Preview: Bulls at Celtics
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[November 02, 2016]
The Chicago Bulls opened the
campaign with questions about how well and how quickly the pieces
brought in over the summer would gel, and the answers are very well
and very quickly. The Bulls will try to stay undefeated and beat the
Celtics for the second time already in the young season when they
visit Boston on Wednesday.
Chicago is averaging 113.7 points through three wins and opened its
two-game road trip with a 118-88 demolition of the Brooklyn Nets
that featured seven players scoring in double figures with none
managing more than Jimmy Butler's 22 points. "We're still learning
each other right now, we're only three games in," guard Dwyane Wade
told reporters. "But we see it looking good at times. Where it's
just us out there and we feel very comfortable and everybody on the
defensive end of the floor trusts each other, and that's rare early
in the season for a team that hasn't played together." Boston
sandwiched a 105-99 loss at Chicago on Thursday around a pair of
wins and last played Saturday, earning a 104-98 win at Charlotte.
Avery Bradley buried a career-high eight 3-pointers en route to 31
points and pulled down a career-best 11 rebounds in the victory.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, WGN (Chicago), CSN New England (Boston)
ABOUT THE BULLS (3-0): Wade learned how to play without having to
dominate the ball as a teammate of LeBron James' for four years in
Miami and Butler had to share floor space with Derrick Rose in the
past while point guard Rajon Rondo is always among the league
leaders in assists, so concerns about chemistry might have been
overblown. Chicago is second in the NBA in assists at an average of
28.3 and is shooting 47.2 percent from the floor as a team. The
Bulls are also getting strong bench production from Doug McDermott
(13.3 points) and Nikola Mirotic (13 points, 7.3 rebounds).
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ABOUT THE CELTICS (2-1): Bradley is bothered by a shoulder injury
and should get another partner in the backcourt rotation on
Wednesday, when Marcus Smart is expected to make his season debut.
Smart, who recently had his fourth-year contract option triggered by
the team, suffered a sprained ankle in training camp and will test
that on the defensive end against the likes of Wade, Rondo and
Butler. "I went through the full practice," Smart told reporters on
Monday. "The ankle felt great. I will be playing Wednesday. So, it
feels good to be back out here with those guys."
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BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bulls backup PG Michael Carter-Williams left Monday's game with a
knee injury and is day-to-day.
2. Celtics G Isaiah Thomas is averaging 24.7 points and scored 25 on
10-of-15 shooting in the lass at Chicago on Thursday.
3. Boston took both meetings at home last season.
PREDICTION: Celtics 111, Bulls 104
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