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Boston Celtics (30-23) at Chicago Bulls (42-13)
Thursday, April 5
9:30 PM ET
Game #54, Road Game #26
TV: TNT, CSNNE, TSN2
Radio: WEEI, WMVP
United Center
Probable Starters 
PG: Rajon Rondo..................................................SG Ray Allen 
C: Kevin Garnett 
SF: Paul Pierce ................................. ............PF Brandon BassCoach: Doc Rivers
Boston ReservesRyan Hollins
JaJuan Johnson
Greg Siemsma
E'Twaun Moore
Avery Bradley
Marquis Daniels
Keyon Dooling
Sasha Pavlovic
InjuredRay Allen (ankle) probable
Mickael Pietrus (concussion) out
Jermaine O'Neal (wrist) out
Greg Stiemsma (feet, thumb) probable
Probable Starters 
PG: Derrick Rose ............................................. SG: Rip Hamilton
C: Joakim Noah 
SF: Luol Deng .................................................. PF: Carlos Boozer Coach: Tom Thibodeau
Bulls BenchJohn Lucas III
Omer Asik
Kyle Korver
Taj Gibson
Jimmy Butler
Brian Scalabrine
Ronnie Brewer
Injuries Derrick Rose (groin) questionable
Team Connections Bulls Head Coach Tom Thibodeau was a member of the Celtics coaching staff from 2007-10 and was a member of the 2008 NBA Championship coaching staff
Bulls Assistant Coaches Ed Pinckney (1988-94) and Adrian Griffin (1999-2001) played for the Celtics
Brian Scalabrine played for the Celtics from 2005-10 and was a member of the 2008 NBA championship team
Rip Hamilton and Ray Allen both attended the University of Connecticut
Jimmy Butler and Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers both attended Marquette University
C.J. Watson and Mickael Pietrus were teammates in Golden State during the 2007-08 season
Rip Hamilton and Chris Wilcox were teammates in Detroit from 2009-11
Key Matchups
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Kevin Garnett vs Joakim Noah
Noah brings a lot of energy to the Bulls and he is a presence in the paint. KG has to match his energy. In the last game between these two teams, Noah got to the basket at will for rebounds and tip ins. KG has got to box him out and defend the paint.
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Rajon Rondo vs Derrick Rose
Derrick Rose is expected to return for this game after a lengthy absence with a groin injury. Rondo always gets up for the big PG matchups and this is a big one with the reigning MVP. Rose may be rusty after being out so long and so Rondo must be aggressive and go right at Rose all game.
Honorable MentionPaul Pierce vs Luol Deng
Pierce and Deng are always a fun matchup to watch. Pierce has quietly been having a great stretch and was just named Player of the Week for it. Deng has been playing with a wrist injury and so hasn't been quite as effective as he normally is, but his defense is still very good. He will make Pierce work for his points.
Game Notes This is the 4th and final meeting between these two teams this season. The Bulls lead the series 2-1 with Chicago winning once in Boston and once in Chicago and the Celtics winning one game in Boston. In their first meeting in Boston, the Bulls won by 9 and both teams were at full strength. The second meeting was at Boston and the Celtics won by 4. Rose and Bass were out. Their third meeting was in Chicago where the Bulls won by 9 without Rose or Hamilton and the Celtics were missing Bass. Once again, Rose is questionable for this game and the Celtics will be missing Pietrus.
The Bulls are 6-4 in their last 10 games while the Celtics have won 7 of their last 10 games. The Bulls are 21-6 at home and the Celtics are 11-14 on the road. The Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games while the Bulls had Tuesday and Wednesday off after losing the the Rockets on Monday. The Celtics expended a lot of energy playing right down to the wire against the Spurs and so hopefully won't run out of energy in this one.
The Bulls are in first place in the East, 3 games ahead of Miami. In the overall standings, they are tied with the Thunder in the loss column but they have played 2 more games than OKC. After their blowout loss in Oklahoma this past week, I'm sure they would love to have home court advantage if those two teams meet in the Finals. The Celtics are still in 4th spot by virtue of leading the division, but they are also tied with Atlanta for the 6th spot and 2 games behind Indiana for the 5th.
Both teams need this game. It will be a matter of which teams plays more aggressively and who wants it more. This will probably be a grind it out close game similar to the one the Celtics won in Boston and hopefully will have the same result.
Keys to the Game Rebound - The Celtics have been doing better on the boards in recent games but they still need to work harder. The Bulls are the top rebounding team in the league, pulling down 46.1 per game while the Celtics still rank last with only 38.6 rpg. The Celtics have to box out and keep Noah from getting easy tip ins and to keep the Bulls from piling up the second chance baskets. The Celtics have got to crash the boards as a team and not just expect the bigs to get the rebounds. They are much more effective when the guards go up strong after rebounds as well.
Defense - Defense has been the key to the Celtics recent win streak. They have worked hard on the defensive end to stop teams that are normally high scoring teams. They let up on defense against the Spurs and allowed too many easy baskets in the first half. They can't do that against the Bulls. In this game, they don't face a high scoring team but they face another defensive minded team. The Bulls are rankes 2nd in points allowed (88.
while the Celtics are ranked 3rd, allowing 89.8 points per game. The Celtics are ranked first in field goal percentage, allowing teams to shoot only 42.0% while the Bulls are 4th allowing 42.8% shooting. This one won't be a bar fight, it will be all out war.
Be Aggressive - It's no secret that the more aggressive team is gets the calls and usually the win. The Celtics must start out being aggressive and that starts with Rondo. They have to be aggressive on the boards, in defending, in going after loose balls, and especially in getting inside to the basket instead of settling for outside jumpers. The more aggressive team will more than likely get the win.
X-Factor Focus and Fatigue
The Celtics are playing in the second game in as many nights and played hard right to the end against the Spurs. Hopefully they don't run out of steam before the end of the game. They can't let up against the Bulls and must play hard from start to finish. They have to focus on playing their game and not let the refs or the Bulls take them out of it.
Topic: Celtics (30-23) at Bulls (42-13) 4/5 (Read 31384 times)