Bulls vs. Celtics highlights: Boston is too small

Hey, I stated I had a sense about final night time! We all know the Bulls, down unhealthy as they’ve been this season, aren’t like a twelfth seed kinda group. And the Boston Celtics, although excellent and confirmed, aren’t like best-offense-in-years good and NBA groups don’t win 10 video games in a row fairly often.

However I did suppose it will be just a few outlier taking pictures dud by the Celtics, and that wasn’t the case of their loss in Chicago. They shot a superbly advantageous 38% on 50 (!) makes an attempt from distance.

If something, it was the Bulls that had the outlier, going 48.3% (14/29) and to 4-0 on the season after they hit greater than 40 p.c of their triples.

However what I believed was a significant distinction on this matchup is that the Bulls measurement truly gave an opponent issues versus it often being the opposite approach round. The Celtics don’t play that huge to start with, and have been with out Robert Williams for this complete season. Williams is sort of LonzoBall-ian in significance for the Celtics, and their protection which was wonderful within the second half of final season has suffered even whereas their offense has nonetheless gained them plenty of early season victories with out him.

So on this matchup, Nikola Vucevic was in a position to make an impression:

It was additionally a outstanding rebounding benefit for the Bulls. They devoured up practically 90% of the obtainable defensive rebounds, and the Celtics had been lacking greater than typical in order that was big.

That begins with Vuc, but it surely helps that the Bulls have 48 minutes of beef at their disposal. In solely 13 of these minutes, Andre Drummond had 8 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive. The Celtics had Luke Kornet:

Final season’s backup heart, Tony Bradley, had a season-high rebounding complete of 9, in over double the minutes Drummond performed yesterday. I nonetheless detest to see Drummond do something however rebound, however he has appeared elite in that talent, nonetheless, all season.

The Celtics are a group that doesn’t worth the offensive glass a lot (twenty eighth within the league in OReb%) and likewise defensively don’t worth gaining possessions by way of the turnover (useless final). The Bulls have backslid this season in their very own offense in turnovers, however final night time bought proper and had 10.1% of their possessions finish in turnovers, which might be finest in basketball.

Specifically, Alex Caruso has been actually unhealthy at this all season however in 28 minutes had zero turnovers. A few of that’s Boston’s fashion (capacity?) however maybe the Bulls had been simply extra decisive and methodical given their measurement benefit:

And right here a move isn’t even required as Ayo Dosunmu bolts within the lane with an ‘help’ from Vuc simply trucking defenders out of the way in which for him.

The largest variable was how Patrick Williams produced. The Celtics had been clearly permitting him to shoot. It may’ve been one other sport the place Williams was over-cautious and slowed down the beginning lineup however he shortly adjusted, launched, and transformed:

It’s encouraging, however not very encouraging. The entire launch remains to be gradual as hell. Williams had a pair good isolation performs scoring in midrange however the course of appeared like he was about to lose the ball as an alternative of the scoring outcome.

So far as sustainability for the group, I nonetheless suppose they need to begin Caruso and Inexperienced. I don’t get the idea of getting ‘vitality off the bench’ while you’re placing your self in a gap and dropping so many of those video games. However final night time, the beginning lineups had been excellent so the bench solely magnified it. They give the impression of being to have a novel benefit in opposition to the Celtics, the place Vuc can do extra injury. And Williams had a very good sport that hopefully isn’t an outlier going ahead however has been when this season.

However that doesn’t imply they will’t win extra video games on this roadtrip in opposition to fellow-mid squads the place they might not have this distinct matchup edge however have total extra expertise. The Bulls confirmed final night time that they’re not as unhealthy as their document.