The show goes on for the Boston Celtics (20-18) as they will try to start a new winning streak when they wrap up their five-game homestand tonight against the Chicago Bulls (22-15).
The Bulls and Celtics have squared off twice already this season with each team winning a game. Both games were in Chicago, and tonight is the first time this season the two will meet in Boston.
Chicago is coming off 107-105 overtime victory in Toronto against the Raptors.
The victory came with a price, as forward Luol Deng injured his hamstring in the first quarter of Wednesday's game. Deng said that he should be ready to go, but his coach Tom Thibodeau was a bit more cautious about Deng's status. "We'll see," said Thibodeau of Deng. "He's day to day. He got treatment (Thursday). He's a little better (Thursday) but we'll see. Game-time decision." Deng has averaged 21.5 points in the two games played against Boston this year.
The Celtics will have their hands full tonight with a Bulls team that's doing all this without their star point guard Derrick Rose.
Here's a preview:
Projected lineups:
Bulls:
Kirk Hinrich
Richard Hamilton
Luol Deng*
Carlos Boozer
Joakim Noah
Celtics:
Rajon Rondo
Avery Bradley
Paul Pierce
Brandon Bass
Kevin Garnett
Keys to the game:
1. Bench play: In their last meeting, Boston's bench only scored 16 points, and Nate Robinson scored 18 points off Chicago's bench. Letting one player outscore an entire bench is asinine. The Gangster Squad, the nickname that Boston's bench has coined for themselves, needs to do their thing tonight and not allow Chicago's bench, a bench that ranks 24th in the league in scoring, to outplay them. With the way the bench has been playing of late, that shouldn't happen. But you never know when Nate Robinson is going to go off.
2. A bounce-back night from the Big Ticket: Kevin Garnett did not have a good game at all on Wednesday against the Hornets. Although his stats over the past week or so have been KG-esque, Garnett has looked tired and even (gasp) old of late. It doesn't get any easier for KG as he takes on his nemesis, Joakim Noah. In the two meetings this season, Noah has averaged 14.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 2.0 blocks. Noah tallied his second-career triple-double against the Celtics in their 100-89 victory on December 18. Garnett is going to have to step it up and play one of his better games in order to lead the Celtics to victory.
3. Men on the run: In their previous two meetings, Boston edged the Bulls in fast break points, scoring 14 in each game. The Bulls are not a run-and-gun team. They like to run their offense in the half-court. Boston generates 8.7 steals per game, which is good for 4th in the NBA. In the two games against Chicago, Boston has averaged 8.0 steals. The Celtics are going to have to be active and score in transition like they did at the start of Wednesday night's game -- they had 5 steals in the first quarter -- but that intensity is going to have last for the whole game.
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