Viewing Alert

Friday: Chicago at Boston, 8 p.m. Eastern, ESPN.

At first glance, the last thing a struggling Celtics team needs right now is a tough home game against the class of the East, coached by a defensive wizard (Tom Thibodeau) who, as a former Doc Rivers assistant, is intimately familiar with what the team does. Boston's had trouble putting the ball in the basket as it is; it's going to be even harder against the Bulls.

Derrick Rose, last year's NBA MVP, missed Wednesday's game against the Wizards with a sprained toe, but I've read that the Bulls are optimistic he'll play against the Celtics. That's bad news for those fans whose sole concern is a Boston win or loss, but it's good news for basketball fans: Rose and Rajon R-ndo tend to bring out the best in each other -- remember their battles in that first-round playoff series in 2008-09, when Rose was a rookie? And Chicago, who can be a little boring to watch even with Rose on the court due to their pace, becomes positively excruciating with their best catalyst on the bench.

The key to the game, if I had to pick just one, will probably be rebounding. Boston has struggled on the glass this year and Chicago, with the energetic Joakim Noah, can definitely cause some problems in that regard. The Bulls also have a good-shooting power forward in Carlos Boozer, the kind of player the Celtics have struggled to guard in recent years (because he keeps Kevin Garnett occupied).

Here's to stopping the bleeding...

Chicago 90, Boston 79

The Bulls were missing Joakim Noah. The Celtics were missing Kevin Garnett. The Cs missed Garnett a lot more.

[recap] [box score]

Despite the fact that Chicago was without its young starting center (who hasn't played since December 15 after undergoing thumb surgery), they outrebounded Boston 48-27 and blocked nine shots (including four each by Kurt Thomas and Taj Gibson). Carlos Boozer, the man Garnett would have been guarding, had 22 points on an efficient 9-for-15.

The Bulls' biggest offensive contribution came from point guard Derrick Rose, who scored 36 in part due to 19 trips to the free throw line (where he made 15 shots). Rose is big and quick and too much for any NBA point guard to handle. Without Garnett around for help, Rose wreaked havoc on the Celtics at the rim. Even when Garnett comes back, Chicago is going to be tough for Boston, because KG will have his hands full with Boozer. The return of an effective, if not completely healthy, Kendrick Perkins might be the biggest key to having less trouble with the Bulls in the future.

All in all, it was a pretty awful performance for the Celtics, which I'm willing to forgive against a good team on the second night of a home-road back-to-back. But the Cs are now in a dead, uh, heat with Miami for the best record in the East. With home dates this week against the Rockets, Kings, and Bobcats, it may be a good opportunity to get a little separation, as the Heat finish up a five-game road trip that began with an overtime win in Milwaukee Friday night with dates with Portland, the Clippers, Denver, and Chicago.

Boston 122, Toronto 102

Friday night was about as easy a win as you'll get in the NBA.

[recap] [box score]

The Celtics had a torrid first half, scoring 67 points, and appeared capable of scoring at will against the overmatched and depleted Raptors. Doc Rivers seemed to know it, too, pulling Rajon Rondo with Boston up 76-55 three minutes into the third quarter. The League Pass broadcast was the Toronto broadcast and their guys didn't seem to notice, but I worried that perhaps Rondo was hurt. Fortunately, it appeared that Doc was just hoping to get Rondo some rest (and perhaps boost the confidence of the struggling Nate Robinson, who came in for Rondo) -- Rondo returned later in the game. All in all, Glen Davis was the only started who played more than 30 minutes, a key statistic with the Celtics in the midst of a busy stretch and a game in Chicago on Saturday night.

The blowout gave some extended playing time to the bench. Rookie Luke Harangody took the most advantage, notching his first career double-double. Harangody actually got going in the first quarter and never really stopped on his way to 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Not too much to say, really. The defense could have been better -- the Raps made more than half their shots -- but the guys can be forgiven for letting up a little bit on that end in a blowout at this stage.

No "Next Lamb" posts for a bit as my computer usage is limited due to a hard drive crash, but briefly, the game on Saturday should be a good test. Boston has beaten the Bulls twice already this season, but the first win came with Carlos Boozer out of the Bulls lineup and the second was Boozer's second back from a preseason hand injury. He's averaged a 20/10 since returning December 1st, and will be a handful for Boston without Kevin Garnett. The Bulls will be hungry, too, having lost its last two games, to 10-26 New Jersey and 15-21 Philadelphia.

The Next Lamb: The Chicago Bulls

Game 19: Chicago (9-7) at Boston (14-4)

Friday, December 3

8 p.m. Eastern

TV: ESPN

Last meeting: @Boston 110, Chicago 105 (OT) (11/6/2010)

Last time we played Chicago, we blew a 16-point lead, sweated out a potential game-winning possession for the Bulls at the end of regulation, and then won in overtime.

The big difference between the Bulls team we'll see Friday night and the one we saw last month is that power forward Carlos Boozer, Chicago's big offseason acquisition from Utah, will be in the lineup. Boozer broke his hand before the season and returned to game action on Wednesday, logging five points in 22 minutes in a 107-78 throttling by Orlando. While Boozer is a good player, it's safe to assume he won't have found his groove by Friday, given that he's just now returning from injury and is playing with a new team. Moreover, Taj Gibson, who started in Boozer's absence, had a very strong game against Boston the first time around, so the Celtics might not be too upset to see Boozer back in the lineup. His return does give a boost to the bench (since Gibson has moved back to the second unit), which was pretty non-existent in the first meeting between the two teams.

Last time out, Boston held Derrick Rose and Luol Deng more or less in check -- each shot 8-for-19 from the field -- but gave up 26 points to center Joakim Noah. Jermaine O'Neal played that night and Shaquille O'Neal didn't, and the reverse will be true on Friday; JON's out, Shaq's in. What effect this will have on Noah's production, I'm not sure. I seem to recall Noah getting a fair number of points with his screwball jumper, and I doubt very much that Shaq is going to bother Noah 15 feet from the basket. Shaq's size, however, should be able to keep Noah off the boards a bit better than Jermaine could. (Odd stat of the day: Noah was held without a rebound in last night's loss to the Magic).

Chicago had been playing well before Wednesday night, and I wouldn't be surprised to see coach Tom Thibodeau pull Boozer early if he's ineffective, delaying Boozer's integration into the team by a game for a chance to beat the defending conference champions (and his old team) in their barn. Chicago always plays us tough, and Thibodeau knows a lot of what we do, so this should be a good game.