BOSTON — Just two nights after their heartbreaking loss to Dillon Brooks and the Houston Rockets, the Boston Celtics suited up at TD Garden for a date with the Chicago Bulls. Boston walked in hoping to avoid losing two in a row for just the second time this season, while the Bulls entered the night as one of the coldest teams in the NBA (2-7 in their last nine games).
Luckily for the Celtics, Porzingis decided to explode. He was on fire from the jump, leading the way for the Celtics in the scoring department. Alongside some solid shooting performances and a woeful offensive showing from the Bulls, Porzingis lifted Boston to a 122-100 victory.
Here are three studs and three duds from the game.
Stud - Kristaps Porzingis
There’s hot, there’s blistering, and then there’s what Porzingis was against the Bulls on Wednesday night. He was unbelievable for the Celtics, just as he has been for the past few weeks.
Porzingis has taken the phrase “cheat code” to another level, and Chicago learned that the hard way. Switch someone onto him? He’s posting you up. Keep a big on him and sink back from the three-point line? He’s draining a 30-footer in your face.
His 26-point explosion in the first half spearheaded a huge advantage for the Celtics, as the Bulls just couldn’t contain them on the offensive end.
It’s safe to say that Porzingis is healthy again.
Dud - Defensive strategy
Boston’s defense worked on Wednesday night. And they played a similar style to the one they utilized on Monday—giving guys some space to shoot.
At one point early in the first quarter, they sent two bodies at Nikola Vucevic, leaving another Bulls player open. And it worked. But is that a good thing?
This practice blew up in their face against the Rockets, and it’s failed multiple times throughout the year, too. Just because it worked against the Bulls doesn’t mean it’s a sound plan.
The Celtics have one of the best defensive lineups in the league, why do they need to be selling out to double-team a Vucevic post look?
Stud - Jaden Springer
After winning the Celtics a game against the LA Clippers on their recent road trip, Jaden Springer hasn’t earned many more opportunities. But he got in the game early against the Bulls and made the most of his minutes.
As is becoming his signature, Springer picked up a steal not long after he stepped on the court, and he was constantly impacting passing lanes.
He passed up a three he should have taken, and it led to a bad shot at the rim, but he made up for it by draining a contested corner three a few possessions later. Springer's also a constant ball of energy on the defensive end.
There’s a real chance that Springer gets traded by the deadline, but right now, he’s making a case to earn semi-regular minutes in one of the best rotations in the NBA.
Dud - Transition defense
The Bulls are not a good basketball team right now. They struggle to do much in the half-court, and they can’t play defense at a high level. But they made the most out of their transition opportunities.
Consistently, the Celtics failed to put adequate pressure on the Bulls in transition. Chicago constantly got open threes and shots at the rim.
Nobody on the Celtics did a good enough job of finding bodies and guarding the Bulls in transition, and Jayson Tatum has been one of the worst offenders this year. He even pushed Josh Giddey after a turnover instead of playing actual transition defense.
Stud - Jaylen Brown
On Wednesday night, Jaylen Brown gave the Bulls buckets. He scored in every way imaginable, and there wasn’t much they could do to stop him.
Brown has been on an elite scoring kick lately, and it all stems from his play early in games. Against the Bulls, Brown didn’t even get a bunch of minutes early in the first, which has been a theme lately. He still lit up the scoring column.
Porzingis stole the show in that category, but Brown was right there with him. He drove through Chicago, shot over them, and slithered past them, getting his shot up in a variety of ways.
The Celtics star was aggressive on Wednesday night, and it worked out very well for Boston.
Dud - Doubling Jayson Tatum
Teams have consistently doubled Tatum for the past few years, and it almost never works out in their favor. That’s what happened on Wednesday night, and the Celtics reaped the rewards. This dud it aimed at the Bulls.
Tatum has gotten so good at reading and reacting to double-teams, that he’s able to simply pass out of them and get his teammates wide-open shots.
Porzingis was as hot as a player can be in the first half, yet the Bulls were still sending multiple bodies at Tatum and leaving Porzingis open. It was comical.
Tatum is one of the best players in the league, and he can win a one-on-one matchup, but doubling his continues to be one of the most foolish game plans to beat the Celtics.