NBA Preview: The Celtics look to win their fourth straight game against Chicago and move on to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
#1 Boston Celtics (56-31) at #8 Chicago Bulls (43-44), Friday, 8 p.m. EST
Line: Celtics -3. Total 203.5.
Series: Celtics lead 3-2.
It is amazing how a thumb injury has completely turned the tide of this playoff series.
It is like the Bulls are two completely different teams. Well, as a matter of fact, the Bulls are two completely different teams.
The team with Rajon Rondo walked into TD Garden and won the first two games of the series. The Bulls won Game 1 in a situational spot that was difficult for any team to win in. Boston’s Isaiah Thomas found out 24 hours before the game that his sister was killed in a one-car accident. Many people thought that the Celtics would win that game because Thomas would rise up and have a great game and that his Celtics’ teammates would rally behind him and win that emotional game. However, Chicago prevailed 106-102.
Thomas did have a great game. The two-time Eastern Conference all-star point guard had an all-star performance with 33 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds. His teammates played well as Al Horford had 19 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds and Avery Bradley added 14 points. However, the Bulls just played better. Rondo had 12 points, 6 assists and 8 rebounds while Jimmy Butler added 30 points and 9 rebounds. Chicago had a well-balanced attack as Rondo got everyone involved with five players scoring in double-digits.
The Bulls then throttled Boston 111-97 in Game 2. Everybody and their brother, sister and cousin wrote off the Celtics after that game. Suddenly, Boston’s coach Brad Stevens had no idea what he was doing as all the critics came out of the woodwork. However, the boxscore and game film showed that Rondo had a dominant performance. He controlled the pace of the game. Rondo pushed the ball when he needed to and slowed the game down when the situation called for that. He just missed a triple-double, scoring 11 points, dishing out 14 assists and grabbing 9 rebounds.
Rondo made all of his teammates better as the Bulls finished with six players scoring in double-digits. Butler had another great game with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Dwayne Wade had 22 points, Robin Lopez added 18 points and 9 boards, while Paul Zipser had 16 points and Nikola Mirotic added 13 points.
All the talking heads on television were predicting a sweep for the Bulls. Everyone was saying the Bulls are built for the postseason while the Celtics are built for the regular season. The series was over. However, there was one problem. Rondo broke his right thumb at some point during Game 2 and was out indefinitely.
So the team without Rondo now took the court for Game 3. Oh what a difference. The Bulls look like a team looking for an identity. Jimmy Butler simply does not look the same. Sure, he scored 33 points in a Game 4 loss, but had 14 points in each the other two games. Paul Zipser has scored 15 points total the last three games after scoring 16 points in Game 2. Robin Lopez has scored 34 points total the last three games after scoring 32 points the first two games.
The Bulls are in freefall without Rondo. Now, everyone and their brother, sister, mother, father and second cousin have written off Chicago in this series. All the talking heads on television already have the Celtics moving on to the conference semifinals after Game 6. They have every right to believe it.
However, it makes me nervous being on the side of all the talking heads and a general public who have placed 92% of their bets on the Celtics, according to pregame.com. The bottom line is I do my best not to be swayed by anything the public is doing with their betting action. I follow my instincts, right or wrong and make my play.
The Celtics have all the momentum and all the confidence coming into Game 6. Boston withstood the Bulls’ best shot in Game 5 and still won as Chicago shot 50% from the field and led by two points after three quarters. However, Chicago was outscored 29-16 during a fourth-quarter collapse and lost 108-97. Since I am still hot at 8-3 in the playoffs, I will make a play on this game.
My pick:
Boston Celtics -3, laying $110 to win $100 (1 unit, normal play).
Good luck.
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