Celtics vs Bulls: Analyzing Regular Season Series
Looking at if the regular season series between the Celtics and Bulls tells us anything about the outcome of the playoff series
The Boston Celtics take one the Chicago Bulls for their first playoff game of the 2016-17 season. Some “experts” are picking the Bulls to upset the first seeded Celtics, so if we follow their word it should be interesting to watch.
I for one am not on that side. Since the only thing we can look at to determine how this year’s teams stack up against each other is the regular season series, that’s exactly what we will do. The Celtics and Bulls split the season series 2-2, and there were a few things to take away from it that might be telling to how this series is going to play out.
10/27: Bulls win 105-99
This was a rough one for the Celtics because it was only their second game together as a team on the road against a team’s home opener. Granted it was the Bull’s first game together as a new team after adding Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo.
The Bulls dominated the glass in this game 55-36. The result of this was the Bulls taking 16 more shots than Boston, which was very well the difference. Chicago exposed the Celtics weak rebounding from the get-go, and it would be an issue Boston attempted to address all season. If the Celtics get dominated on the glass normally by the Bulls it’s going to be hard to beat them, mainly because it’s hard to beat any team that consistently dominates you on the boards.
11/3: Celtics win 107-100
Almost a week later, the Celtics got their revenge for their first loss to the Bulls by beating them in front of their fans at TD Garden. Boston managed the boards a bit better, only losing the battle 49-39. This was a good win for the Celtics considering they lost the rebounding battle, and were without Al Horford and lost Jae Crowder after 13 minutes to an ankle injury.
Amir Johnson was the difference in this one. He poured in 23 points, shooting 4-4 from three point land. After the first two games against the Bulls, there was legitimate worry about the Celtics’ putrid rebounding. Boston had a good amount of time before playing the Bulls again to figure that out.
2/16: Bulls win 104-103
The Celtics absolutely should have won this game. Even though the Bulls crushed them on the glass again 51-31, Boston was out in front by as much as ten points before letting Chicago back in the game.
This is the most misleading game of the Celtics-Bulls match up because the only reason the Celtics split the season series was due to a phantom foul call by a referee . Marcus Smart was locking down Jimmy Butler on the last possession of the game, but Smart got called for the most bogus call of the NBA season. The Celtics outplayed Chicago in this game completely, but the Bulls got the win.
3/12: Celtics win 100-80
This was the proper drubbing that Chicago deserved after the February mishap. For some odd reason, the Bulls decided to trade Taj Gibson to the Thunder for next to nothing in return. Gibson was Chicago’s best offensive rebounder, and was a big problem for the Celtics on the glass throughout the year. This made the Bulls have to go small for most of the game against the Celtics, which is exactly what Boston like to do.
The Celtics out-rebounded the Bulls 51-40, and locked them down in every way. Wade had a +/- of -37, which was the worst mark in his career. Shortly after this game, Wade decided to shut it down for the year before his team came back into the playoff picture.
Next: What are the Core Celtics Worth Right Now?
The Celtics and Bulls split the season series, but I would say that all of the momentum in the match up is in Boston’s favor. The Gibson trade has made the Bulls very vulnerable to Boston since they are now forced to play the Celtics style of play. There are few teams in the league that play small ball better than the Celtics, and it should be fun to watch the Bulls try.