was able to get Derrick Jones Jr. playing time.

How often that will continue remained an unknown, but with the medical staff watching minutes in the early portion of this season, as well as Patrick Williams struggling, Donovan told Jones he’d better stay ready.

“We’re just trying to find different combinations of guys that when they get in there play well,” Donovan said. “[Jones has] been a total pro with the way he’s handled himself.”

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Bears quarterback Justin Fields ranks near the bottom of the NFL in most passing categories, but general manager Ryan Poles remains upbeat on his overall improvement regardless of how imperceptible it is in his production.

“Justin’s been a big topic in his development,” Poles said. “We’re encouraged with the progress that’s there. I know it’s not in the statistics and on the paper all the time, but he is getting better in a lot of different areas. As a whole, we’ve gotta play better around him as well to allow him to keep playing well and get his confidence going and execute at a high level.”

Poles said he’ll have his eye on “a few different things” regarding Fields over the final 11 games, starting tonight against the Patriots.

“How he’s being used — Are we putting him in a position where he can be successful?” he said. “And then the execution and the details of what he’s being asked to do and really speeding up to the game and making decisions quicker. But again, the beautiful thing about football is it’s reliant on everybody else. So as a whole, we have to improve. I think we’ll see that everyone starts to get better and we’ll start to ascend.”

Poles took over in January, inheriting a team that went 22-27 over the last three years under predecessor Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy. He became a first-time general manager at age 37 and hired Matt Eberflus as coach.

Poles was conservative in his first offseason with a clear priority of building the Bears for the future rather than trying to compete this season. All of his additions on the offensive line and at wide receiver were on budget-friendly, short-term contracts.

The deficiencies at those positions could make it difficult for the Bears to get a clear view of where Fields stands, though Poles disagreed.

“We’re still able to evaluate everyone in our current situation,” he said. “I’m convicted in the things we did do in the offseason and the draft, and we’ll continue to chip away. Everything that we’re doing is to sustain success over a long period of time. Within that, I think we can still evaluate our players.”

When pressed specifically about the pass-blocking issues, which are part of the equation of Fields being sacked 23 times (third-most in the league), Poles said, “There’s give and take on that. It’s a little bit of [Fields] executing faster, but then there’s also some protection things that need to improve. It’s really a wholistic deal that needs to improve for him to stay upright.”

Fields has a 54.8 completion percentage, last among players who have thrown at least 100 passes. He has 869 yards passing (30th), four touchdown passes (29th), five interceptions (seventh-highest) and a 72.7 passer rating (32nd).

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All the ingredients are in place for Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock to contend for the Masterton Trophy this season.

A comeback story? After missing more than a year with COVID-19-induced myocarditis in his heart, he checks that box. Dedication to hockey? That’s evident both in his daily work ethic and in his determination to make that aforementioned comeback.

A successful season? There’s a long way to go, but Stalock’s performance so far has been encouraging. That would certainly provide a fitting final chapter to the fairytale.

But Stalock, personally, isn’t thinking about any of that. Instead, the 35-year-old Minnesotan is enjoying simply being part of a team again. It’s fun for him, as he makes very clear.

“That’s why I love coming to the rink: Being around a group of guys,” he said Monday. “Obviously, we have fun when we’re on the ice. You love playing the games. But to be…around a group that’s having fun, it’s fun to be back.

“[This team has] a good mix. A ton of youth, kids that love to have fun. They’re in the NHL, they’re new to it, and every day to them is a joy. You’ve got veterans in here that have won many [Stanley] Cups and been around a long time … Everybody likes to put in the work, and it’s clicking for us right now. [There’s] nothing to complain about.”

Stalock is as true to himself in the locker room as he is on the ice, where his fearless willingness to leave his crease to play the puck or aggressively challenge shooters — as well as to try any other crazy maneuvers that might possibly stop the puck — immediately elevates the excitement level of every game in which he’s involved.

Off the ice, his weathered appearance, wild arm gestures, seen-it-all attitude and gregarious personality have made him an instantly popular teammate.

“He’s that energy-style goalie,” coach Luke Richardson said. “The guys love him. He gave out the team award after the game [Sunday] night and everyone loved it. [There was] a big roar for him. The players really battle for the guys who battle for them, so it’s nice to see.”

He did allow four goals Sunday against the Kraken, but he was hardly at fault for any of them, and he made several key saves at key times that enabled the Hawks’ rally.

Through his first three appearances, Stalock has now saved 76 of 81 shots for a .938 save percentage. His goals saved above average (GSAA) is plus-2.9, which ranked 11th among 63 goalies league-wide entering Monday.

He has closely resembled his form as a stellar rotational goalie with the Wild back in 2019-20, when he posted a 20-11-4 record, .910 save percentage and plus-8.5 GSAA.

And with Petr Mrazek sidelined for another week or two by a strained groin, Stalock will remain the Hawks’ primary backstop in the short-term future. Prospect Arvid Soderblom was previously expected to start one of the two remaining games on the homestand — either Tuesday against the Panthers or Thursday against the Oilers — but Richardson said Stalock will actually start both. Stalock and Soderblom will likely then split the back-to-back weekend games against the Sabres and Wild.

Stalock certainly won’t complain about the hefty workload, though. After enduring two years essentially out of the league, he cherishes the opportunity to settle into a rhythm again.

“If you don’t play for a couple weeks, you go in and you’re trying to catch up to the speed of the NHL,” he said. “[When] you can be in there every other night, [you can] pick up where you left off just a night or two ago. It makes it easier.

“The way things are going here right now, it’s a good feeling for everybody.”

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Another wild weekend of college football that will mix up conferences and divisions yet again week move into week 9.

First we will recap this past weekend of college football as we review the best bets from last week.

Iowa vs. Ohio State

I did say Iowa has zero offense and Spencer Petras was never the answer. If you had the chance to just watch the first snap of the game you would see why. Petras threw it right at an Ohio State players chest for an interception. Iowa’s only touchdown was from their defense as well. Ohio State doesn’t look good to be honest. I know we see 54 points but some was because of the defense and a lot of the times the offense was starting at midfield or in plus territory. Stroud didn’t look sharp at all, they couldn’t really run, Jaxon Smith-Njigba is hurt again and they used 3 total timeouts during the game because of play calling being slow and running out of time.

The Bet: -30 was a success but weirdly didn’t feel like it for a while.

Syracuse vs. Clemson

I want to keep this short cause I feel bad for Syracuse and I believe college football/ NCAA should investigate those refs. Cuse should have won but Dino Babers needs to be more aggressive second half.

The Bet: +13.5 was a success. Clemson is zero fun.

Cincinnati vs. SMU

We were on the right side of the bet the whole game and the refs completely screwed us especially on this pass interference call. Im still really upset to be fair cause we had no business losing that. SMU had their backup in and Cincy didn’t want to try and score late when they could’ve sealed the game for us. Pain.

The Bet: -3.5 not a success but it should have been.

Ole Miss vs. LSU

Both teams stink let’s be real. I said both QB’s are miserable to watch in all of college football and boy was I right. Jayden Daniels ran over 20 times like I said he would but he also threw it successfully 21 times. Every single throw that was a success was a comeback route. I’m not kidding LSU threw a comeback route every play and Ole Miss had no clue what to do apparently. Jaxson Dart stinks just like I said he would but I genuinely believed in Lane Kiffin and the running attack but they were so bad that this was to me the worst game of the day. Not cause I’m mad the bet missed (I am) but both QB’s stink and both teams stink.

The Bet: Ole Miss ML or +1.5 was not a success. Miserable game.

UCLA vs. Oregon

Pure college football game and atmosphere. Fun all around. I should have added the over but I was weirdly confident in Oregon at home to cover a spread that so many thought was high and took UCLA because of it. I mentioned Dorian Thompson-Robinson going missing at some point and it happened. He missed so many throws it was pretty incredible. Zach Charbonnet was a monster but couldn’t do everything. Bo Nix went crazy like he did last year against LSU its just one of those games where he’s just completely next level and that won the game and covered for us.

The Bet: -6.5 was a success.

Texas vs. Oklahoma State

41-34 makes no sense cause that game was utterly miserable to watch. I mentioned so many people want to make Quinn Ewers into an elite QB and I think that thought process should be completely put to bed. He went 19-49. Oh my God. His 2 TD’s were from short passes that the players housed themselves. I sat through that whole thing drive after drive, scoring opportunity after scoring opportunity and Quinn Ewers literally just threw it away. So many chances to cover the spread but it was like Ewers and Sarkisian knew we had -6.5 and couldn’t let us be happy.

The Bet: Texas -6.5 was not a success I mentioned the Over which was a success but I’m speechless at how that game played out.

Mississippi State vs. Alabama

Started off interesting I thought Miss State would score twice but they didn’t which really helped the spread. Will Rogers was trying for Miss State but Bama off a loss was just a little too much for Miss State and for anyone in college football to be fair. Bryce and the offense looked good early but then looked really bad. I just want to mention Bill O’Brien is their offensive coordinator and he’s been miserable the last two years and he’s lucky Bryce Young is his QB.

The Bet: Alabama -21 was a success due to the defense.

Minnesota vs. Penn State

Tanner Morgan the starter for Minnesota was ruled out which to be fair really put Penn State -4.5 in the driver seat. They stopped Ibrahim enough like I said needed to be the main gameplay regardless of the QB. Clifford and the offense played well enough to score timely touchdowns to keep Minnesota down and out. White Out games at Penn State are one of the coolest things in college football. They play Ohio State next week at home. Massive game so there should be another White out right!? Nope. The game is at noon. Stay tuned for that best bet preview this week.

The Bet: -4.5 was a success thanks to the backup QB and the White Out.

Kansas State vs. TCU

Another game where backup QB’s were paramount. All night it felt like we were on the right side of the bet. Adrian Martinez went down early out of nowhere and FOX didn’t have a sideline reporter to tell us why he wasn’t playing cause he was fully padded and walking around. But the backup Will Howard was playing really well in his stead. Kansas State was putting up numbers and stopping TCU everything was fine. Then Will Howard for Kansas State went down and the 3rd string QB came in and immediately threw a pick on the first play. We just needed one touchdown late to save us with the spread and we had a shot cause miraculously Will Howard came back and drove K-State down the field. On 3rd down he had a receiver wide open in the end zone and…..he overthrew it. K-State tried to kick the field goal on 4th to cut it to 7 and the kicker missed another field goal and we were dead from there.

The Bet: +3.5 was not a success. It was for a while but we were too happy and the betting God’s took that away.

Record for 10/22– 6-4 which includes the Texas Ok. St over. Painful College Football Saturday cause it should have been so much better.

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White Sox fans lament organizational failures as they watch Bryce Harper win the NL Pennant

It’s hard out here for a Chicago White Sox fan.

Aside from being the “Second City’s Second Team”, being reduced to a trivia question associated with gambling, and growing up, watching your team as the bad guy in two feel–good baseball movie franchises (One of which required literal divine intervention). This past year, White Sox fans suffered through the most disappointing season in recent memory, going from being favored to win the World Series to finishing 81-81. Now we have to watch an old target go to the World Series the team could be playing in.

A common thread in White Sox fans’ suffering can be traced back to lousy ownership. I already wrote about Jerry Reinsdorf  “Reinsdorfing” a managerial search. But we also have to talk about another facet of the rebuild, and a White Sox fans’ nightmare.

I already brought up in my last blog that the White Sox were in contention to sign then-free agents Bryce Harper and/or Manny Machado. We all know how this ended. This year’s National League Championship Series pitted Bryce Harper’s Philadelphia Phillies and Machado’s San Diego Padres. The Phillies won the series 4-1, with Harper blasting a two-run home run in the bottom of the 8th inning of game 5 to give the Phillies a 4-3 victory.

Almost immediately, White Sox fans on Twitter, aka “White Sox Twitter”, lamented what could have been. General manager Rick Hahn had offered Manny Machado and his agent a $250 million deal, which Machado implicitly spurned to sign a 10-year, $300 million deal with the Padres. Then they gave up on Bryce Harper, even after Harper expressed interest in playing for the Sox (Do the White Sox have a bad time dealing with Scott Boras?).

So of course, Sox fans were mad at the organizational failures. It’s not that Jerry Reinsdorf can’t afford either or both players. Forbes estimated his worth to be $1.8 billion. It was only this year that the Bulls, whom Jerry also owns, finally offered a 9-digit contract, a 5-year, $215.2 million deal for Zach Lavine (who doesn’t think highly of Reinsdorf it seems, but that’s another story). Point is, the White Sox could easily have afforded Harper, Machado, or both. But Jerry may have “Reinsdorfed”, or “Dorf’d” the process, unwilling to spend that much on them.

Most importantly, the Phillies made moves in-season that the White Sox did not do. They fired then-manager Joe Girardi after a 22-29 start, after which they went on a 7-game winning streak, signed Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber in free agency, and acquired Noah Syndergaard at the trade deadline.

The White Sox, well… they got Jake Diekman?

It is impossible to say what could have happened if the Sox did get Bryce Harper. Who knows, maybe they could have gone to the World Series this year. Or, with their already-stacked lineup, they didn’t need him. Hindsight is 20/20, of course. White Sox fans have unfortunately gotten used to watching other teams succeed while they… don’t. They don’t know what the organization will do in the offseason.

A once-promising rebuild is looking shaky. The new manager might not be able to fix everything, and there are huge concerns about the minor league system (this author believes the White Sox should model themselves after the St. Louis Cardinals in that regard, but that’s just my opinion. Disclaimer: This author’s father is a lifelong Cardinals fan from southern Illinois). It was probably inevitable that calls for Jerry to sell the White Sox finally materialized.

And to top it all off, they canceled SoxFest.

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The Chicago Bulls open as betting underdogs for the fourth consecutive game as they welcome the 3-0 Boston Celtics to the United Center.

The 1-2 Chicago Bulls have a tough assignment ahead of them tonight as they look to bounce back after Saturday night’s ugly 128-96 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Zach LaVine was welcomed back into the lineup Saturday, and appeared seemingly unbothered by his knee ailments, as he recorded 23 points on 9-17 shooting. His running mate, Demar Derozan, did not see the same efficiency, regressing from two 30-point outings to open the season down to 13 points on 3-9 shooting.

Saturday night’s loss also saw the first loss of the year our best bet of the day blogs, with Ayo Dosunmu failing to record an assist for the final two halves of the game, keeping us under his 3.5 assist total. We are switching things up in tonight’s case, and for the first time this year will be playing the Bulls on the spread, potentially to the surprise of many. It’s going to take a full team effort, but this Chicago Bulls team has had success against the spread against Boston under Billy Donovan and could have a positive matchup. Let’s get this back on track tonight, and GO BULLS!

2022 Bulls Best Bet Record: 2-1

Chicago Bulls +6 (Sportsbook odds may vary)

It may come as a surprise to many to see the Chicago Bulls as the best bet of the day following a slow start to the season, and now facing the defending Eastern Conference Champion Boston Celtics, but for a handful of factors, this does seem like a great spot to play the Bulls on the spread.

As far as gambling indicators go, a 3-0 Celtics team with wins over Philadelphia and Miami has driven the public perception of this Boston team through the roof off the heels of a deep playoff run over the summer. Pair that with a 1-2 Chicago Bulls team coming off of a blowout loss, and on the surface you would expect this line to be an eight point or higher spread. Having paid attention to this Celtics team dating back to their surge last year, if the oddsmakers thought Boston was going to roll to an easy one, this line would be noticeably higher.

The bets and money percentages reflect my thoughts on this one being a little too good to be true as well, as the Celtics are receiving nearly 70% of bets and money, despite the line either sticking right at 6 points, or in some locations even dropping to 5.5, making it even easier for Boston to cover, enticing even more bettors over to the Celtics side.

To give you a ‘how and why’ path to the Bulls covering this game, unlike Saturday’s loss to Cleveland, this Chicago Bulls roster matches up to this Boston team quite a bit better defensively, presumably allowing the Bulls to hang within striking distance. Over the last five meetings between these teams, Chicago has covered four of five, including an early season outright win last November. Without any ball-dominant, undersized guards to torment the Bulls guards on the defensive end, Chicago has managed to make these games very competitive.

High-level scoring guards have been a nightmare for Chicago during Lonzo Ball’s absence, and while I’m not suggesting Jaysom Tatum and Jaylen Brown won’t be effective tonight, I’m suggesting the Bulls at least have a more well-matched toolbox to throw at them. Tonight will be a great test of Patrick Williams‘ impact to the game, as the young wing-player has been largely absent from the offensive end of the floor, but has earned a starting role for his defensive prowess. His efforts have been questioned through three games, but will have to make a true impact if the Bulls expect to compete tonight.

The third quarter may prove to be the decider for this contest as both of these teams have a perfect 3-0 record in the third quarter of each of their games. The Chicago Bulls rank 2nd in the NBA through three games in third quarter points allowed, proving to have shown positive adjustments out of halftime on the defensive end. Boston has shown similar improvements offensively out of halftime, as they rank third in the same category offensively. If the third quarter is dominated by either team tonight, you can expect the final score to reflect it.

Best of luck tonight and Go Bulls! I will see you Wednesday night for the Bulls home meeting with the Indiana Pacers.

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