Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls - - NBA Preview
Two National Basketball Association (NBA) giants, the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls are all set for a hard-bitten contest in the Eastern Conference standings at United
Centre on Friday night.
The Bulls, at 57-20, need this win to stay at the top of the conference and they look good for that as the Celtics’ performance fluctuates from game to game. In addition
to that, Chicago is ahead of the Miami Heat and Boston by three games.
Entering Friday's match-up, the Bulls are 8-2 in their last 10 games while the Celtics are just 6-4 over the same stretch.
Chicago has a home court advantage and they have an impressive home court record during this season at 34-5. Additionally, they are in the seventh heaven now days as they
have won both of their last home games to Phoenix Suns and Toronto Raptors.
The Celtics, on the other hand, are not strong on the road as they barely have a winning record at 23-15 on the season so perhaps this is the game where the Bulls will
hit their stride again.
Boston has beaten Chicago twice already this season but both of those victories were only by a combined margin of seven points. The Bulls floated on a raft of sweet revenge
as they defeated the Celtics 90-78 their last meeting at United Centre.
The head coach of the Chicago, Tom Thibodeau, acknowledged that Boston is one among the toughest teams of the league. He said, "They are a very talented team, they are
well-coached." "There isn't anything that we're doing that they don't know, and there's not anything that they're doing that we don't know. It will come down to how well we can execute and how well they can execute. They are the defending Eastern Conference
champions. Until someone knocks them off, you've got to be ready to compete with them."
Players to watch
The Bulls’ point-guard Derrick Rose is the leading scorer of the team and one among the strong contestants for the MVP competition. The 22-year-old is averaging 25.1 points,
6.7 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game during this season.
Centre Joakim Noah and forward Carlos Boozer combine for over 20 rebounds per game for Chicago that can create problems for Boston as they depend on jump shots to score.
Small forward Luol Deng is also playing well now days and can use his athletic abilities to grab rebounds.
The Celtics forward Paul Pierce is touching the sky as he is averaging 18.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.0 steals per game during the season.
Nenad Krstic was back to the floor in the previous 99-82 victory against the Philadelphia 76ers after missing two consecutive games with a right knee injury. He was in full form as he added eight
points and six rebounds in the victory, playing for just 18 minutes.
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