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Boston Celtics (2-3) at Chicago Bulls (5-1)
Saturday, November 8, 2014
8:00 PM ET
Game #6, Road Game #3
TV: CSNNE, WGN, NBA-LP 758(DTV)/757(Xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, ESPN 1000AM
United Center
Probable Starters 
PG: Rajon Rondo................................................SG Avery Bradley
C: Kelly Olynyk
SF: Jeff Green ................................. ............PF Jared Sullinger
Celtics ReservesPhil Pressey
Evan Turner
Marcus Thornton
Brandon Bass
Dwight Powell
Tyler Zeller
James Young
Gerald Wallace
InjuriesVitor Faverani (knee) out
Marcus Smart (ankle) out
Probable Starters 
PG: Derrick Rose ............................................. SG: Jimmy Butler
C: Joakim Noah
SF: Mike Dunleavy ............................................. PF: Paul Gasol
Bulls ReservesTaj Gibson
Kirk Hinrich
Nikola Mirotic
Doug McDermott
Tony Snell
Cameron Bairstow
E'Twaun Moore
Injuries Derrick Rose (ankle) game time decision
Aaron Brooks (ankle) day to day
Game NotesFresh off a victory over the injury plagued Pacers, the Celtics travel to Chicago to take on the very tough Chicago Bulls. Both teams are playing in the second of back to back games and having to travel overnight. The Bulls played on Friday in Philadelophia, coming away with a 118-115 win.
The Celtics lost their talented rookie Marcus Smart in Friday's game and so other players will need to step up in this one to fill in for him. Bulls point guard Derrick Rose missed Friday's game after tweaking his sprained ankle in the previous game. His status for this game is a game time decision. If Rose can't go, expect Kirk Hinrich to get the start in his place. Bulls guard Aaron Brooks left Friday's game with a sprained ankle but is hopeful to be able to play in this game.
Key Matchups 
vs
Jared Sullinger & Kelly Olynyk vs Pau Gasol & Joakim Noah
The Bulls have one of the tougher front courts to match up with. Gasol and Noah are both long and very talented. Sullinger and Olynyk will have their hands full trying to contain the Bulls big men and will have a tough time getting open shots with Gasol and Noah draped all over them.
Honorable MentionRajon Rondo vs Derrick Rose
If Rose can play, this is one of the more fun point guard matchups in the league. Rondo always gets up to play the top PG's and so expect a big game from him. If Rose can't go, Rondo will face Kirk Hinrich and there is no love lost between these two players so it could be a very physical matchup.
Keys to the Game Defense - The Bulls are a high scoring team, averaging 104.8 points per game. The Celtics defense has left much to be desired, allowing a whopping 107 points per game. On the other hand, as you would expect from a Tom Thibodeau coached team, the Bulls are allowing only 98.3 points per game. The Celtics have got to match the Bulls defensive intensity if they expect to win this one.
Rebound - The Celtics can't score if they don't have the ball. Rebounding will be tough against Chicago's big front line, but much of rebounding is effort and desire and so the Celtics must put out the extra effort on the boards to give themselves extra possessions as well as to limit the Bulls fast break opportunities and second chance points.
Limit Turnovers - The Celtics are averaging 16.2 turnovers per game, which is too many. They also seem to go through spurts in the game when they lose focus and have a flurry of turnovers. They have to take better care of the ball and also keep their focus better throughout the game.
Play 48 Minutes - The Celtics seem to play very well at times, sometimes starting off strong and sometimes finishing strong. They have to make an effort to play hard and keep their focus from the starting tip until the final buzzer.
X-Factor Injuries Injuries on both sides could be a factor. Marcus Smart has been a big part of what the Celtics have been doing and it's not known how much his injury is going to affect the rotation, especially the Celtics defense. For the Bulls, with Derrick Rose in the lineup, they become much harder to beat.
Topic: Celtics (2-3) at Bulls (5-1) Game #6 11/8/14 (Read 74428 times)