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Chicago Bulls (16-20) at Boston Celtics (27-10)
Thursday, January 14
8:00 PM ET
Game #38, Home Game #17
TV: TNT
Radio: WEEI, WMVP
TD Garden Probable Starting Matchups Point Guard vs
Rajon Rondo vs Derrick Rose
Shooting Guard vs
Ray Allen vs Kirk Hinrich
Small Forward vs
Paul Pierce vs Luol Deng
Power Forward vs
Brian Scalabrine vs Taj Gibson
Center vs
Kendrick Perkins vs Joakim Noah
Coach: Doc Rivers
Average Age: 27.8
Average Height: 6-6
Average Weight: 224ReservesEddie House
Shelden Williams
Big Baby Davis
JR Giddens
Tony Allen
Bill Walker
InjuriesMarquis Daniels (thumb) out
Kevin Garnett (knee) out
Rasheed Wallace (foot) day to day
Coach: Vinny Del Negro
Average Age: 27.1
Average Height: 6-7
Average Weight: 225ReservesLindsey Hunter
James Johnson
Jannero Pargo
Aaron Gray
Brad Miller
Tyrus Thomas
John Salmons
InjuriesJerome James (achilles) out
Taj Gibson (plantar fasciitis) expected to play
Key Matchups vs
Rajon Rondo vs Derrick Rose
It is personal between these two point guards ever since they faced each other in the opening round of the playoffs last season. Rondo has clearly had the edge in their matchups so far. Derrick Rose has been playing very well and Rondo has been playing big minutes because of all the injuries on the Celtics. This should be a fun matchup to watch once again.
vs
In the past, Deng has defended Pierce as well as anyone in the league,
but in their last meeting, Pierce seemed to have found the secret to beating Deng's defense as he scored 22 points to just 4 for Deng. The Celtics will need Pierce's scoring in this game and hopefully he will once again be able to get past Deng's defense.
Honorable Mention vs
Kendrick Perkins vs Joakim Noah
There seems to be no love lost between these two centers. Noah has to be one of the most irritating players in the league and he tends to get under his defenders' skin. Noah plays hard and will be a tough matchup for Perk. Hopefully Perk will be able to keep his cool and avoid getting technicals in this one.
Team ConnectionsCeltics Assistant Coach Clifford Ray played for the Bulls from 1971-7
Paul Pierce and Kirk Hinrich are former Kansas Jayhawks
Tyrus Thomas and Glen Davis were teammates at Louisiana State
Taj Gibson and Brian Scalabrine are former USC Trojans
Lindsey Hunter and Rasheed Wallace were teammates with the Detroit Pistons from 2003-08
Brad Miller and John Salmons were teammates with Shelden
Williams in Sacramento during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.
Game Notes • The C’s are currently leading the season series 2-0; the Celtics won the season series 2-1 against Chicago in 2008-09
• Eddie House is currently leading the C’s with an average of 18.5 points per game against the Bulls this season
• Derrick Rose is leading the Bulls with an average of 14.5 points per game against the C’s this year
• It marked the second straight season that the C’s had won the season series and the first time since the 85-86 and 86-87 seasons that they had
done so
• The Celtics are leading the all-time series 109-84 with the Celtics 61-31 at home
It's the Bulls again. This Bulls team has a chip on their shoulder and would love nothing more than to beat the Celtics. This is their 3rd meeting this season with the Celtics winning the first two easily. The Celtics are still short handed and the Bulls would love to beat them even if they aren't at full strength.
The Celtics are playing in yet another back to back situation while the Bulls have been off since Monday. At least the Celtics had an easy time with the Nets with the starters able to sit out the 4th quarter and with no starter playing more than 30 minutes.
Keys to the GameDefense - Defense is the key to every game this season. The Celtics need to guard the perimeter as well as the interior because the Bulls have outside scorers as well as guys who can take it to the basket.
Rebound - The Celtics need to put out the effort to go after rebounds on both ends. When the Celtics get the offensive rebounds, it not only gives them second chance baskets, but it also prevents the Bulls from getting out on the break and the Celtics need to grab the defensive rebounds to prevent the Bulls from getting second chance points.
Keep Cool - This could be a physical game and both teams have some very combustible players. They need to keep their cool and not let the Bulls goad them into technical fouls.
Take Care of the Ball The Celtics have been turning the ball over way too much and must focus on taking better care of the ball and making their possessions count instead of turning the ball over.
Fast Start It is important for the Celtics to get out to a fast start and take the Bulls out of their game early. If they allow the Bulls to hang around they could steal this one at the end.
X Factor FatigueThe Celtics are playing in the 4th game in 5 days. The starters have had to log big minutes because of the injuries and Doc's refusal to play the young guys on the bench. At least the starters got somewhat of a rest vs the Nets in the first half of this back to back set. But still, 4 games in 5 days with travel after each will tire a team out. If the Celtics allow the Bulls to run, they could very well run out of gas before the end of the game. [/center]