Next Up - Bulls @ Celtics

Thought I would get this posted before tomorrow's game with the Bulls.

As you know the Celtics have returned home for 3 games with the Bulls tomorrow night followed by B2B games against the Raptors on Friday and the Jazz on Saturday. The most important game is the next game with the Bulls.

I admit I have not watched them play at all this year so my observations are nothing more and nothing less than a quick review of available statistics.

At 4-10 the Bulls are in their 2nd year of rebuilding after having traded Jimmy Butler for Zach Levine, Kris Dunn and the 7th pick in the 2017 draft that turned into Lauri Markkamen. Levin looks fully recovered from his ACL injury and is leading the team in scoring while averaging 27 PPG. Dunn and Markkamen have been out with various injuries but should be back soon.

The Bulls are a poor defensive team in giving up 112.4 PPG while scoring 105 PPG.

They have been playing small very small. They signed FA Jabari parker over the summer and drafted Wendell Carter. They have been starting Levine and Arcidiacono in their backcourt and both are listed as PG's although Levine plays more like a 2. Parker plays PF, The rookie Carter is their big man in the middle and Justin Holiday is their SF. Cameron Payne the PG was in the lineup but was sent to the bench recently in favor of Arcidiacono. Arcidiacono played at Villinova, went undrafted, played in the g-league on a two way deal and is now on the full time roster. Probably more than you care to know. He is 6' 3"

They take 87 FGA per game including 29 from deep (36% accuracy) The top rebounder at 10, Portis, has also been out with a strained MCL.

They are ranked 14th in defending the 3 as teams are shooting 35% from deep on them.

They are 25th in rebounding (not good)

They are 17th in fast break points (Boston is 14th) and that number drops almost in half when the Bulls are on the road.

They are 19th in the A/TO ratio and Boston is ranked # 6th

OH... I found something. The Bulls are 11th in first QTR scoring at 27.4 PPG and Boston is 28th at 24.4 PPG.

Keys to the game.

The Celtics have lost a lot of games by digging themselves in a hole early. The Bulls will score well in the first quarter and that may jumpstart them. Their 1st QTR scoring is virtually the same at home as it is away.

The Celtics need to make buckets immediately. They need to get their offense untracked. They go in with a size advantage in the backcourt and on the wings . The Celtics should be able to win the fast break game. They are going to get a lot of wide open 3 point shots against the Bulls but they also need to make those shots with a higher level of efficiency.

The one guy that the Celtics need to check is Zach Levine. We should win the rebounding battle as well as the A/TO ratio.

This is a perfect game NOT to lose. This is also a good game NOT to fiddle with the lineup.

Here is the Bulls take on tonight's game


Tonight the Bulls are in New England to take on the presumptive 2018-19 Eastern Conference titlists, the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Tabbed by many NBA experts as the clear-cut favorites to represent the East in the NBA Finals in June, the Cs haven't gotten off to a blistering start as they return home this evening looking to bounce back from a 1-4 road trip, sporting 7-6 record on the year.

After opening the new season in fine shape in allowing opponents just 96.2 points a game in October, Boston's once stifling defense seems to have taken a two-week vacation in November, yielding 110.3 a night. In fact, they've allowed 100+ points in all six post-Halloween games.

Last season the Celtics enjoyed a deep playoff run, making it to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals without the help of All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, both of whom were sidelined with serious injuries. This year Irving has bounced back quickly, posting team-leading stats of 21 points, 5.4 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting .466 from the field and .405 from distance. Hayward, however, has struggled to regain his old form. The former Utah Jazz star who signed a four-year, $128 million free agent contract with the Cs a year ago has so far been limited to just under 25 minutes a game and is shooting .396 from the field overall and .319 from behind the 3-point arc. Yet the Celtics should easily be able to overcome Hayward's struggles thanks to a couple of high-powered rising stars in second-year forward Jayson Tatum and third-year forward Jaylen Brown, as well as guard Terry Rozier and veteran All-Star big man Al Horford.

Boston still has time to sort things out. In the end, they most likely will be serious contenders for the East's crown, but with both Toronto and Milwaukee playing well and a talented Philadelphia 76ers squad hanging around, Boston's path the Finals won't come easy.

As for Chicago, they're coming off a disappointing 103-98 series sweeping home loss to Dallas Monday night. The Bulls are 4-10 on the year, but 2-2 over their last four with lead guard Zach LaVine averaging a whopping 28.3 points over that span.

LaVine, now in his fifth year out of UCLA, has scored 20 or more in every game this season, and 15 straight overall. On the season LaVine is averaging 27.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists a game. The only other players in the league currently posting similar numbers are Golden State's Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, along with James Harden of the Houston Rockets.

Offensively, on the whole, the Bulls are at their best when they establish a fast and consistent pace right from the opening tip and stay aggressive throughout the entire contest. It is also imperative they wrestle control of the glass at both ends of the floor, but especially so on the defensive side as they can ignite their offense with an unending number of outlet passes to streaking teammates along the sidelines who will quickly push the ball up the floor to deny the defense opportunities to set up and shut down driving lanes to the hoop.

In order to be successful Chicago has run the floor early and often. When a fastbreak opportunities aren't available the Bulls then have to open up the middle of the floor by spreading out and tirelessly look to attack the basket. The most effective way to accomplish this objective is to station shooters evenly along the three-point arc to draw the defense to the perimeter and away from under the hoop. The ball must be shared freely, keeping everyone involved in the action. Crisp passing between all five players helps to stretch the defense and in time will force it to overreact and open up backdoor and baseline cuts to the hoop.

Defensively, in their first seven games this year the Bulls allowed a ridiculous 119.9 points, earning them a defensive rating of 115.5, ranking last in the league. However, over their last seven games Chicago has done a terrific job of tightening the screws, giving up just 104.9 points and posting an impressive 101.2 defensive rating, good for 5th. In order to pull off an upset tonight the Bulls need to produce another stout defensive effort.

To do so they have bring energy and showcase a stubborn brashness in not allowing themselves to be outhustled or outworked. Every player that steps onto the court this evening needs to stay focused and provide energy. As banged up as they are without the help of starters Kris Dunn (left MCL sprain) and Lauri Markkanen (right elbow sprain), as well as key reserves Bobby Portis (right MCL sprain) and Denzel Valentine (left ankle sprain), the Bulls can't afford to play soft. They have to aggressively go after every loose ball and attempt to pull down every rebound to give themselves a shot of coming out on top at the end of the night.

More BS

This is the Bulls only visit to Boston this season and they're catching the Celtics coming off a 1-4 Western Conference road trip. The first game back from a lengthy excursion usually has a downside based on getting reacclimated with a new schedule, surroundings, etc. However in this case, the Celtics know they need to bring a sense of urgency especially on offense where they're ranked 25th in points per game averaging 105 per contest and shooting just 42% from the floor - 28th in the NBA. Gordon Hayward, returning from a serious leg injury sustained in the opener last season, is struggling in the early going as one would expect, as he hopes to regain the form that made him an elite player with Utah. Hayward is averaging 13 points per game but shooting just 39% from the field and 31% from 3-point range.

Following Sunday's loss at Portland, Boston's Marcus Smart addressed his teammates telling ESPN:

"We're no longer the hunter. We're the hunted now. Everybody is coming after us, everybody sees and reads what's been said and what we've done. And, rightfully so as competitors, they take it as a disrespect to them, they want to go out and prove what they can do, so we're going to get everybody's best game. And if we're not expecting that then, we're going to continue to keep going into these deficits and getting our ass kicked.”

The Bulls must bring their own sense of urgency. Big time. Boston is in a bad mojo and they're out to correct that tonight. The Bulls offense has failed to score 100 points in each of their last two games. At times the Bulls settle for isolation instead of passing the ball. This is correctable and I'm sure you'll see a difference tonight. Zach LaVine continues to carry the load offensively as he looks for his 15th straight game of scoring 20+ points to start the season. A CCI thought... this is a great game for Wendell Carter Jr. to showcase his rapidly developing skills on the Celtics. In fact, the comparisons between Carter Jr. and Boston's Al Horford are so aligned it's amazing regarding the similarity of their respective games.

Meanwhile...

It's a tough stretch for the Bulls as they open up three straight against Eastern Conference powers in Boston, Milwaukee and Toronto. As they say, one game at a time. Tonight the focus is on the Celtics.

bobheckler wrote:Sean Grande
Sean Grande @SeanGrandePBP
about 5 minutes ago
Marcus Morris (ill) is out tonight against the Bulls. He currently leads the Celtics in 3-point shooting, true shooting, effective field goal percentage, defensive rebounding and is second in Usage Rate (Kyrie).


bob


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They did not say what the issue was just that he was ill.

Semi and Theis should fill in but we are going to miss his shooting.

Few would have mentioned that last year