2017 Playoffs: (1) Boston vs. (8) Chicago

[Lamrock]

Last time these two teams met in the playoffs, it was one of the most epic first round series of all time. They meet again, but the only player from that 2009 series present is Rondo, and he's on the Bulls now!

Anyway I got Boston in 7. The Bulls seem to play up to their competition, and I'm leery of the Celtics' ability to win in the post-season with their rebounding woes and the offense being so reliant on Isaiah. I think they'll be able to beat a mediocre Bulls team, but it won't be easy.

[PeacemanNOT]

I'm expecting Butler and Wade to come out gunning in this series, however the Celtics are better overall and will more than likely prevail over them.

Celtics in 6

[Valor]

Celtics in 6, cause Vinny Del Negro can coach better than Hoiberg and the Bulls no longer have the heart and tenacity of Noah and co that got them to all those OTs and G7 from last time round.

[JaoSming]

Going Celtics in 5. Hoping the rebounding doesnt kill us

[[Q]]

aw man, i was hoping to see the heat make it

[NovU]

Bulls in 5. The Celtics will realize the wrong they've done, not trading for Jimmy Butler who will destroy them here.

[Andrew]

The Bulls are unpredictable enough to overachieve and steal a game; I say that's exactly what they do. However, I believe the Celtics will win the other four. Celtics in 5.

[Dee4Three]

Celtics in 6.

[air gordon]

Curious to see how Hoiberg does in his first playoff series. I've read he's had some good schemes game to game but that was the regular season and Stevens is a good coach

Maybe the Bulls can just pick and roll IT until they get the switch they want and then punish them on the boards (though they are gibson-less) to make it a series. 3pt shooting will be the key for the bulls as usual

Celts have a lot of defenders too throw at Butler and the Bulls don't have that one guy or solid rotating defense to limit IT.

[airBerlin]

Expected better things from the bulls at the start of the season. Even though it was uncommon opinion at the time, I really thought rondo/wade/butler + the rest of the bulls would be able to put something together. I won't say they're awful, but not as good as I expected them to be. Celtics in 5.

[Dee4Three]

Two guys could be x factors for Boston in the series (my opinion).

Jaylen Brown - He, even when the roster is healthy, logs important minutes, and the drop off when he is in the lineup can't happen. He has had a couple rookie moments (like any rookie) like his jump in the air on a fadeaway, and getting caught (making a turnover), but overall it's been a successful rookie campaign. His defense is already mature, but what is he going to give us in the form of a scoring punch? I believe he has to play relatively mistake free basketball, as well as score at slightly better than his regular season clip. Can the rookie step up to the playoff challenge?

Kelly Olynyk - when Kelly is rolling with that second unit, we are a much better team. Olynyk rolling offensively allows the C's to maintain a lead, or sometimes even increase it when he's showing confidence in his offensive game. But will he show up on the boards and on the defensive end? I watch off the ball A LOT, and seeing Kelly having trouble sliding his feet (especially when they are putting him in pick n rolls), is concerning, he is easily blown by. Rebounding wise, he fails to box out and allows too many second chance points.

I predict Celtics in 6, but we really need our bench to show up.

[air gordon]

About time someone from the green contingency showed up haha

I think Horford is the X factor. The bulls best bet to kill them in the interior is Lopez but he can't rotate out or stay with Horford on the perimeter. Don't trust portis or felecio either. Should be a chess match between the coaches to keep/get Lopez out

Bulls have bench issues also and I hope they stagger Wade and butler so they can get some bench scoring instead of relying on a bunch of guys with no playoff experience. Wade has a tough series ahead of him. Bradley has done well against him and smart is a beast

Bulls X factor is Niko and whichever 1st big comes off the bench. That reserve has to kill it on the boards and limit Kelly o

Maybe since these games are spaced out jimmy buckets plays 48 minutes and guards IT all game. Some where thibs is smiling

[Andrew]

Bulls almost let that one slip away in the final minute. It's was a nationally televised game though, so they were able to hang on and beat a superior team.

[mp3]

What a start to the playoffs, thoughts are with Isiah Thomas and his family.

[air gordon]

Nice win

[NovU]

Can Portis have a game like this again in this series? Then we have a real series.

[Andrew]

More of that Portis in general, moving forward.

[Dee4Three]

Me being a huge Celtics fan, I can still be honest about the situation. Our team clearly overachieved, and I don't disagree with Barkleys comments about the Celtics being possibly the worst #1 seed ever.

With that being said, I love this team, and hope we come out with some serious fire tonight in game 2. We live and die by our outside shooting, hopefully tonight is a good shooting performance by more than just Thomas. Brad Stevens did a hell of a job with this group, and he is my coach of the year (Even if I wasn't a Celtics fan, I could be realistic about that).

If Portis goes off again, I'll be pissed.

The Celtics getting beat 65 to 44 on rebounds makes me cringe... We are not much smaller (If at all) than this Bulls team, since when do we get beat by 21 on the boards to THIS Chicago Bulls team?. That just tells me that we are not getting these 50-50 rebounds, and not boxing out. C'mon guys.... getting beat by 21 on the boards...ugh. They averaged about 4 rebounds per game more than us for the regular season, not 21. LETS GO!

[Andrew]

The rebounding differential was surprising, especially given that the Bulls gave up some of their presence on the boards when they traded away Taj Gibson. It should be noted that they have a habit of overachieving themselves, sporadically and in spurts. It's quite possible that the Celtics retake control of the series and never relinquish it from here on out.

[Dee4Three]

The rebounding differential was surprising, especially given that the Bulls gave up some of their presence on the boards when they traded away Taj Gibson. It should be noted that they have a habit of overachieving themselves, sporadically and in spurts. It's quite possible that the Celtics retake control of the series and never relinquish it from here on out.

I can only hope.

[air gordon]

Wth Dee. Was that a mini eulogy?

I would be very shocked if tonites outcome will end in the Bulls favor

Portis performance brought back memories of nocioni's playoff debut vs the wizards.

Odd win considering celts had the edge in key stats

[Dee4Three]

Wth Dee. Was that a mini eulogy?

I would be very shocked if tonites outcome will end in the Bulls favor

Portis performance brought back memories of nocioni's playoff debut vs the wizards.

Odd win considering celts had the edge in key stats

Haha, I got emotional. What can I say.

[Lamrock]

I wonder if the Celtics regret getting that 1 seed. You can point to all of their assets and say "this is just gravy", but losing to an 8 seed if hard to live down and raises a lot of questions. Wouldn't be as bad if they were the 2 or the 3.

Of course, this series isn't over. It would be so 2017 Bulls to lose games 3 and 4.

[Andrew]

I was expecting the Bulls to get blown out in Game 2, which also would've been typical of the season they've had. Mind you, it was another game on TNT, so they had that going for them.

[PeacemanNOT]

Wow.... didn't see this coming. Losing home court advantage just like that, I know the series isn't over but jeez.

Even if the Celtics find a way to win this series it's going to have a toll on them, especially facing a team like the Wizards.