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Celtics (12-11) at Bulls (13-9) 12/18
« on: December 17, 2012, 09:51:10 PM »

Offline FLCeltsFan

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Boston Celtics (12-11) at Chicago Bulls (13-9)
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
8:00 PM ET
Game #24,  Road Game #12
TV:  CSNNE, CSN-C,  NBA-LP 758(C's)/759(Chi) 
Radio:   WEEI,  WMVP
United Center




Probable Starters

PG: Rajon Rondo..................................................SG Courtney Lee

C:  Kevin Garnett

SF:  Paul Pierce ................................. ............PF Brandon Bass

Celtics Reserves
Jared Sullinger
Jason Collins
Jason Terry
Jeff Green
Leandro Barbosa
Chris Wilcox

Injuries

Avery Bradley (shoulders) out

D-League
Kris Joseph
Fab Melo




Probable Starters

PG: Kirk Hinrich ............................................. SG: Marco Belinelli

C:  Joakim Noah 

SF:  Luol Deng .................................................. PF:  Carlos Boozer

Bulls Reserves
Taj Gibson
Nazr Mohammed
Nate Robinson
Jimmy Butler
Marquis Teague
Vladmir Radmanovic

Injuries
Derrick Rose (knee)  out 
Rip Hamilton (foot) day to day

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
Jason Collins and Kirk Hinrich were teammates in Atlanta from 2010-12
Jeff Green, Chris Wilcox and Bulls Assistant Coach Adrian Griffin were teammates in Seattle during the 2007-08 season
Green and Nazr Mohammed were teammates in Oklahoma City during the 2010-11 season
Paul Pierce and Kirk Hinrich both attended Kansas
Rajon Rondo, Nazr Mohammed and Marquis Teague all attended Kentucky
Jason Terry and Nazr Mohammed were teammates in Atlanta from 2000-04
Terry and Bulls Assistant Coach Adrian Griffin were teammates in Dallas during the 2005-06 season
Chris Wilcox and Nate Robinson were teammates in New York during the 2008-09 season
Wilcox and Rip Hamilton were teammates in Detroit from 2009-11
Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers and Jimmy Butler both attended Marquette
Nate Robinson played for the Celtics during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons

Key Matchups
vs
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 past,  Noah has been able to get to the basket at will for rebounds and tip ins.  He is also blocking 2.3 shots a game.   KG has got to box him out and defend the paint.  This might be a good game for Doc to give Collins some run if Noah starts to go wild inside.   

  vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Kirk Hinrich
Rondo and Hinrich have history together going back to the 2009 playoffs when Rondo shoved Hinrich into the scorer's table and the 2 got into a skirmish.  Rondo has a speed advantage on Hinrich but Hinrich is a good shooter and so Rondo will need to stay with him on defense. 

Honorable Mention

Paul Pierce vs Luol Deng
Pierce and Deng are always a fun matchup to watch.  Deng is long and a very good defender and has been able to bother Pierce in the past.   He will make Pierce work for his points.  Deng has also been shooting well and is scoring 17.8 ppg and in the past has put up some big games against the Celtics. 

Game Notes

This is the second of 4 meetings between these two teams.  The Bulls are doing very with a 13-9 record in spite of missing their all star point guard for the season so far. The Bulls are 7-3 in their last 10 games while the Celtics are 5-5 in their last 10.  The Celtics are 4-7 on the road while the Bulls are 7-6 at home.

The Bulls are coached by former Celtics assistant and defensive guru, Tom Thibodeau.  It follows that they hang their hat on their defense.  They are 2nd in the league allowing just 90.86 points per game on 42.6% shooting.  The Celtics, on the other hand have struggled with their defense so far this season, ranking 16th and allowing 97.91 points per game on 44.7% shooting.   

The Celtics have dropped the first 2 games on their road trip and need to win this game to stay above .500 for the year.   The Celtics have had 2 days off while the Bulls are playing in the second of back to back games after a tough game in Memphis on Monday night. 


Keys to the Game
   
Rebound -   The Celtics are once again last in rebounding, grabbing just 38.97 per game while the Bulls are 7th with 43.73 rebounds per game.  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 Celtics strength in recent years.  It has also been a strength for the Bulls.  So far this season, the Celtics have struggled on defense while the Bulls have been playing tough on the defensive end.    The Celtics need to match the defensive intensity of the Bulls if they want to come out of this game with a win. 

Be Aggressive - It's no secret that the more aggressive team 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. 

X-Factors
Rest vs Fatigue
The Celtics have had 2 days off and should be rested while the Bulls played on Monday night and will be playing in back to back games.  Hopefully the Celtics will be energized and will catch the Bulls a bit tired. 

Re: Celtics (12-11) at Bulls (13-9) 12/18
« Reply #1 on: December 18, 2012, 01:07:37 AM »

fitzhickey

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Tp

Re: Celtics (12-11) at Bulls (13-9) 12/18
« Reply #2 on: December 18, 2012, 04:15:34 AM »

Offline lightspeed5

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KG watch this to get pumped up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa6rgPte4S8

Re: Celtics (12-11) at Bulls (13-9) 12/18
« Reply #3 on: December 18, 2012, 04:53:46 AM »

Offline jdz101

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how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck was chris bosh?

Re: Celtics (12-11) at Bulls (13-9) 12/18
« Reply #4 on: December 18, 2012, 05:20:49 AM »

Offline Lightskinsmurf

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I'm not having much fun watching this team this year so far.

Re: Celtics (12-11) at Bulls (13-9) 12/18
« Reply #5 on: December 18, 2012, 05:52:03 AM »

Offline jdz101

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I'm not having much fun watching this team this year so far.

Nothing is fun if you're not winning unfortunately...


how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck was chris bosh?

Re: Celtics (12-11) at Bulls (13-9) 12/18
« Reply #6 on: December 18, 2012, 09:02:35 AM »

Offline D.o.s.

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Chicago played Memphis last night--final score was 80-71. Bulls lost.

I'm expected an ugly game of basketball, with a serious emphasis on defense.
At least a goldfish with a Lincoln Log on its back goin' across your floor to your sock drawer has a miraculous connotation to it.

Re: Celtics (12-11) at Bulls (13-9) 12/18
« Reply #7 on: December 18, 2012, 09:31:32 AM »

Offline SHAQATTACK

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Yup, this will be a LOW SCORING affair.   Maybe 15-20 points a quarter at best.  It will appear neither team can hit a shot , the defense will be really intense.

We could combine BOTH the Celtics and Bulls teams and make ONE really good squad. ;D

No predictions .  probally be decided the last 5 seconds.

Re: Celtics (12-11) at Bulls (13-9) 12/18
« Reply #8 on: December 18, 2012, 10:06:00 AM »

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The Bulls are one of the best teams in the league at creating extra possessions. They were 2nd in rebounding differential last I checked and 3rd in combined rebounding + turnover differential.

The Celtics are pretty much bottom of the league in rebounding differential + 3rd from bottom in combined rebounding and turnover differential.

The Celtics have on average 3.27 possessions less a game than their opponents. While the Bulls have the opposite, a positive 3.33 possessions a game. A difference of 6.7 possessions a game. A huge number.

That is where Chicago does most of it's damage. Defense and extra possessions.

Re: Celtics (12-11) at Bulls (13-9) 12/18
« Reply #9 on: December 18, 2012, 11:27:33 AM »

Offline D.o.s.

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It'll probably be a fun game to watch for those of us who enjoy gritty games, for sure.


That said, I'm still really bummed out about the Derrick Rose injury--he was one of my favorite modern players to watch and root for, and this matchup would've been about a bazillion times more exciting if he was healthy.
At least a goldfish with a Lincoln Log on its back goin' across your floor to your sock drawer has a miraculous connotation to it.

Re: Celtics (12-11) at Bulls (13-9) 12/18
« Reply #10 on: December 18, 2012, 01:05:39 PM »

Offline WeMadeIt17

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Jeff Green has his best game as a Celtic tonight that is all!

Re: Celtics (12-11) at Bulls (13-9) 12/18
« Reply #11 on: December 18, 2012, 01:10:31 PM »

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Jeff Green has his best game as a Celtic tonight that is all!
I expect the Bulls to be a difficult matchup for Jeff Green. One of the best defensive teams in the league. A top notch defensive SF in Luol Deng with excellent size. A very good defensive PF in Taj Gibson with excellent quickness.

Not a lot of advantageous opportunities for Jeff Green there. Maybe some minutes against the backup SF but Jimmy Butler is a solid defender too.

I'd go the other way and expect this to be a difficult game for Jeff Green.

Re: Celtics (12-11) at Bulls (13-9) 12/18
« Reply #12 on: December 18, 2012, 02:15:13 PM »

Offline slamtheking

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what's the over/under on rebounds for Noah tonight -- 20?

Re: Celtics (12-11) at Bulls (13-9) 12/18
« Reply #13 on: December 18, 2012, 02:31:49 PM »

Offline CelticHooligan3

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Look at Noah's arm in that top pick... The kid didn't look like that when he came out of Florida.

Re: Celtics (12-11) at Bulls (13-9) 12/18
« Reply #14 on: December 18, 2012, 08:21:48 PM »

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Just tuning in, those were some impressive passes by Joakim Noah on that highlight reel.

It's great to have talented big man passers.