Celtics (23-5) at Bulls (5-20) Game #29 12/11/17

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Boston Celtics (23-5) at Chicago Bulls (5-20)
Monday, December 11, 2017
8:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game [HASH]29, Road Game [HASH]15
TV: NBCSB, WGN, NBA-LP 750 (DTV)/751 (xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, WLS AM 890
United Center


Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Kyrie Irving vs Kris Dunn

Shooting Guard
vs
Jaylen Brown vs Justin Holiday

Small Forward
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Denzel Valentine

Power Forward
vs
Al Horford vs Lauri Markkanen

Center
vs
Aron Baynes vs Robin Lopez

Reserves
Shane Larkin
Abdel Nader
Semi Ojeleye
Daniel Theis
Guerschon Yabusele
Terry Rozier
Marcus Smart

Injuries
Gordon Hayward (ankle) out
Marcus Morris (knee) doubtful
Al Horford (knee) questionable

Two Way Players
Kadeem Allen
Jabari Bird

Head Coach
Brad Stevens



Reserves
Kay Felder
Christiano Felicio
Jerian Grant
Nikola Mirotic
david Nwaba
Cameron Payne
Quincy Pondexter
Bobby Portis
Paul Zipser

Injuries
Zach Lavine (ACL) out
Cameron Payne (foot) out

Two Way Players
Ryan Arcidiacono
Antonio Blakeney

Head Coach
Fred Hoiberg

Game Notes
The Celtics finish up their three game road trip with a stop in Chicago to take on the Bulls. Much has changed for both teams since they last met in last year's playoffs. Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade are no longer starting for the Bulls and the Celtics have done a complete makeover with 11 new players on the team.

Last season The Celtics and Bulls split the season series 2-2 with each team winning on their home court. This is the first of 4 games between these two teams this season. They will meet in Boston on December 23 and April 6 and once more in Chicago on March 5.

The Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games. They are 2-1 overall and 1-0 when the games are both on the road, as they are in this case. The Celtics are 11-3 on the road while the Bulls are 3-8 at home. The Celtics are looking for their second straight win while the Bulls have won two straight for the first time this season and are looking to forge new territory with a 3 game win streak.

The Bulls are the youngest team in the league with an average age of 24.5 years old. All of their players are under 30 years old and 10 of their 17 players are under 24, which is the most players under 24 on any team in the league. They also currently have the worst record in the league and that is saying something with all of the teams that are tanking this season.

Zach Lavine (ACL) and Cameron Payne (foot) are both out for the Bulls. Gordon Hayward (ankle) is out indefinitely for the Celtics. Marcus Morris did not play against the Pistons and is doubtful for this game with continued soreness in his knee. Al Horford bumped knees in the game against the Pistons and left the game briefly but returned to finish the game. He is questionable for this game as it's not known whether there will remain any soreness in the knee leading into this game.

With Marcus Morris still sidelined, Aron Baynes should once again start at center. I'm thinking that Al will be able to play in this game, but if not, Brad may start Marcus Smart at the two and then move Jaylen Brown to small forward and slide Jayson Tatum over to the power forward spot. The Bulls starting lineup is the one listed in their game notes.


Key Matchups
vs
Al Horford vs Lauri Markkanen
Assuming that Al will be able to play in this game, he will be matched up with Bulls Rookie Lauri Markkanen, who has been playing very well. Markkanen is averaging 14.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and has hit 56 three pointers so far this season, hitting at least one in each game.

vs
Aron Baynes vs Robin Lopez
Baynes is coming off an excellent game against Andre Drummond and the Detroit Pistons. Hopefully he continues that in this game as he is matched up with Robin Lopez. Lopez is averaging 13.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists.

Honorable Mention
Jaylen Brown vs Justin Holiday
Holiday is averaging 14.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.25 steals. Brown has been wearing goggles that affect his eyesight somewhat and hopefully he is beginning to get more used to them. Either way, he should get the better of this matchup.

Keys to the Game
Rebound - The Celtics must box out and crash the boards. They can't score without the ball and it will take extra effort on their part to grab the rebounds. The Celtics have been rebounding very well but have also had a couple of lapses where they allowed their opponent to out-rebound them. The Celtics are grabbing 45.1 rebounds per game while the Bulls are averaging 44.4 rebounds per game.

Be Aggressive - I already mentioned that the Celtics must be aggressive on the boards, but they also must be aggressive on defense, in going after loose balls, and just all around going all out. They have to aggressively attack the basket. They need to start the game with that aggressive attitude and be aggressive through the whole game with no let up. They can't let the Bulls outwork them, or they may end up with a loss.

Play Defense - Defense wins games. The Celtics are tops in the league with a defensive rating of 99.0. They had been letting their defense slip a bit for a few games but seemed to right the ship against the Pistons and got back to their tough team defense once again. The Celtics need to continue to make defense a priority.

Move the Ball Carefully - The Celtics need to move the ball and find the open man. When they move the ball, good things usually happen. When the ball stops and players try to do too much, the offense bogs down and the Celtics have trouble scoring. They need to play the team ball that has gotten them the best record in the league.

X-Factors
Fatigue - The Celtics are playing the 3rd game in 4 nights and on back to back nights on the road. With travel and all the games, the players could be getting a bit tired. Hopefully they can shake it off and play hard and not run out of gas down the stretch.

Playing Bad Teams - The Bulls have the Worst record in the league with just 5 wins this season so far. It would be easy to write them off and come out with less than 100% effort. The Celtics need to come out and play hard from the opening tip to the final buzzer or else they may end up giving the Bulls their 6th win.

[jmost]

A lot of people thought we should have picked Dunn instead of Brown. I'll be interested to see how far he's come.

So far the C's have avoided the really bad loss. Let's hope that continues.

[TenTwentyFour]

Kyrie is out tonight with a quad contusion...

[jmost]

I just hope Smart doesn't think this means he has to score more. This would be a good game for Tatum to be more aggressive.

[mev17]

For the first time this season, I am angry. What a pathetic, inexcusable performance. I don't care that Kyrie didn't play and Chicago had won all of 2 games in a row. We should beat this team in our sleep, and yet we are completely inept and down 24 in the fourth quarter. Nothing good to say about tonight's game, and 3 games in 4 nights does not even begin to explain being dominated by the worst team in the league. Tonight was just a shameful effort.

[Roadrunner]

That was a dud. BOS lacks a back up PG that can run the offense.

[jmost]

Agreed. Smart had shown signs of being a competent backup, but has regressed. He's forcing passes too often, and still can't get by anyone. Rozier keeps improving but doesn't have true PG skills. Larkin is a PG but only good in small doses. I'd love to see us pick up a real backup PG, if not this year, then for next year.

I think the way Brad looks at games like this is that NO team is immune from the occasional clunker. It happens to ALL teams, even the great ones. The main thing is that the trend is upward, and that the team is improving month to month. I can't get too upset over one game.

[Roadrunner]

I think forced the 3-ball (10-40), and did not attack the paint.

[mev17]

Dec 12, 2017 10:08:53 GMT -5 jmost said:

Agreed. Smart had shown signs of being a competent backup, but has regressed. He's forcing passes too often, and still can't get by anyone. Rozier keeps improving but doesn't have true PG skills. Larkin is a PG but only good in small doses. I'd love to see us pick up a real backup PG, if not this year, then for next year.

I think the way Brad looks at games like this is that NO team is immune from the occasional clunker. It happens to ALL teams, even the great ones. The main thing is that the trend is upward, and that the team is improving month to month. I can't get too upset over one game.

Sure, be mature and bring perspective into this

[jmost]

I'm just old enough to remember that even teams with Bird, McHale etc laid the occasional egg.

[Roadrunner]

Dec 13, 2017 8:02:19 GMT -5 jmost said:

I'm just old enough to remember that even teams with Bird, McHale etc laid the occasional egg.

I read an article on the internet about the NBA, Vegas odds, and scheduling which indicated lack of sleep was the major factor in fatigue. As an athlete (a runner of course), I require a minimum of 7-hours sleep per night to run effectively.