Preview: Bulls at Celtics

[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).
 

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."

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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