Celtics vs Bulls Series Thread

I could see how one might look at Chiacgo’s frontcourt and conclude that their bigs are too much for Boston. Ultimately though, Boston just has too much firepower and the Bulls lack the bench depth to seriously scare them. The Bulls were not a good shooting team this year, and I think that (along with bench woes) will hurt them in close games such as Game 1 right now. 

I didn’t pick the Bulls to win but I did tell my friends if there were an upset, it would be this series. Boston is one of the most vulnerable 1 seeds I can remember (thanks to Cleveland) and Chicago has played well against the better teams all season. Jimmy’s gonna make Danny Ainge regret not getting him

 It’s honestly amazing that the Celtics could get destroyed on the glass and still only lose by 4.  Off the top of my head that was the worst rebounding "effort" from the Celtics all year.  

It is a weird series. 53-win teams generally are not 1-seeds. Added on to this is that Boston was 20-21 against teams who made the playoffs and 33-8 against those who did not. They were 7-11 against teams with .600 or better records. They are an easily likable team, and one that is still on the upswing. It is fair, however, to look at that resume and have doubts. Chicago was 18-21 against teams who made the playoffs and an awful 21-18 aginst those who did not. They actually were 12-9 against teams who had .600 or better records. The Bulls were a .500 team and did it the hard way. They were often out worked by bad teams, In much the same way it is fair to praise Stevens for getting the job done against the dregs of the league, it is an indictment of Hoiberg that so many of the young Bulls players failed to show up or give the necessary effort in those games. Also, much of the season was spent trying to force feed a style that does not fit their personnel. Those are still issues that will need to be addressed regardless of how the series plays out. That said, they got in. They have adapted their style to play a bigger, slower game, which is made for the playoffs. This is a problem for Boston because they are small at almost every position, and definitely are when Horford is off the court. In Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade (Game 1 aside), and Rajon Rondo, they have guys who are poven playoff performers. It doesn’t mean Chicago is going to win. The question isn’t whether they can win a game and make a statement, but can they show up in Game 2? The shorter rotation and no back-to-backs helps keep most of their erratic young players off the floor, but they needed Bobby Portis to step up. Jerian Grant didn’t have a great game, but he was important down the stretch. Do those two, or if not them then Mirotic, Felicio, or Zipser, step in and give that necessary support when coming off a win? While Boston didn’t have the same struggle to get their supporting players to contribute during the regular season, it is not good when they don’t show up at home in Game 1. On the road, their shots don’t fall at the same rate. It is important for them to perform at home. Boston can’t afford to turn playoff games into one of stars v stars. After the first initial burst of Avery Bradley and a little run with Marcus Smart, they didn’t get much from anyone other than Horford and Thomas. They won’t win a series that way.

 The Bulls win certainly made the series very interesting and unless Thomas has a hot series then Jimmy Butler has the ability to be best player in this series. Add in the big game experience of D-Wade, Rondo and co and the Bulls have a real chance of a surprise. Although as said above the gap between 1st and 8th seeds is only 12 wins compared to 26 wins out West.

With Thomas having that family tradegy, we don’t know what frame of mind he will be in either as emotion will catch up with him physically and mentally sometime.

The Celtics can easily turn it around but if Chicago can keep things tight they have an experienced team and Fred Hoiberg is going to make the most of his play off opportunity to outwit Brad Stevens. One worrying thing for the Celtics was that Chicago had the 2nd best defence out East so they will not be an easy team to breakdown and as underdogs the pressure is off them.

Bulls announce Rajon Rondo is out indefinitely with a right thumb fracture

If you subscribe to the belief that some of the reason the Bulls have looked so much better in the playoffs is that they have been able to protect themselves from relying on their young players too much, this could change the series. Then again, "indefinitely" could mean that he is out until he is fitted for a brace that he can function with so it is possible they only need one good home game from Jerian Grant.