Posted:
#1
I know I shouldn't. I know the Bulls are gonna be pissed. I know every game has been fought tooth and nail. But you know what? This is a game the Bulls haven't seen. An elimination game where they're backs are up against the walls. The Celtics went through this several times in last year's playoffs. They know what to expect and how to react.
Perhaps a bigger issue IMO in this game is going to be fatigue. The Chicago Bulls have used mostly a 7 man rotation throughout the series, while the Celtics have used their bench much more freely. A balancing factor in that is the ages of Paul Pierce and Ray Allen considering the Bulls are a younger team as far as their starters.
Where I feel this will have the biggest impact on the Baby Bulls will be their shooting. They have been essentially dominated in points in the paint, even without KG in there. In the 5 games so far, they have been outscored 210-176 in the paint, only scoring more than the C's in Game 4. Looking back at the closeout games from the Celtics last season in the playoffs, the reason why they won is the most obvious reason of all. Defense. In the games last season where they had a chance to win the series, the C's allowed only 39.3% shooting from the field and 33.3% from 3-point. With a young team and their backs up against the wall how much more will they rely on the 3 and how much more tense will those shooters be?
The final point that I will throw out there is the fact that at the end of Game 5, Rajon Rondo hit Brad Miller across the face and many in Chicago were not pleased. So that means a little bit more emotion going through the veins of the Bulls. A lot of times when that happens, they let the emotions get the best of them and forget about playing the same type of basketball that got them there. The Celtics are far from the team that will allow this to happen.
A couple of other tidbits.....
BOSTON CELTICS ML
BOSTON CELTICS 97 CHICAGO BULLS 87
Perhaps a bigger issue IMO in this game is going to be fatigue. The Chicago Bulls have used mostly a 7 man rotation throughout the series, while the Celtics have used their bench much more freely. A balancing factor in that is the ages of Paul Pierce and Ray Allen considering the Bulls are a younger team as far as their starters.
Where I feel this will have the biggest impact on the Baby Bulls will be their shooting. They have been essentially dominated in points in the paint, even without KG in there. In the 5 games so far, they have been outscored 210-176 in the paint, only scoring more than the C's in Game 4. Looking back at the closeout games from the Celtics last season in the playoffs, the reason why they won is the most obvious reason of all. Defense. In the games last season where they had a chance to win the series, the C's allowed only 39.3% shooting from the field and 33.3% from 3-point. With a young team and their backs up against the wall how much more will they rely on the 3 and how much more tense will those shooters be?
The final point that I will throw out there is the fact that at the end of Game 5, Rajon Rondo hit Brad Miller across the face and many in Chicago were not pleased. So that means a little bit more emotion going through the veins of the Bulls. A lot of times when that happens, they let the emotions get the best of them and forget about playing the same type of basketball that got them there. The Celtics are far from the team that will allow this to happen.
A couple of other tidbits.....
- Ray Allen "fouled" out of last game. He was pissed after the game in the news conference. Watch out for a big game.
- The refs calling this game are NOT from Chicago like a few others in this series. In fact, home favorites of 0-4.5 points are only 22-29 ATS.
- Ben Gordon was questionable for even playing in Game 5, and he ended up being in there for 50+ minutes and struggled shooting.
BOSTON CELTICS ML
BOSTON CELTICS 97 CHICAGO BULLS 87
0
ill take the 3 for insurance, 
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