Bulls (25-36) at Celtics (47-12) 3/6

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Chicago Bulls (25-36) at Boston Celtics (47-12)
Friday, March 7
8:00 PM
Regular season game #60, Home Game #32
TV: ESPN, CSN HD, WGN
Radio: WEEI, Sirius 153
TD Banknorth Garden



Probable Starters

Rajon Rondo/Ray Allen/Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett/Kendrick Perkins

Off the Bench
James Posey, Eddie House, Tony Allen, Big Baby Davis, Leon Powe, PJ Brown, Sam Cassell, Brian Scalabrine

Injuries
Scot Pollard, ankle, out




Probable Starters

Larry Hughes/ Kirk Hinrich/ Luol Deng/ Drew Gooden/ Joakim Noah

Off the Bench
Andres Nocioni, Aaron Gray, Ben Gordon, Chris Duhon, Tyrus Thomas, Cedric Simmons, Shannon Brown

Injuries
Thabo Sefolosha, groin, day to day

Key Matchups
vs
Rajon Rondo PPG 10.7 RPG 4.30 APG 5.1 EFF + 14.29
Larry Hughes PPG 12.9 RPG 3.60 APG 2.6 EFF + 10.87
Hughes has more experience than Rondo, but Rajon has the speed advantage. He should be able to beat Hughes off the dribble every time down.

vs
Kendrick Perkins PPG 7.4 RPG 5.90 APG 1.1 EFF + 11.58
Joakim Noah PPG 5.2 RPG 4.90 APG 1.0 EFF + 8.44
Both players are coming off 20 rebound nights and Noah has been playing well since the trade of Wallace to the Cavs, but Perk should be able to muscle his way past Noah for rebounds and to get inside to score.

Honorable Mention
Paul Pierce PPG 20.4 RPG 5.40 APG 4.7 EFF + 20.08
Luol Deng PPG 17.0 RPG 6.70 APG 2.4 EFF + 16.88
This should be a good matchup of two similar players. Pierce should have a good game after struggling somewhat against the Pistons.

Keys to the Game
No Letdown This could be a trap game if the Celtics let down after the big win over the Pistons. If the Celtics come out flat, the Bulls will make them pay. They can't take any team for granted because every team is gunning for the Celtics and will play their best games against them.

Rebound The Bulls are a very good rebounding team. The Celtics need to concentrate on boxing out and beating the Bulls to the boards. Perk should be able to feast on the boards if he continues to aggressively go after them.

Defense The Bulls can score inside and they also have players who can hit the 3. The Celtics need to defend on the perimeter as well as in the paint.

X-Factor
Fatigue - For the second game in a row, the Celtics are facing a team that played a tough game the night before. If the Celtics run, they should have the advantage as the Bulls will be tired.

[runrondo]

wow, Bulls beat the Cavs 107-96...Noah got 20 rebounds!!! Guess Perk won't get his rebounds as easily as i thought...Hughes and Gooden have been playing nicely in Chicago...Gooden usually has a great game against us so i'm watching his matchup and Rondo better blow by Hughes and dunk! Ray will rebound from that 1/9FG against Detroit

[FLCeltsFan]

Picking it up with score tied 4-4 10:19 left in the first. PP misses a tough jumper and Noah tracks dwon the rebound in the corner. Grizz miss and Rondo rebounds KG's shot is blocked by Gooden. He gets it back and passes out to Rondo. Rondo sends it back inside to KG. 3 seconds on the Celtics. Miller called for a walk. Rondo hits a jumper from the corner. Grizz miss and PP rebounds. Celtics turn it over. Hughes misses from the corner. Noah rebounds. Deng misses a jumper. KG rebounds. Perk rebounds the miss and is fouled. He hits both FTs. Hughes hits a 3 from the corner. That was his second wide open shot in a row. Hinrich called for a foul on Rondo as Rondo drives. Celtics inbound on the side. PP takes it into the paint. He hands off to Perk who lays it in and is fouled. He hits the FT. Gooden gets the ball inside and tosses it up and it goes in. The ball goes Perk gets the rebound of a miss and is fouled by Noah. He hits both FTs. RA tips the ball away but Bulls recover. Shot clock violation on the Bulls. PP drives into the lane and lays it in. Time out with Celtics up 15-9 and 6:40 left in the lane.

[FLCeltsFan]

Hughes misses a 3 and Noah rebounds. Bulls miss a jumper. Celtics rebound. RA misses a jumper and Deng clears the rebound. Noah takes it to the rim and misses a layup. Celtics miss a long 3 and Bulls rebound. Gordon banks one in. KG misses a layup. Perk tips the rebound but Bulls come away with it. Gordon is fouled and goes to the line. He hits both FTs. KG gets a tough pass inside and hits a short turn around jumper on the baseline. The ESPN announcers are talking about Yao and the Rockets and the Spurs and ignoring the game. I hate it when they do that. KG gets a pass inside and lays it in. I have no idea what is going on on the floor because the announcers are still talking about the Rockets and Spurs for some bizarre reason and they aren't even zeroing in with the camera. Time out with Celtics up 19-13 and 4:05 left in the first

[FLCeltsFan]

RA with a steal. His pass inside to Rondo is too hard and Rondo steps out of bounds as he tries to get it. Rondo called for a foul. Bulls miss. PP rebounds and Rondo is ahead of everyone gets the pass and lays it in. Posey comes in for Pierce. Someone got a foul but I don't know who since the announcers are chatting about something completely different. Baby is in for KG. Ball is deflected out of bounds. Celtics inbound with 13 on the SC. Rondo is fouled and goes to the line. He hits the first and misses the second. Perk grabs the rebound over Gooden and lays it in and is fouled. Time out with Celtics up 24 -15 and 2:59 left in the first. I really don't like these announcers. They are chatting about everthing under the sun except the action on the court and they even show graphics that have nothing to do with the game while the game is still going on.

[runrondo]

We should trade Perk, he's too good for us

[Roadrunner]

Solid win. J Paxson, and brother are the worst GMs in history.

[eja117]

6 rebs in less than 7 mins is a pretty good start for PJ considering he hasn't played in months.

[mev17]

I thought PJ looked good for his first action in almost a year.

Perkins has been fantastic the last 4 games. If he and Rondo keep this up, I don't see us losing to anyone in the playoffs.

I liked the fact that even in the 4th quarter, our players were still diving for balls and playing hard, with "coach" KG shouting from the sidelines.

GO CELTICS!!