Celtics Central

The Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks 99-77 in a game that was decided in the second quarter.

The new additions, Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown, led the team in assists and rebounds respectively with 5 and 9.

Motivation is a funny thing.

Note the Utah Jazz. They went out and celebrated their solid win against the league’s top team last night, the Celtics, by losing to…… the New Jersey Nets tonight.

It is important to note that before last night’s revenge game against the Beantown ballers, the Jazz lost to the Bulls, and had to comeback strong to beat the very same Bucks team that Boston wore down and swallowed up earlier this evening. My point is that the only game they really got up for was against the Celtics.

Boston played the Bucks without their starting center, Andrew Bogut, while Boston was without Ray Allen. Call it a trade off. Still, Boston took the lead for good, 14-12, on a Kendrick Perkins hook shot with 4 minutes left in the 1st quarter.

They made their move and put the game away with about 4 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, courtesy of a Michael Ruffin flagrant foul, in a 33 second, 7 point scoring burst, that drove an 8 point lead to 15 points. For a Buck team that’s heading towards Lottery Street once again, that proved too big of a hill to climb. The rest of the game was academic.

The Breakaway Sequence

With the score at a still competitive 38-30, Paul Pierce made a behind the back pass to Rondo under the hoop for 2 points. After a Charlie Bell miss, Rondo fed Garnett underneath for a dunk while getting a modern era flagrant foul from Michael Ruffin as Ruffin pushed Garnett on one shoulder as he was in air completing the dunk. Garnett dropped to the ground, on his back, unhurt, and managed a number of hand slaps with his team mates before they lifted him up. Garnett then made one of the two fouls shots.

On the ensuing inbounds play (that you receive as a reward for the flagrant foul), Paul Pierce drove for a reverse lay-up and and a 15 point lead. At this point, you could hear the Milwaukee Bucks folding on the dotted line. The lead was 18 by the half and ballooned to 23 before the game was over.

Sam Cassell had come in at the 3:34 mark of the 1st quarter, and started off by hitting his first 4 shots. He had a tie up for a jump ball, and 3 steals to go with 10 points, and 5 assists in about 23 minutes.

But it was Eddie House who put on an offensive display with 17 points (7 for 11) in 21 minutes including 3-5 from beyond the arc. He added 3 rebounds and 2 steals in a solid outing.

The Celtics defense was very good as they held the Bucks to .341 FG%, 5 for 26 from downtown, and a mere 24 points in the paint. The Bucks were held in check all night and had only 3 players in double digits led by Charlie Bell’s 16.

It may be just in my mind, but even last year, I remember that very bad Celtic team trying hard and making moves to make the games competitive. There was no such motivation on this team that seemed resigned to its fate.

Paul Pierce played an aggressive and solid game, so we can forgive 3 TOs, including a second behind the back pass to Garnett that KG wasn’t expecting underneath the hoop. Paul scored 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting with 7 rebounds and 3 assists in an abbreviated 27 minutes.

P.J. Brown got solid burn in this game, contributing 9 rebounds (6 offensive) with 4 assists and 4 points in about 24 minutes.

Garnett led with 19 points on 8 of 16 shooting, but grabbed only 2 rebounds and dished 2 assists. He and Perkins combined for the solid interior defense that it all revolves around. Rondo played a solid game with 13 points on 6 of 9, with 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

That is really pretty much it. Desmond Mason and Bobby Simmons got testy a little bit, but that was the most life you could observe in the Bucks for the evening.

With Milwaukee GM Harris reputed to be on his way out, one wonders if Coach Krystowiak might not be far behind.

The Celtics get a real reading on where they are, starting Monday night against San Antonio.

It turned out to be the Celtics worse loss of the year, beating the previous 12 point loss to Charlotte by 6.

One team beat the other off the starting line and it was all catch up from there. Sound familiar?

The Celtics got a taste of what they have been dishing out to lesser opponents of late – an early deficit from which they weren’t able to recover. The Celtics led at 6-4….and never again. By the end of the 1st quarter it was a 10 point deficit. The final score appears worse than it was, as the Celtics made numerous attempts to overtake a well prepared Utah squad.

The Cs got it down to 5 in the second quarter before it enlarged to 13 by the half. They cut it to 4 once and 5 four times in the 3rd quarter, the only quarter they outscored (25-17) the revenge minded Jazz. The closest they came all night was 3 at 79-76 in the 4th, though they battled back on mini runs throughout the game.

Paul Pierce….

It seemed like every time we got it to like 4 or 6 points, they pushed it back to 9 or 10. We could never get over that hump. The defense struggled all night. But they run their plays to perfection.

Kevin Garnett….

…I think every time we made a run ourselves, they cut it short. They did what we usually do to teams. They cut the run short and they make a run of their own.

Yes, they did.

Doc Rivers added…

They just kicked our butt and I thought they just wanted it. They played harder. They played more aggressive. They were physical. They were tougher and they beat us. It doesn’t happen often, but it happened tonight.

When Deron was asked if this game was circled….

Yeah, I was definitely looking forward to the game. They were one of the last teams to beat us at home…..we have 3 losses at home…..definitely wanted to avenge that.

For Utah it was a classic game. For the Celtics it was a somewhat weird game.

Garnett, who has been coming out on fire of late, came out cold, going 1-5 in the first quarter. Paul Pierce was ineffective as well, being shut out on a single attempt. Ray Allen and Kendrick Perkins picked up the slack with 9 and 6 points respectively. Rondo tried as well as they were leaving him open and he hit 2 jumpers. Then Ray, the one Celtic having real success offensively, slipped and hurt his foot (bruised heel) and was gone for the game.

Neither Pierce nor Kevin was able to get anything going at all in the first half. Pierce finished the game with 1 for 7 and anemic 8 points

This was one of KG’s worse halves as a Celtic as he was 1 for 7 with 3 points and no rebounds at the half way mark. His defense was un-Garnett-like as well as he left Mehmet Okur open up top for 8 points on 3-4 shooting. Kevin recovered enough in the 2nd half to go 5-5 for 15 points and an unspectacular 6 rebounds. He did contribute 6 assists as Jerry Sloan played Kevin as Doc has played Tim Duncan, another great passing big man, leaving him in single coverage at times so as to stop the passing options.

The Jazz did a good job of collapsing in the middle on shooters, though the Celtics continued to drive and managed 40 points in the paint. They were not gotten easily. Utah did some damage in the paint of its own with 50 points. I don’t know for sure, but that could be a season high for the Celtic defense.

The Jazz completely suffocated the Celtics on the boards in the first quarter going 13-5. The Celtics had only 6 rebounds by 8:33 mark of the 2nd quarter. Yet another weird stat for this game.

Deron Williams led both teams with 32 points largely on 17-18 from the foul line. Deron drove to the hoop so often and with so much success that Perkins laid a flagrant one foul on him on one drive. His had ice on his head afterwards…

It’s alright. I got a headache, I’ll be alright though. I’m going to get some Tylenol and get some rest.

He and Carlos Boozer played very well with Boozer getting 17 points and 12 rebounds. The Jazz outrebounded the Celtics 38-29 for the game.

Utah has not been a strong road team, but did well enough tonight to get the best team in the NBA on a night where they played with a power shortage.

Kevin Garnett…

Energy. I could tell off the bat energy-wise, yeah. We weren’t our normal selves…..but we fought for 48 minutes.

The Celtics left the locker room rather early, while the Jazz were ebullient in theirs.

The Celtics play in Milwaukee on Saturday night, then go on to their Texas road trip plus New Orleans, making it the most difficult stretch of competition, by far, of the year.

Call them the Green Crush. It was almost boring to see how easy this win was. Almost.

I still enjoy watching the high level of ball this team is playing to dismantle their opponents.

The Boston Celtics just defeated the extra-young and lowly Seattle Supersonics, who were not super, and any sonics heard were the Celtics getting to the rim and scoring at will. The Celtics pumped up the volume to a 37 point lead before coasting home with a 111-82 win at home for their 10th straight win.

After putting together 3 different nine game streaks this year, the team now has the longest Celtic winning streak since the Bird-led 1985-86 season when they won 14 straight. It was also the team’s 51st win this year and put Doc Rivers at an even .500 (324-324) for his coaching career.

Paul Pierce scored all of his 14 points in the first quarter when Seattle tried to keep up with the Beantown Ballers. He did most of his damage the old fashioned Paul Pierce way, on drives to the middle, shooting an efficient 6-9. After that, Pierce turned into a passing forward, taking just 2 shots the rest of the way, while finishing with 11 assists for a dub-dub. Pierce was stellar in his 26 minutes tonight.

Boston shot .542 while scoring 34 first quarter points to Seattle’s 24. Ray Allen added 6 and Rondo and Leon Powe contributed 4 points each. The lead ballooned to 20 in the 2nd quarter, all but deciding this contest. The Celtics were hitting at a smooth and deadly .553 clip by half time. Without much effort, the lead ballooned to 37 points before the team coasted home with the win.

Along the way, every eligible Celtic player played and scored and played at least 10 minutes. Seattle emptied its bench too, as 24 different players played tonight. ‘Summer league in March’ time.

Games against bottom feeders will be like this for the rest of the year. Each type of team is playing for vastly different reasons as one looks at play-off seeding, the other at lottery seeding.

This allowed Doc Rivers to rest his starters more and team high minutes went to James Posey at 26:24, as he scored 10 points, grabbed 5 boards, and added 4 assists.

The Celtics defense was just too much for this young, offensive minded team, as the Men in Green took turns turning off the hot player, from Kevin Durant to Earl Watson, and keeping the clamps on Jeff Green and Chris Wilcox. In an aberration, Johan Petro took team high honors in attempts with 15, making 6 for 12 ineffectual points.

Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown got solid minutes as they work to get comfortable with their new team. Rajon Rondo did not have one of his better games. He got 2 quick fouls, played 16 minutes total, with 2 assists and 6 points, even missing a couple of lay-ups on the same play.

Eddie House was perfect from the field with a 5-5 night and 11 points in 17:26, adding solid defense on Earl Watson, adding 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals in one of his best performances in a while.

Kendrick Perkins was solid as usual in 22 minutes but failed to get at least 10 rebounds for the first time in 6 games. He had 5 boards and 5 points in an abbreviated evening.

Kevin Garnett tie with Ray Allen for team lead in scoring with 18, as his jumper was going once again. Allen has been a groove from downtown for about 12 games now and is getting hotter. He was silk with a precision-like 8 of 10 this evening, with 2-3 from beyond the arc. He is 11-17 for 65% over his last three games from the three point line.

Boston’s bench scored 50 of the team’s points and grabbed 26 of the team’s 46 rebounds with solid contributions from everyone. Tony Allen led the team in rebounding with 7.

The team is just controlling games, breaking the will of opponents and doing it early. Philadelphia tried to compete in the 2nd half the other night but was dismissed anyway. The Sixers defeated the Pistons tonight. This Celtic domination is reminiscent of the 1980′s teams.

Next up will be a more worthy opponent and one with revenge as a motive. Utah, 4th best in the west, at 43-23, comes to Boston on Friday. They have the league’s best home record and only 3 home losses this year. One of those three losses is courtesy of the Celtics.

The Boston Celtics cooled off a rather warm 76er team, while winning their 50th game and moving their own win streak to 9 straight.

It demonstrated the difference between the top playoff teams and the bottom ones in the east.

The Philadelphia team has surprised everyone and was on a 4 game win streak and had won 12 of 15 coming into this game. They are playing for .500, respectability, and a play-off spot in the weak Eastern conference. They are within 4 games of .500 (after this loss) at 30-34, are currently in the 7th play-off spot and are earning respect with every win. No one expected that from this squad.

Boston has been rolling along, and clicking on all cylinders for a while now. Boston can beat you in a variety of ways. Tonight they did so by two well established themes since the beginning of the year.

1) Quality over quantity…

From the trades this summer, and the carefully added role players, to Boston’s low shot attempts, (the lowest in the league by 2 full shots at 76), but high FG%, (4th in the league at 47% – at one time they were #1) the team has gone for quality over quantity.

Tonight they were outshot by 17 attempts (78-95), but they made 7 more baskets (37-30) en route to their victory. Far from unusual, it is the team’s MO this year.

2) The Three Shall Lead Them…

Lead them they did. The three stars scored 64 of the team’s 100 points, were the only players in double figures and set the tone defensively, as always, starting with Kevin Garnett.

The Celtics jumped out to a 15-0 lead, held on when the Sixers caught up at 44, and made a strong 3rd quarter push behind Kevin Garnett’s 12 points to push the lead back to 14 from which they maintained a comfortable margin for the rest of the game.

Kevin Garnett shot an uber efficient 11-14 for 26 points, making his first 7 shots, not missing until the 3rd quarter and adding 12 rebounds while playing his usual remarkable defense. That is what happens when you don’t double Kevin Garnett regularly, as Philly chose not to on many occasions this evening.

Paul Pierce had 8 first quarter points, 15 by half time, on 6-9 shooting, 3-5 from downtown, and finished with 17 in 28 minutes, while playing solid defense on Andre Iguodala (5-14 for 17 points).

Ray Allen continued his torrid 3 point shooting, scoring 10 first quarter points, 21 points for the game, on 8-12 shooting, going 4-6 from beyond the arc. He is 33-62 over his last eleven games for a superb .53% that is even more impressive when you factor in that he is taking 5.6 three point shots per game. That is quality and quantity.

Add in Kendrick Perkins contributing yet another gem of a game with a career high 6 blocks in the first half (3 against Dalembert, 3 against Andre Miller), 11 rebounds, 7 points, while locking up Samuel Dalembert (2 points) for most of the game. Kendrick keeps his goal of 10 boards a game alive in 29 plus minutes.

Rajon Rondo had a Rondo-esque game with 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 6 points, 2 steals and made life difficult for a hard driving Andre Miller (7-20), a player who normally gives Rondo trouble.

The Celtics did lose a ‘points in the paint’ war they normally win, by 42-30. But it isn’t as surprising when you see that this team takes it to the hoop most all the time now. No more Kyle Korver ‘inside out’ game for them. Andre Miller, Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, and even Louis Williams were attacking the painted area all night.

The low degree of success is a credit to Perkins and Garnett’s defensive prowess for the most part, as the Philly ballers shot just .316 for the game to the Celtics .474. That was essentially the game.

Sam Cassell played tonight for the very first time as a Celtic, but was held scoreless in 5 minutes while picking up 4 fouls.

The Celtics keep warm, cooled off Philly, and gave them something to think about if they ever meet in the play-offs.

The Celtics are now 50-12. It is the first 50 win Celtic team since 1990-91 when they won 51 in the tail end of the Larry Bird years. .

They return home for a game Wednesday night against Seattle.

The Boston Celtic’s universal good guy, 6′ 8″ red headed Brian Scalabrine caused quite a stir in the Celtic’s locker room before the game the other night.

The red head was sporting a swimmer’s bald head look. The instantly recognizable red locks were gone.

For the quintessential team player, it was unusual to see Brian drawing attention to himself.

But it turns out to be for a good cause. Brian had attended a local event for St. Baldrick’s.

Doc was asked about it and drew some attention and laughter from the reporters during the Bulls pre-game interview….

It’s for a good cause. He scared the (heck) out of me. I thought he was our security guy, Phil Lynch. I really did. I mean I’m not kidding. He’s sitting there and I’m like, ‘Phil’s in great shape.’ (laughter). He’s shaved his head for charity, and to raise money. If he did it, other people will do it and follow. …..Anybody who’s willing to pay that price and look that way is pretty cool. But please ask him about it. I’m sure it’s very important to him.

Said Brian….

It’s a charity out of Connecticut called Saint Baldrick’s and they raise money, it’s sort of like a dare. I dare you to cut your hair. It’s how it kind of started. They contacted me a couple of weeks ago and said they were doing an event at The Greatest Bar, in Boston, during the Bruins game. And I said OK, I’ll go there and do it. They shaved like 20 heads and I got mine done. It is done for awareness for cancer for kids.

The Foundation is dedicated to “Shaving the Way to Conquer Kids’ Cancer”

In eight years, events have taken place in 18 countries and 46 US states, raising over $34 million, and shaving more than 46,000 heads.

Their website is here if you would like to know more.

What happens when a well oiled Big Green Machine meets up with a Memphis team that had run out of Gas-ol a while ago?

Welcome to the Boston “3″ Party, (you knew I was going to say it), they made 15 from beyond the arc, and coasted to an easy 30 point Celtic victory. You can say it was a Boston Massacre though the Grizzlies were amazingly cooperative.

The Celtics had this contest won in the 1st quarter, shooting 74% and jumping out to a 17 point lead, unless you want to be kind and say it wasn’t until the 2nd quarter before you knew the inevitable final outcome. Memphis’ grizzliest game of the year (biggest loss) was witnessed by its 2nd sell out crowd of the year.

The spectacular play of the 2007-8 Celtics, a result of the cohesive, coherent, co-mingling of 3 top players, led by marquee name, Kevin Garnett, continues to cut through the league like a hot knife through butter. It is a sight many want to see first hand, even at the expense of their own team.

It has led a league revival and dominoed a number of mid season big name trades/acquisitions by top teams trying to really, truly be able to compete for the NBA title.

Memphis decided to go the other way and cast its fortune with a youth movement and a pairing down of contractual obligations. The Grizzlies have basically thrown in the towel and given up on the season for the second year in a row. Former Celtic employee, Chris Wallace won the GM job in the pre-season and precious little since then. He got the mandate to break it all down and start over during the season. Bye Bye – Pau Gasol, Damon Stoudamire, and any idea of being competitive now.

Tonight’s game was mailed in by the Grizzlies, so there was no need for the Celtics to really work themselves up either. The Cs won with solid defense, one arm tied behind their back, and the other shooting open 3 pointers.

They had so many open looks from the three point line, it must have seemed like a bad practice game. The Celtics made 15 of 30 from beyond the arc. The “3″ party was led by Ray Allen, James Posey with 5-8 each, and Paul Pierce (4-8). Even Rajon Rondo got into the act with his 5th made three pointer of the season. Ironically, 3 point specialist, Eddie House shot blanks at 0-5.

The Grizzlies were so compliant, the Celtics only shot 15 free throws.

The Celtics shot .580 overall and except for a 2nd quarter blip, when they were dysfunctional offensively, and outscored by the Griz 17-14, they were in complete control. For the team many compare to a Lamberghetti, cruise control was on for most of the game,

The Celtic big men controlled the boards 45-31 as Kendrick Perkins continued to make good on his goal of 10 rebounds a game. He finished with a double double (11 boards, 13 pts.) for the 4th straight game. He put in a sparkling game on 6-7 shooting, adding 3 blocks in a mere 25:23 minutes of playing time. He drew a technical to boot.

Kevin Garnett added 17 points and 8 rebounds in 27 minutes. No Celtic played 30 minutes or more. It was the 2nd game of back to backs for the Cs and they had arrived in Memphis around 4:00a.m. The Grizzlies looked like the tired team instead.

Ray Allen led the team with 23 points on 9-13 overall. Pierce followed with 19 points, including 2 foul shots, having made at least his last 13 straight, while James Posey rang up 15 points total. Rajon Rondo contributed 3 points and 9 assists, while Eddie House played 28 minutes, adding 8 points and 7 assists.

The bench contributed 44 total points….and a good time was had by all.

Kevin Garnett cracked the 20,000 point milestone in the first half, becoming the 32nd player in league history to accomplish that. Only Shaquille O’Neal (26,008), Allen Iverson (22,488), and Kobe Bryant (21,039) have done so among active players.

The Celtic Love Train keeps on rolling for its 8th straight win and runs it’s league best road record to 21-8.

Next stop is Philadelphia on Monday.

He was a little late, but smiling Sam Cassell finally arrived as a fully signed and delivered Boston Celtic last night, and gave a press conference before the game.

When asked what the response from his new team mates was…

They mostly said, ‘It’s about time.’

(Referring to the long whispered rumors and the immediate recent delay due to a death in the family.)

Sam was smiling, but the Bulls weren’t, as they lost to the Celtics 116-93.

Was it the fatigue? Was it the refs? Or was it the Celtics overpowering performance?

The Chicago Bulls were in a foul mood tonight. (I always wanted to write that line. Tonight’s the night.) They were yakking with the refs quite a bit.

While the Celtics hopped on the Bulls early and rode them to an easy 23 point win, the Bulls rode the refs enough to make their point and get a 29 to 13 foul shot attempt advantage in the 2nd half. It took 4 technicals to make their point before the game was through.

Coach Boylan received a technical himself and said this after the game…

We were fatigued and they beat us up on the glass. We just didn’t have an answer for them….The shooting percentage, which was below 30% against the Celtics, will be a hard night for you. We dug ourselves a hole with poor shooting and couldn’t seem to get out of it.

Whatever it was, the Bulls were getting under the referees’ skin, particularly Ken Mauer’s. They were tagged with 4 technicals and an ejection of new comer Drew Gooden in the 2nd quarter, that brought a loud cheer from the house.

Gooden would only say this afterwards…

I didn’t think I was too verbal out there but he made his decision, and bygones be bygones.

The Celtics enjoyed a huge disparity in first half foul shot attempts (30 to 9) as they ran up a 20 point half time lead through a balanced scoring attack. 4 Celtics were in double figures by half time, led by Kevin Garnett with twelve.

Kendrick Perkins had 10 in the 1st quarter, and finished with his 3rd straight double double after having none previously. He had said after the Detroit game that was his goal, ten rebounds a game. So far, so good. Add in 6-6 from the foul line and 3 blocks for good measure. Kendrick Perkins is playing as good as he has ever played. It is great to see him come alive like this. The timing couldn’t be better, as his game seems to be reaching a whole new level.

Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo also had ten 1st half points each, and Leon Powe went 3-3 for 6 points in 8 minutes. Mount St. Pierce had another 3rd quarter eruption for 16 points, the lead ballooned to 28, and that was the game. Pierce led the team with 22 points in only 25 minutes. A 27-17 half time rebound advantage grew to 55 -35 by the final score. It was mostly academic in the second half.

Pierce, Garnett, Ray Allen and Kendrick Perkins did not play in the 4th quarter.

Pat Self on Back Time

I said this should happen in my pre-game comments….

the Celtics should roll over this team, and get some PT for some players who need it, while the big three get a little rest.

Players who got needed PT included P.J. Brown, who entered the game as a Celtic for the first time to big applause with 1:24 left in the 3rd quarter. He played 5 minute and was quite productive with 6 rebounds and a 3 point play. He did drop a few passes.

Doc said…

I thought he was great. You could see, you know, bobbling the ball was basically…saying you’re going at NBA speed. And it’s a whole different speed than those YMCA pick up games. …but you could also see some of the things he can do already, which is nice.

When Sam Cassell was shown on the Jumbotron, sitting on the bench in street clothes, he drew a very loud and sustained applause from the crowd with many standing up for him.

With the Bulls getting outplayed in every facet of the game, Ben Gordon said they should take something from every game, even this one. What would that be?

We’ve got the Pistons coming up. They’re right up there with the Celtics. We just know that when we go on other teams home floors, we got to be a lot sharper early on in the game and not let things get out of our grasp. They’ll continue to rally off that.

On the foul calls..

Guys have been around the league long enough, that you know some nights they go your way, some nights they don’t. You just have to play through that. I don’t think that determined the outcome of the game, though. They just outplayed us.

After the emotional win against Detroit 2 nights ago, there was no letdown. The team played very well on both sides of the court as Chicago offered none of the trouble that Detroit did. The Celtics are 48-12, have won 7 straight games and 10 straight home games.

The Celtics now fly out to play Memphis tomorrow night.

Celtic ratings are up and the Chicago Bulls are in town for a contest at 8:00 pm.

Comcast Sports Network say that ratings of Celtic games have risen 107% since last year. Hardly surprising with the mega high profile changes and phenomenal success of the team, right from the start with a 9-0 winning streak out of the gate.

The Celtics have be aware of a possible emotional let down after the intensely fought big game against the Pistons. After beating the Pistons the last time, the Beantown Ballers went out and lost to Charlotte the next game.

P.J. Brown will probably get some PT this evening. The last game was just too intense of a fire to throw ‘newbie’ oldie P.J. into after not playing competitively since last year’s play-offs, coincidentally, with these same Bulls.

Sam Cassell is expected to be with the team as well. While he will also be available for game duty, there is no word either way, at this time, whether he will play tonight.

New Bulls Coach Jim Boylan is trying to work in their two new players, guard Larry Hughes and forward Drew Gooden over the last 7 games. After starting 1-4 with the new players they have won their last 2 in a row.

But the way they have done it is wildly inconsistent. They gave up 64 points in the paint to the Memphis Grizzlies. That is correct….64 points. But they came back and limited Lebron and the Cavs to a lowly 24 PIP last evening. Joakim Noah had an explosive 20 rebound game against his former team mate, and good friend (not!) Ben Wallace. Noah has to follow up his performance of last night with another one this evening to give the Bulls a chance.

You have to throw the Bulls’ season stats out the window a little bit with the major makeover to the line-up. That makes it harder to predict what to expect tonight.

The Bulls have no inside presence. That includes on offense. Are they a doughnut team ? At this point, I think so. Except they will attack the middle with the talent they have. They scored 48 points in the middle in each of the two recent wins. Kind of like the Celtics ‘smalls’ in that respect. Pierce, Rondo, both Allens will attack the middle as a committee. Interior passing helps quite a bit. Nocioni, Deng, Hinrich, Gooden will try to do much the same.

Gooden and Noah could comprise a tenacious rebounding tandem. The Bulls out rebounded both Memphis and Cleveland, though it should be mentioned that the Cavs were without big Z.

The Celtics pride themselves on rebounding well, and Perkins has noticeably lifted that part of his game of late. Noah and Perkins are both coming off 20 rebound games. Collision expected.
Winner..KP?

Who will Chicago try to have Kevin Garnett? Noah? Gooden? Tyrus Thomas will miss this game. KG should be a match up nightmare for Chicago.

Barring that letdown I mentioned, the Celtics should roll over this team, and get some PT for some players who need it, while the big three get a little rest. That is Doc’s biggest job for this evening, making sure they are up for this game.

T