The keys to beating the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals...

[snowball]

C's will have to sink their jump shots and
3-pointers... because that's what gives us
a chance to get back on defense fast enough.

[dtrader]

If Rondo goes into his matchup with Rose putting as little emphasis on guarding Rose's shooting as we do, it's going to be a very long series

[rtifishul]

The Big 3 plus Baby and DWest will eat non-Rose Chicago.
Rondo vs. Rose.
Rose's game looks pretty.  His dunks are very flashy.
Rondo is one of the most cerebral athletes in the NBA.
He has Kobe-level intelligence, which, in conjunction with KG's on-court leadership, affects the rest of the team.
When healthy (big if?), he is more than quick enough to keep up with Rose
Rondo is a heavy player--his play is dense and carries huge momentum.
Physically he actually doesn't need to do much to affect a game, so when he
is physical he completely swings the game in the C's favor.
I acknowledge Rose's abilities, but, at least, compared to a healthy Rondo, his
play and his dunks are light. 

Maybe I'm overdoing it with my analysis of Rondo, but I admit I'm very partial to him
as a player.

Agreed. There's not another point guard I want defending Rose for seven games than Rondo.
Rondo is one of the smartest basketball players I've ever seen, and I will take intelligence over athleticism any day of the week.

Rose is good, but Rondo has a gigantic chip on his shoulder, as do the rest of the C's that lost last year. We're not gonna let this team stop us from getting where we need to go.

[Megatron]

I doubt this team would lose a game 7 of the finals, only to fall to an inferrior talented Bulls team the next year.

They know what they have to do. Rose isnt Kobe or LeBron, and his teammates arent Bynum or Gasol.

[LooseCannon]

They know what they have to do. Rose isnt Kobe or LeBron, and his teammates arent Bynum or Gasol.

I wish Rose was LeBron.  Then, the Celtics would only have to win three games on their own because he would give up and hand them the fourth victory in the series.

[Dunn]

You are sleeping on a team that not only has our blueprint but the coach of that blueprint. They jump on teams the way our 07-08 team use to do, and now we're alowing weak teams jump on us lately. I'd be slightly concerned.

[action781]

What a difference a couple weeks makes.  Key to beating the bulls:  Play like the celtics have the last week.

Rondo < Rose (c'mon guys, let's be serious)
Ray > Chicago's 2
Pierce > Deng
Garnett > Boozer
Shaq/JO = Noah (I say this because I think Shaq > Noah, JO < Noah both by pretty slight amounts and it's looking pretty 50-50 on who we'll have)

So, we have a better starting lineup.  Then our bench absolutely kills them.  Consider this:  Our 7th man (Green) is equally or more talented than Chicago's 4th most talented player (Deng).  This series should be won in 6 games by the celtics.  I'd be willing to bet at least even money on the celtics taking this series in 6 or less.

The only team that scares me at all in the East is Miami because of their ridiculous level of talent and their potential if they can "put it together".  But I rest knowing that they have not once been able to put it together consistently against elite teams.

I am confident the celtics cruise into the NBA finals.  I'll revisit this thread after Thursday's game.

[OsirusCeltics]

Just show up...

[bruinsandceltics]

Just show up...

This. We are much more talented than them, it is just a matter of if we show up or not.

[ozman]

i am so excited. Its going to be tough but im confident the celtics can win it all. every year we get ridden off by the media, we pull it together.

I think pierce is the key. i've seen him struggle against deng in the past, but he's been pretty impressive lately. Good rebounding and assists numbers, his also had some nice dunks over guys.

I'd like to see alot more pierce kg pick and rolls

[chambers]

the more I think about it, we should be fine inside with JO_KG if shaq isn't available for this series.
The rotation would be Shaq+KG with JO coming in after 6-7 minutes anyway.
The great bonus for us will be having Krstic AND JO if Shaq can play.

We need Ray Allen shooting reasonably well and I think the most important match up will actually be Paul Pierce vs Deng and if the Celtics can run enough screens to get Pierce open vs Deng (one of the best lock down defenders in the league 1v1).
Paul Pierce and KG confusing Boozer/Deng with pick n pop, pick n roll and Paul Pierce isolation/free throw area shots will be HUGE for our offense

[CFAN38]

not that it will help this year, but down the road avery will be a great match up for rose. With added strength and maturity he could be one of the best rose defenders in the nba

[Greenbean]

What a difference a couple weeks makes.  Key to beating the bulls:  Play like the celtics have the last week.

Rondo < Rose (c'mon guys, let's be serious)
Ray > Chicago's 2
Pierce > Deng
Garnett > Boozer
Shaq/JO = Noah (I say this because I think Shaq > Noah, JO < Noah both by pretty slight amounts and it's looking pretty 50-50 on who we'll have)

So, we have a better starting lineup.  Then our bench absolutely kills them.  Consider this:  Our 7th man (Green) is equally or more talented than Chicago's 4th most talented player (Deng).  This series should be won in 6 games by the celtics.  I'd be willing to bet at least even money on the celtics taking this series in 6 or less.

The only team that scares me at all in the East is Miami because of their ridiculous level of talent and their potential if they can "put it together".  But I rest knowing that they have not once been able to put it together consistently against elite teams.

I am confident the celtics cruise into the NBA finals.  I'll revisit this thread after Thursday's game.

Shaq is not better than Noah based on the simple fact that Noah can play big minutes.Also, what Noah contributes on the defensive end and with his energy is greater than what Shaq brings at this stage of his career. I think the Bulls have a better PG and C than us.

That being said I still think we beat them in 6.

[myteamisbetterthanyours]

Not that concerned about Chicago. I still don't think they matchup well enough against the Celtics to take Boston in a seven game series.

A victory for Chicago would be more about Boston underperforming than the Bulls being the better side. That's the only way they win.

Miami are the biggest threat in the East. They haven't gotten it together yet but there is no denying their talent ... they are a very dangerous team to play against. All it will take is for them to get hot at the wrong time and things will get very complicated very quickly.

tp...

I agree, i really don't think the Bulls match up well with the Celtics.  Although they have Noah and Boozer, they're pretty thin down low, with asik and gibson coming off the bench. KG, JO, Shaq, Baby, Krstic, and Green > their big men anyday.

Our bench is also better. D. West, Green, Baby, Krstic, JO (if Shaq stays alive). Way more versatile and dynamic than the Bulls bench. Kyle Korver? Gibson? Asik? Watson? Brewer? Wheres their offense gonna come from? Unless Rose scores 40 a game, I really don't see them beating us in a 7 game series, they just don't have enough fire power.

Deng is a great defender so I dont see Pierce having a huge series, but they have no one to guard ray. Shuttlesworth owns Bogans. Neither rondo nor rose can stay with each other so its going to be a fast high tempo series, and its going to come down to defensive rotations and big shots by big time players.. We have more big time players so I expect us to come out on top.

[Roy H.]

For those saying that the Bulls can't score enough, you guys realize that their offense has been quite a bit better than ours, right?

They rank 12th in points per possession, we rank 18th.

That's primarily due to two factors:  they're an excellent offensive rebounding team, and we're extremely turnover prone.  Those are two very real advantages that the Bulls have that they'll be able to exploit.

I think we can beat the Bulls, but they're not the walk in the park that some in here are saying.  As much as I don't like Noah, I think a lot of people are underestimating him, and folks are definitely undervaluing Boozer and the Chicago bench, in my opinion.