Weird seeing Boston as an underdog. The Bulls have struggled the last couple of games, losing to the Nets and Sixers. That being said, they play very well at home, and will be motivated to hold on to their spot as the 3rd best team in the East and to knock off the conference leader. One key injury for each team as of now.... both KG and Noah will be out. Jermaine O'Neal is listed as Day To Day after experiencing soreness yesterday. He sat out the 2nd half though, and if he is remotely healthy today he will play.
If Jermaine can't play, that means that Semih Erden will get more time. He was the starting center for a few weeks and performed very well in the starting lineup, and will be a key to this game if Jermaine is out. He is coming off of the flu, but he is healthy now and very capable on both ends of the floor.
The player to watch for (other than the obvious stars) is Luke Harangody of the Celtics. Doc Rivers is very high on this rookie, and showed it last night with 27 minutes, 8-11 shooting, and 11 rebounds. It doesn't look pretty when he's out there, but he's a scrapper and hustles. He will likely be matched up with Taj Gibson, which is a big advantage for the Celts. Thibs doesn't know how to defend Luke yet, and he will probably roll coverage off of Luke to help with Shaq/Jermaine/Pierce, which opens up Harangody.
I think the absence of Noah hurts the Bulls more than KG hurts the Cs, and it will show tonight. Celtics win a close one, 93-89
I'm on Celtics ML for 1 unit, +2 for 1 unit, and a teaser of Celtics +9.5/OKC pk/Seahawks +21/Under 55.5 for +130
If Jermaine can't play, that means that Semih Erden will get more time. He was the starting center for a few weeks and performed very well in the starting lineup, and will be a key to this game if Jermaine is out. He is coming off of the flu, but he is healthy now and very capable on both ends of the floor.
The player to watch for (other than the obvious stars) is Luke Harangody of the Celtics. Doc Rivers is very high on this rookie, and showed it last night with 27 minutes, 8-11 shooting, and 11 rebounds. It doesn't look pretty when he's out there, but he's a scrapper and hustles. He will likely be matched up with Taj Gibson, which is a big advantage for the Celts. Thibs doesn't know how to defend Luke yet, and he will probably roll coverage off of Luke to help with Shaq/Jermaine/Pierce, which opens up Harangody.
I think the absence of Noah hurts the Bulls more than KG hurts the Cs, and it will show tonight. Celtics win a close one, 93-89
I'm on Celtics ML for 1 unit, +2 for 1 unit, and a teaser of Celtics +9.5/OKC pk/Seahawks +21/Under 55.5 for +130
