Celtics (37-19) at Bulls (27-29) Game #57 2/16/17

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Boston Celtics (37-19) at Chicago Bulls (27-29)
Thursday, February 16, 1917
8:00 PM ET
Game [HASH]57, Road Game [HASH]29
TV: TNT
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, WLS AM 890
United Center


Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Isaiah Thomas vs Jerian Grant

Shooting Guard
vs
Marcus Smart vs Michael Carter-Williams

Small Forward
vs
Jae Crowder vs Jimmy Butler

Power Forward
vs
Al Horford vs Taj Gibson

Center
vs
Amir Johnson vs Robin Lopez

Reserves
Gerald Green
Demetrius Jackson
Jonas Jerebko
Jordan Mickey
Terry Rozier
James Young
Tyler Zeller
Kelly Olynyk

Injuries
Avery Bradley (Achilles) out
Jaylen Brown (hip) out

Head Coach
Brad Stevens



Reserves
Isaiah Canaan
Michael Carter-Williams
Christiano Felicio
Doug McDermott
Bobby Portis
Denzel Valentine

Injuries
Dwyane Wade (wrist) questionable
Nikola Mirotic (back) questionable
Paul Zipser (ankle) out

Head Coach
Fred Hoiberg

Game Notes
The Celtics travel to Chicago to take on the Bulls for the 3rd of 4 meetings this season. The Celtics won the series last season 2-1. The series is 1-1 after the first two meetings. The Celtics lost in Chicago 105-99 in the Bulls home opener and then won in Boston 107-100 two nights later. They will meet once more on March 12.

The Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games and then will be off until after the All Star game. Like last season, the Celtics seem to play very well in back to back games. They are 9-3 on the second night of back to back games this season and 4-2 when the games are home/road.

Rajon Rondo started in the first two games against the Celtics but he has hit a rough patch with his new team and has been coming off the bench for them, but is still playing well as a reserve. We all have memories of National TV Rondo, who could make an appearance in this game, since it is on TNT. The Celtics are 17-11 on the road while the Bulls are 16-11 at home.

Avery Bradley (Achilles) and Jaylen Brown (hip) will miss this game. Both are expected back after the All Star break. Paul Zipzer (ankle) is out for the Bulls. Dwyane Wade (wrist) and Nikola Mirotic (back) are both listed as questionable, although personally, I expect Wade to play because he really dislikes the Celtics.


Key Matchups
vs
Jae Crowder vs Jimmy Butler
The Bulls resident star is Jimmy Butler. There have been a lot of trade rumors swirling around him over the summer and again leading up to the trade deadline with many of them involving the Celtics. He even spent soom time working out with Celtics rookie Jaylen Brown over the summer. But for now, Butler is the enemy and it will be up to Jae to keep him from having a big game. Butler is averaging 24.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. He averaged 23.5 points in the first two games vs the Celtics this season.

vs
Al Horford vs Taj Gibson
Taj Gibson is playing well for the Bulls, averaging 11.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists. The Celtics especially need to keep him off the boards and away from the basket.

Honorable Mention
Terry Rozier vs Rajon Rondo
Even if Rondo comes off the bench, he will definitely want to get a win against his former team. He always seemed to play his best when on national TV and so Rozier, or whoever is matched up against him will need to keep him from having a big game.

Keys to the Game
Defense - The Celtics have some very good defenders and could have one of the top defensive teams in the league, however, for much of the season they have not played very good defense. Each player needs to make defense a priority and be sure to have each others' backs on team defense. The Bulls are 7th in the league, allowing just 102.8 points per game. The Bulls will be playing tough defense and so the Celtics must match their defensive intensity.

Rebound - The Celtics can't score if they don't have the ball. 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. The Bulls are 2nd in rebounding with 46.4 per game and first with 12.8 offensive rebounds per game. The Celtics have to give that extra effort to go after rebounds.

Be Aggressive - The Celtics must be aggressive on both ends of the court. They have to be the more aggressive team going for loose balls, on defense, on the boards, and in going to the hoop. They have to play like they want it more for 48 minutes.

Take Care of the Ball - The Celtics turned the ball over 22 times against the Sixers and they have to take better care of the ball in this one. They have to focus on their passes and ball handling to keep the Bulls from getting fast break points off of Celtics turnovers.

Be Smart on Offense - The Celtics need to move the ball to find the open man for easier shots. They have to take open shots when they get them and not be too unselfish. The Bulls are 6th in the league in defending the 3point line and allow just 8.9 per game and so if their 3's aren't falling, they need to take the ball inside.

X-Factors
Back to Back
The Celtics are playing in back to back games after a West coast road trip. They have been very good on the second night of back to back games and hopefully they can continue that in this game. Hopefully fatigue won't be a factor down the stretch.

National TV Rondo - When Rondo played for the Celtics he always seemed to have another gear that he went to when the game was on national TV. He has not been starting for the Bulls but still may have that extra level he can take it to, especially against his former team.

Officiating
Officiating will always be an x-factor. Some crews call every little bit of contact that takes the flow out of the game. Some crews let them play. Some refs have an agenda against a team, a coach or a player. All of these things can alter the way a game is played and the ability of a team to play well.

[jmost]

I'm hearing nothing on talk radio but how badly we need to trade for Butler, and the ideas are crazy. Up here in Portland, ME they're saying they'd trade both upcoming Nets picks, plus Smart and Crowder for Butler. Lou Merloni on EEI has been saying he'd trade both Nets picks plus Crowder or Bradley for Butler.

I think they're all nuts. So I'm really looking forward to seeing Butler play tonight to see what all the fuss is all about. I just don't think he's worth that much.

[mev17]

Disappointing loss, especially coupled with Washington's win at Indiana - now we're only one up in the loss column and they are playing really well.

IMO a bad third quarter cost us the game. Yes it was a tacky-tack foul on Smart in the end put our own fault we were in a position to let one whistle cost us the game. They had 23 more shot attempts thanks mostly to a 15-4 edge on offensive rebounds. We may not be a great rebounding team, but we can't allow that ridiculous a disparity and expect to win close games. Plus IT was very good but merely human tonight, and other than Olynyk no one else stepped up to give us consistent points. Hopefully that could improve a little bit with Bradley's return. But we can really use better rebounding so mediocre bigs like Lopez don't kill us on the offensive glass.

[afceltic]

Feb 16, 2017 23:11:30 GMT -5 mev17 said:

Disappointing loss, especially coupled with Washington's win at Indiana - now we're only one up in the loss column and they are playing really well.

IMO a bad third quarter cost us the game. Yes it was a tacky-tack foul on Smart in the end put our own fault we were in a position to let one whistle cost us the game. They had 23 more shot attempts thanks mostly to a 15-4 edge on offensive rebounds. We may not be a great rebounding team, but we can't allow that ridiculous a disparity and expect to win close games. Plus IT was very good but merely human tonight, and other than Olynyk no one else stepped up to give us consistent points. Hopefully that could improve a little bit with Bradley's return. But we can really use better rebounding so mediocre bigs like Lopez don't kill us on the offensive glass.

I have to disagree with you about the refs, I am with IT and Smart and they stole the game from Boston. Yes we sucked at rebounding, but you never make that call unless it is obvious and it wasn't even a foul. It was the league protecting LeFlop and the Cavs more than anything as they are hurting and we are currently a hot team who should get one of our best players back after the break in Bradley. It also showed that Al isn't a second scorer and why if Danny really wants to compete this year (which will be answered in the next week) we need someone like a Butler to really have a chance at Cleveland no matter their health status. I am fine either way, but it is tempting to try to go for it this year with Love being hurt and who knows how long it will take him to get back to form when he does come back. The #1 seed is there for the taking if Danny wants it and finds the right deal.

I can see trading for Butler, but we need to have them include Lopez so we have at least a league average center. Johnson has been terrible for most of his stay here and I would rather pay Lopez than Johnson for the next few years who makes only 1.3M more than Amir does. The most I would give them when it comes to picks is one of the two Nets picks and some seconds with a mixture of young players that don't contribute since they are trying to rebuild and we are trying to go for it now if a trade like this is made. Which means that IT, Horford, Smart, Bradley, Crowder, Brown and possibly Green won't be included in the trade. Then we can go after the ring chasers before the playoffs, likely some bigs who get cut. If the Bulls won't take that deal, that is fine, but by no means should be give up both Nets picks and any of our core guys that we have now. It will just open a hole in a different area.

[FLCeltsFan]

I personally don't like Butler for the Celtics. I don't think he fits with them.

As for last night the refs absolutely stole that game from the Celtics. First they didn't call a very obvious foul when two Bulls were mugging Young at mid court after Smart made that steal. They call that and Celtics are up 3 rather than 1. Second, they never make that call on the last possession. The foul wasn't obvious. Even watching in slow motion I couldn't see where Marcus hit his elbow. If he did it was such a light tap that it didn't change the trajectory of his shot. And then they didn't make the call until after he saw that the ball didn't go in.

I just hope that the Celtics use this as a motivation to get very serous about winning from here on out. Just like the Patriots used what the league did to them to motivate them to the title this season, the Celtics need to use this theft to motivate them to keep winning.

[jmost]

I wasn't able to watch. Was the offensive goaltending call on Smart correct or another bad call?

[Roadrunner]

Lots of good posts, hence too many too quote. My comments on the game:

1. The rebounding woes continued. Frankly, I am surprised CHI didn't win by more because of the margin.
2. +/-. Did anyone notice the starters, sans Smart (who was 0) had a negative +/-, while the bench had a positive +/-?
3. Last play of the game. Did anyone see the clip of the ref watching if the ball was going in, then blow the whistle after the ball clinked the rim?
4. I feel good about a potential BOS/CHI playoff round, because BOS is the better team and will have home court advantage.

[afceltic]

Feb 17, 2017 17:09:16 GMT -5 jmost said:

I wasn't able to watch. Was the offensive goaltending call on Smart correct or another bad call?

It was another bad call, but it didn't change anything because Chicago got the rebound after the tip missed.

[afceltic]

Feb 17, 2017 15:11:03 GMT -5 FLCeltsFan said:

I personally don't like Butler for the Celtics. I don't think he fits with them.

As for last night the refs absolutely stole that game from the Celtics. First they didn't call a very obvious foul when two Bulls were mugging Young at mid court after Smart made that steal. They call that and Celtics are up 3 rather than 1. Second, they never make that call on the last possession. The foul wasn't obvious. Even watching in slow motion I couldn't see where Marcus hit his elbow. If he did it was such a light tap that it didn't change the trajectory of his shot. And then they didn't make the call until after he saw that the ball didn't go in.

I just hope that the Celtics use this as a motivation to get very serous about winning from here on out. Just like the Patriots used what the league did to them to motivate them to the title this season, the Celtics need to use this theft to motivate them to keep winning.

I had forgotten about the foul after the steal, I was watching it in a public place where the sound wasn't turned up and assumed that they called the foul and totally forgot about it after the timeout. That call is just as big as blown call at the end of the game.