We saw the Bulls trip, fall, and be in a slow, downward spiral during certain parts of the regular season, but thanks to owning a tiebreaker over the Miami Heat and the last-placed Brooklyn Nets inexplicably and unrightfully resting their players, they are back in the playoffs.
It’s not all luck, though. The Bulls also did a good job turning it on at the right time. They went 7-2 in their last nine outings (6-3 ATS), and in that span, they exceeded their season averages in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and threes per game.
The momentum of the current stretch should help in bettering their rhythm for the first-round matchup with the Celtics, who they split the season series with, 2-2. They performed characteristically in those meetings (97.3 PPG on 40.6 percent shooting), with Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade, two of the team’s most reliable scorers, both shooting below 39 percent.
Big men Nikola Mirotic and Bobby Portis played fairly well in those encounters, and the Bulls should look to have them involved more – Mirotic netted 16 PPG and 7.5 RPG on just 8.5 shots per game, while Portis had 11.3 PPG and 7.7 RPG in only 19.3 minutes.
The Celtics will head to the playoffs as the East’s number one seed for the first time in nine years, which will date back to their championship run in the 2007-08 campaign.
Like the Bulls, the Cs also closed out the regular season with good momentum, as they won their last three games while showcasing an offensive onslaught. They won those contests netting 115.7 points, 32.3 assists, and 14.3 threes per game, and had an average winning margin of 11.4.
The aforementioned season series with Chicago could’ve easily been 3-1 if not for this horrible call – you know it’s bad when the usually cool, calm, and collected Brad Stevens gets animated and yells out that it’s BS.
With that, we can expect a bloodthirsty Celtics team, led of course by their All-Star, Isaiah Thomas. The explosive guard didn’t compile wowing numbers versus the Bulls this season – 24.8 points and 5.8 assists – but his 53.5 shooting percentage in those meetings was his second-highest against any team on the year.
Thomas should be able to get ample help from his co-starters – Al Horford, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Marcus Smart – although Kelly Olynyk can be considered a nice sleeper in the series. The former Gonzaga star put up 14 points and 8.5 rebounds on 55 percent shooting in the two contests he appeared against the Bulls.
Boston is 17-3 in its last 20 games at home (8-12 ATS).
