In the Eastern Conference, the second seed Boston Celtics (62-20) take on the seventh seed Chicago Bulls (41-41). In their three-game regular-season series, the Celtics were victorious twice. There is concern as Boston lost to Chicago in the final match-up by a score of 121-127. But Boston has been on a roll, winning eight of their last 10, while Chicago has gone 7-3 over the last 10 games.
Although the Celtics did not live up to expectations in 2008-2009 after dominating the league last season, they did play extremely well. At plus-7.5 in PF/PA, Boston is third in the league when it comes to point differential. The Celtics offer the second best defense in the NBA, allowing just 93.2 PPG. They’re tied with San Antonio in that category. They were second amongst Eastern Conference playoff teams in points scored, averaging 100.7 PPG. The Chicago Bulls have allowed 102.5 PPG and scored 102.2 PPG, resulting in a PF/PA average of minus-0.3 PPG. They enter the playoffs having lost their last game.
Celtics’ power forward Kevin Garnett, who missed 25 games, has suffered from knee problems this season. Garnett averaged 15.8 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.11 SPG and 1.19 BPG. If he’s healthy, the Celtics can be unstoppable. But the latest news is that the power forward may miss the playoffs. The two other major players on the team are Celtic stalwart Paul Pierce at forward and Boston’s new icon Ray Allen at shooting guard. Pierce, who led the Celtics this season with 20.5 PPG, is a tough competitor. Allen hit 48% of his shots, 41% of his threes and 95% of his frees. At point, Rajon Rondo dished off an impressive 8.3 APG, while notching 1.89 SPG and 12.1 PPG. Center Kendrick Perkins, who managed 8.5 PPG and 8.2 RPG, averaged almost two blocks per contest. He can be a difference maker.
For the Bulls, shooting guard Ben Gorden led all scorers on the team with 20.7 PPG. He’s hit 41% of his threes, 46% from the court and 87% from the charity stripe. From Sacramento, the Bulls got small forward John Salmons in a midseason trade. He’s averaged 18.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 3.2 APG. Point man Derrick Rose has notched 6.3 APG while averaging 16.8 PPG and 0.8 SPG. With small forward Luol Deng out for the season, Chicago will need some of the young guys, like Tyrus Thomas (10.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.9 BPG) and Joakim Noah (6.7 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.4 BPG), to step up. Both offer solid offensive numbers and good “D” skills. There is depth upfront on this club.
Although the Celtics are lacking Garnett, they have a solid veteran presence and last year’s championship trophy. Pierce and Allen are rugged leaders. But the Bulls will not go away without a fight. The Celts will have to earn this series. In the end, look for the guys from Beantown to take it to the team from the Windy City in six games.
