We may have to wait a little longer for the anticipated Derrick Rose-Rajon Rondo backcourt matchup after the Chicago Bulls guard suffered a “little” setback in his road back to being 100% healthy during the Bulls’ loss to the Denver Nuggets Tuesday. However, with two days of rest, Rose has time to recover and join the Bulls, who will take on the Celtics on Friday. Boston, meanwhile, has been in a slump, having suffered a raft of losses lately. Read on for a detailed breakdown of this game.
Speaking of anticipated matchups, you can read our preview of this coming Sunday night’s NFL game between the Broncos and the Chiefs here.
A day after making a successful return following a four-game absence, Derrick Rose is at it again, making Bulls fans play yet another round of guessing game of whether he’ll play in the next outing or not. Rose was limited to just 10 minutes in the Bulls’ 114- 109 road loss to the Denver Nuggets, scoring just two points and dishing out three assists.
[sc:NBA240banner ]If Rose will indeed miss the game against Boston, then the performances of backup guards Aaron Brooks and Kirk Hinrich against Denver give the Bulls a couple of reasons to feel optimistic about their upcoming showdown with the Celtics. Both came off the bench Tuesday night and combined for 26 points and 10 assists. Brooks, though, will come in to the game against Boston as a marked man, having exploded for 26 points against the Celtics last November 8th.
Jimmy Butler, meanwhile, scored a game-high 32 points against the Nuggets and was aggressive all throughout the game. He got a ton of points from the free throw line, going 18-for-20 from the stripe. He should be able to hit pay dirt again against Boston if he continues to drive aggressively to the basket. The Celtics don’t have a solid rim protector, making them susceptible in the shaded area. In fact, the Celtics are giving up 47.5 points in the paint per game, the most by any team thus far this season.
Overall, the Bulls’ offense looked fine against Denver despite missing Rose for most of the game and the absence of Joakim Noah. Noah is listed day-to-day because of eye and knee injuries and his tenacity on the defensive end was sorely missed by the Bulls as six different Nuggets score in double figures.
The Bulls are 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games against Boston.
Maybe a four-day break will do the trick for the Celtics, who are now just 1-5 in their last six games following a 94-88 defeat at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers last Sunday.
Over that six-game stretch, the Celtics didn’t have much problem finding the basket, as they averaged 103.0 PPG during that span. The Celtics can score with any team, but their issues on the defensive end have kept them from winning many games. The Celtics’ last five losses only had an average margin of just 6.6 points.
Boston seems to forget how to play defense particularly in the last quarter, where they give up 28.4 PPG, the highest average in the league. Overall, the Celtics are 28th in the league in points allowed (107.2 PPG).
The team’s offense is as smooth as they come, especially when Rajon Rondo is on the floor. Rondo is averaging close to a triple-double (10.1 PPG/10.7 APG/7.5 RPG) thus far this season, and has been a big reason why the Celtics are tops in the league in assists with 25.8 dimes a ball game.
Interestingly, Rondo wasn’t on the floor when the Celtics beat Chicago in their first meeting this season.
However, the crisp passing and solid ball movement was still there for Boston, which still managed to record 25 assists. Chicago is a good defensive team but the Celtics were able to break the Bulls’ defense down with their passing. Evan Turner filled the playmaking void left by Rondo as he led the team with six assists to go along with a team-high 19 points. With Rondo back, Turner will now be part of the bench that will need to play well against the Bulls’ deep roster.
The Celtics were also able to solve Chicago’s interior defense because of Kelly Olynyk, whose long range tempted the Bulls’ big men to stray farther away from the paint on defense, thus creating driving lanes for his teammates. The former Gonzaga Bulldogs center put up 18 points (2-for-4 3PT FG) and 11 rebounds in that game.
