Gameday Preview: Celtics Look to Maintain Momentum Against the Bulls
Photo by Adam Glanzman | Getty Images
The Celtics snapped their three-game losing streak yesterday, beating the Cavaliers 141-103, but they’re back in action again tonight. They’ll take on the Chicago Bulls in game two of a back-to-back for Boston, where the C’s are looking to maintain the momentum they built yesterday.
The big news for this game is that All-Star Jayson Tatum is expected to return to the floor for Boston after missing the last four games due to health and safety protocols. Despite this good news, it was announced after yesterday’s game that Kemba Walker will be sitting out the second game of the back-to-back due to rest. He’s coming off of a big-time knee injury, so this makes a lot of sense. Payton Pritchard and Romeo Langford remain on the injury report for the C’s. Meanwhile, the Bulls’ injury report is limited to Adam Mokoka and Wendell Carter Jr., who was upgraded to questionable for the game tonight.
Before losing to the Lakers on Saturday, the Bulls were on a three-game win streak. They currently sit at 10th in the Eastern Conference with a 7-9 record but have shown flashes of being a solid team. Zach LaVine is a big part of that, as the guard has been playing at an All-Star level this season. LaVine is currently averaging 26.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 5.8 assists a night. Behind him, Lauri Markkanen and Coby White have also been having solid years. The biggest issue for Chicago throughout the season has been the ability to defend. They give up the fifth-most points in the NBA (116..1) and have the sixth-worst defensive rating in the league (112.3). The hiring of coach Billy Donovan has helped a lot, though, as the Bulls spent all of last season with coach Jim Boylen at the helm, which made it very hard to win games.
Jaylen Brown has had two outstanding performances in a row, notching 42 and 33 points in each of the last two games, respectively. He’s been the best player on the Celtics this season or at the very least the most consistent. Meanwhile, Daniel Theis’ value has also been shining through these past few games. Although he faced a super tough matchup in Joel Embiid a couple of games ago, he managed to put up solid numbers in the Celtics’ last three games. With Chicago’s starting center being out, and Theis coming off the bench as of late, it could be another game where we see him shine in the pick-n-roll against smaller guys like Thaddeus Young, or end of the bench guys like Christiano Felicio.
Despite the fact that Boston’s big three will have to wait even longer to play together this season, this game should be a good test for the C’s. The biggest key to winning this one is keeping up the same energy they showed in Cleveland. It was clear that the players were tired of losing, and they came out hungry for a win. If they rest on their laurels for too long, we could see a similar situation to what happened after Boston blew out the Magic - the Knicks game. The C’s have to stay hungry and come to play, regardless of the opposing team’s record. Look for Tatum to shine in his return to the floor, and Brown to continue his hot streak.
Make sure to tune in to our live pregame show, the Banner Town Build Up, at 8:30 PM EST on Twitter @GuyBostonSports. The Celtics tip-off against the Bulls at 9:00 PM EST on NBC Sports Boston.
