2022 - 2023 POST GAME CHICAGO BULLS - AWAY

Celtics Wrap: Boston Goes Cold Against Bulls After Hot First Quarter
Interim head coach Joe Mazzulla was ejected during the contest


NESN by Jason Ounpraseuth

The Boston Celtics were dealt their first loss of the season in a 120-102 loss to the Chicago Bulls at United Center on Monday night.

The Celtics move to 3-1 on the year, and the Bulls went up to 2-2 on the season.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The Celtics started out on fire, and it looked like another routine win for Boston. The C’s started out 8-for-11 on 3-pointers and were up by as much as 19 in the first quarter. But a poor second quarter where they went 3-for-16 on 3-pointers allowed the Bulls to go up double-digits at the half, thanks in large part to a 35-15 second quarter. Boston was unable to build consistency on offense in the second half, and the frustrations mounted even more after interim head coach Joe Mazzulla and forward Grant Williams were ejected from the game. There was question as to how legitimate the ejections were, but they were a microcosm of how the Celtics played Monday night.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Jayson Tatum kept Boston’s offense on pace, but he alone couldn’t get the Celtics past Chicago. The forward led all scorers with 26 points, and he added in eight rebounds and five assists.

— DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls in scoring with 25 points on 10-for-17 shooting, and the Bulls forward had five rebounds and assists apiece.

— Nikola Vucevic was unstoppable on the boards against Boston. The All-Star center had a double-double of 18 points and 23 rebounds. He also dished out five assists.

WAGER WATCH
Tatum had +140 odds to lead the game in scoring. A $100 bet on the Celtics forward would have paid out $240.


UP NEXT
The Celtics will head back to TD Garden to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. Tipoff is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. ET

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DeRozan, Vucevic lead way as Bulls beat Celtics 120-102

ESPN

CHICAGO -- — DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points, Nikola Vucevic added 18 points and 23 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls wiped out a big early deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 120-102 on Monday night.

The Bulls went from trailing by 19 in the first quarter with Jayson Tatum providing an early spark for Boston to leading by 16 near the end of the half. They then went on a big run after the lead dwindled to three early in the third and handed the Celtics their first loss after a 3-0 start.

Ayo Dosunmu scored 22. Zach LaVine, playing his second game after missing the first two, added 19 points, helping the Bulls stop a two-game skid and pick up their first win since the opener at Miami.

Tatum, averaging an NBA-leading 34.7 points coming in, scored 26. The three-time All-Star had 15 in the first quarter. Jaylen Brown added 21 points. But interim coach Joe Mazzulla and Grant Williams got ejected.

Mazzulla picked up two technicals with just under five minutes left in the third quarter, leaving assistant Damon Stoudamire to run the team. Williams got tossed early in the fourth after showing up referee Natalie Sago.

Marcus Smart cut it to 69-66 with a 3-pointer to finish a 17-4 run that started just before halftime. But the Bulls responded with a 15-2 run. DeRozan hit both technical free throws to make it 84-68 after Mazzulla got ejected.

TIP-INS

Celtics: C Al Horford was not listed on the injury report after missing a game because of low back stiffness. ... There was a video tribute for Celtics great Bill Russell prior to the game.

Bulls: The Bulls' ability to develop cohesion in the early going could be hamstrung by LaVine's left knee issue. Besides missing games during busy stretches, the two-time All-Star might be limited in shootarounds and practices at least for now, after he had surgery in May. “We've got to manage his health,” coach Billy Donovan said. “That's the most important thing. I think for us, it's getting into that routine of what is best to keep him at a place where he's feeling good. Certainly, the more load that he has away from games, that's the part that's got to be managed.” Though he's not on a minutes restriction, LaVine could also miss games during busy stretches. ... G Alex Caruso played through spasms in his left hamstring.

UP NEXT

Celtics: Host Cleveland on Friday.


112288

Imho brogdon messed with our offense with his meballing.

worcester wrote:Imho brogdon messed with our offense with his meballing.

He was on the floor when we started losing the lead and not doing much, when he came in we stopped getting all the easy baskets that got us the lead. A bigger concern is our bigs, Al has never been a board monster, GWill can’t rebound for shoot. We let a serviceable starting big Vucevic look like Hakeem Olajuwon, we showed no resolve/toughness once we lost the lead. Maybe it’s because we were getting hammered on the boards so bad….finally saw Kornet play, he looked like the same player I saw last year. Why is he on the roster? Vonlah couldn’t stop the bleeding/pounding we were getting in the paint, why not give Kabengele a shot? He couldn’t be as useless as Kornet. We had plenty of time to shore up our bigs knowing Timelord was going to be out, is this really the best we could do? At this point we just showed a weakness, it’s a copycat league, I still don’t know why Kornet is on the roster….????

Well, we can't win all 82 games. 81-1 won't be too shabby. CHI brought their A-Game. We did not. Same old cliché. Everyone's gunning for the near champions. Us and GSW.

db

100% agree Cow.

Hi,
I think the game was lost in the second quarter. And the main culprit was Coach Joe (CJ). He should've read them a riot act or something. His ejection was too little, too late, mostly as a manifestation of utter frustration.
Hope it's just a lack of experience and he learns the lesson.
Now, back to Boston to face a feisty Cavs team.

AK

3 road games in 4 days.  That should be taken into account.  

Stopped running uptempo ball in the 2nd, right around the same time we started losing our lead.  Their energy was sky-high.  This should have been bulletin board material for Joe since Chicago gone blown out @ home by Cleveland on Saturday by 32 points.  We should have expected them to fight.  Instead we went up 19 and took our feet off the gas.

Al has no inside offensive game.  Noah Vonleh has no inside or outside game.  The Force is still not with Luke.  We need to give Kabengele a chance, or we need to give Blake more minutes or we need you to get us a big, Brad.  I'm surprised that Blake only got 5 minutes last night.  Why was that, Joe?  Joe was ejected with about 5 minutes left in the 3rd, so he could have gotten Blake in there sooner.  We were getting killed on the boards.  That's something Blake's good at.  Al was having a mediocre game, at best, Vonleh looked awful on both ends and Vuc was running wild on the offensive boards.  There is no excuse for him to have gotten 10 offensive boards.  Andre Drummond came off the bench (Chicago has depth at the 'beef position') and got 12 rebounds in 15 minutes.  Vuc and Dre grabbed 35 rebounds in 46 total minutes.  That's outstanding rebounding from the center position by players who are built to be centers.

They got 29 ftas vs 12 for us but a lot of their ftas were because we were a step slow on both ends.  A 17 fta difference.  We lost by 18.  Some of the whistles were ridiculous, but 4 of them were for the ejections.  

Marcus Smart passed Ray Allen on the Celtics All-Time 3pt fgm list.  With 800 3pt fgm he is now in 3rd place behind Pierce (1823), Walker (937) and Tatum (839).  Tatum's always going to be ahead of him, but 'Toine?  He's 137 3pt fgm behind a player who is retired and can't add to his total, and Smart is average 1.3 3pt fgm/game at this time.  At that rate he'll catch 'Toine in 108 games.  Next season.  It feels weird to say that Smart is ahead of one of the greatest shooters in NBA history.  Jaylen's at 729, so he'll probably pass Ray this season too.  

With last night's debacle we now have the 16th best offense (down from #1) and the 17th defense.  This is the danger of using season stats early on in the season.  One thing is clear, though, our defense isn't what it was last year.  Understandable perhaps with RWill out but here we are.

Joe thrown out for "unsportsmanlike comments" and then ejected for not getting off the floor.  A little quick on the 2nd whistle perhaps.  We had two female refs last night (Cheryl Flores and Natalie Sago) but it was lead ref Marc Davis who was closest to Joe and blew the 2nd T on him.  I don't think the "unsportsmanlike comment" was directed at Davis.  Given the sensitivity there is to treating women with respect I wonder what, AND WHY, Joe said whatever he said to a female ref that was "unsportsmanlike".  I can't blame female refs for not wanting to take any guff, Joey Crawford had the quickest whistle I've ever seen and nobody made it about him asserting his masculinity.  People just thought he was an arrogant, thin-skinned prick who just happened to be a man.  Grant was ejected for making "intentional contact" with a ref.  If the league agrees that it was intentional he's probably looking at a suspension too.  Dumb.  Everybody knows, under no circumstances, do you make physical contact with a ref.

Gary Washburn @GwashburnGlobe
yesterday
Mazzulla said he was trying to get another official's attention. Said he's unsure why he was ejected. Said he did not curse. #Celtics #Bulls




Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
yesterday
Looks like Grant Williams was ejected for running into the official, though it looked like he was just trying to get up quickly and run away to blow off steam rather than deliberately run into the official.




https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401468202


Bob


.

Sooner or later when the shots stop falling this team has to rely on their defense.

As good as our offense has been, our defense has not been close to good.

Secondly, when you rotate 4 guys into the game at the same time, the rhythm changes.  

Thirdly, AH is off to his worse start since he has been in the league.  Without Robert Williams, Al looks fragile.  Unfortunately the Celtics are going to have to live with this dilemma until such time that Rob is back and playing at a high level.  

This was just one game but every team watches film so we should expect to see more of this.  If you want to beat the Celtics you need to bang them on the glass and give them a heavy dose of PNR offense because they cannot defend the paint.

Grant's ass is twice the size of the ref's. I remember doing the bump on the dance floor back in the day. This ref did not appreciate Grant's dance move.

I'm sure if you look around plenty of blame is getting placed on the defense. The problem was on the offensive end. Shots stopped going in, boards weren't getting made and the stress gets turned up on the defense. Even the best defense breaks down under those circumstances.

As dboss pointed out, shots stopped falling. Offensive rebounding also disappeared. Vonleh has been looking like he could be the guy to grab boards for second chance points, but when you pick up a couple fouls, you can't be as aggressive. Brown and Griffin did grab 3 offensive boards apiece, so there was some help there.

Interesting that Mazzulla's ejection came from a different official than the one he was talking to.

It is just one game. Onward.

Agree with both Cowens and Dboss. Defense and rebounding is the main concern right now. However, 3 road games in 4 days may have accentuated the problem. I hope Coach Joe gets them in the gym these next few days to tighten up the defense and rebounding. Cleveland should be a good test. They have guys that can breakdown the defense in Garland and Mitchell and good big men with Mobley, Allen and Love.

It looked bad last night, but 3-1 is still a good start. It's a long season and there are going to be games like this one. Tatum looks awesome, except for his constant complaining to the refs. Jaylen is fantastic. A little worried age is catching up with Al, but he still does so many positive little things out there. Hopefully, we will have a strong game against Cleveland.

This is where numbers play with your head.
Marcus is not close to Allen when it comes to shooters but here we are looking at  the quantitative.
How many years did Ray play for us again? How many years has Marcus? What are the attempts per? I could go on but its boring stuff. We don’t need a calculator to figure this shizzle out-
When it comes to Shooting the Bball Mentioning Marcus Smart in the same breath as Ray Allen is laughable.

worcester wrote:Grant's ass is twice the size of the ref's. I remember doing the bump on the dance floor back in the day. This ref did not appreciate Grant's dance move.

Remember the Joe Tex song “Ain’t gonna bump no mo with no big fat woman”? Is that what you were bumping to. Any video? LOl

Oh my gawd, the sky is falling!!!

In the well known fable, an acorn falls on Chicken Little’s head and of course, she takes it as a sign that the sky is falling and the world is coming to an end.

Please..lets not do this.

We need somebody to rebound against the xxxtra large bigs. I'm not sure that guy is on the roster. It's definitely not Kornet. I think either Blake or Kabengele need to get some PT. In my mind, Robert Williams ever being able to play a full season is a huge question mark. An Andre Drummond type sure would be an asset at this juncture. All that said, Ktron is right. The sky isn't falling. Going home can work wonders after a 4 game trip.

Yeahhh Jumpin Joe Tex!! Thank u Bob

jrleftfoot wrote:We need somebody to rebound against the xxxtra large bigs. I'm not sure that guy is on the roster. It's definitely not Kornet. I think either Blake or Kabengele need to get some PT. In my mind, Robert Williams ever being able to play a full season is a huge question mark. An Andre Drummond type sure would  be an asset at this juncture. All that said, Ktron is right. The sky isn't falling. Going home can work wonders after a 4 game trip.

I said this summer as soon as RWill had his second surgery that as much talent as he has, we better start looking for other options for obvious reasons as Al also has his age/durability issues, as much as we root for both. Kabengele is a live active body with young legs, play him with Al, 2 J’s, Smart or Brogden for a stretch, play him next to Blake for a stretch. If your not gonna sign an old dinosaur Howard or Cousins, play the kid.

cowens/oldschool wrote:

jrleftfoot wrote:We need somebody to rebound against the xxxtra large bigs. I'm not sure that guy is on the roster. It's definitely not Kornet. I think either Blake or Kabengele need to get some PT. In my mind, Robert Williams ever being able to play a full season is a huge question mark. An Andre Drummond type sure would  be an asset at this juncture. All that said, Ktron is right. The sky isn't falling. Going home can work wonders after a 4 game trip.

I said this summer as soon as RWill had his second surgery that as much talent as he has, we better start looking for other options for obvious reasons as Al also has his age/durability issues, as much as we root for both. Kabengele is a live active body with young legs, play him with Al, 2 J’s, Smart or Brogden for a stretch, play him next to Blake for a stretch. If your not gonna sign an old dinosaur Howard or Cousins, play the kid.

I agree, give the kid a shot. Rebounding (especially on the defensive boards) is a major weakness right now. A short stretch here or there can't hurt.

Ktron and Bob, I told my gal about Grant bumping the ref and she immediately sang a stanza of Joe Tex's song to me. That's how old we are!