So much for being named the City of Champions. The Boston Celtics grasped the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference after a late-season letdown from the Cavaliers, but have been a huge disappointment after such an inspiring performance to end the regular season. The series is heading to the Windy City now and the Chicago Bulls are looking to become just the fifth No. 8 seed ever to knock off a No. 1 in the first round of the postseason. A win in Game 3 would put the Bulls in line to become the first No. 8 to sweep a No. 1 seed.
At 7 p.m. EDT tune into ESPN and CSNC for live television coverage of this NBA playoff basketball game on Friday, April 21, 2017 at United Center. We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA playoff schedule.
It’s stunning to see how this series has gone so far. Chicago limped across the finish line, needing a late push to sneak into the No. 8 seed over Miami, and many believed the Bulls were ready to implode. That turned out to be wrong and now Chicago is looking to add its name to the list of teams to knock off a top seed in the NBA playoffs.
The Bulls won the first two games in this series as underdogs of 6.5 and 7.5 points and beat the Celtics in both games on their home court in the regular season. Every regular season game between these teams went under the total, but both postseason tilts have gone over.
Coaching Angle
No coach has a worse postseason record through 10 games than Brad Stevens. Stevens is now 2-10, but this is the first series in which his team was a favorite, and they have been wildly disappointing. The offense has been a big issue for Stevens during his time behind the bench in the playoffs with the team only eclipsing 100 points in 5 of their 12 postseason games.
This is Fred Hoiberg’s first appearance in the playoffs and while he is just two games above .500 as a regular season head coach, he already has as many postseason victories as Stevens. He doesn’t get near the publicity that Stevens does, but maybe he will if his Bulls knock off the Celtics.
Key Stat
Boston relied on defense throughout the regular season to grab the top spot in the East, but that has failed the team in the playoffs. In the first game, the Celtics did a fair enough job playing man up defense and stopping the Bulls from sinking shots, but they were abysmal at boxing out. Chicago grabbed an eye-popping 20 offensive rebounds in the first game and that carried the day for the Bulls despite a below average shooting performance coupled with 19 turnovers.
Last night, it was a team collapse on the defensive end from the Celtics starting five. All of the Bulls starters ended up in double digits and the plus/minus letters for the starters was off the charts. Boston still struggled on the glass, allowing 11 offensive rebounds to the starting five, and also allowed over 50 percent shooting as well.
Free NBA ATS Picks
Rajon Rondo has savored his return to Boston. He nearly recorded a triple-double in Game 2 and is showcasing the playmaking potential that made him such a fan favorite in the first place. Boston has not had an answer for him thus far.
A loss in Game 3 essentially dooms the Celtics, so look for a big game from Isaiah Thomas. His sister’s tragic death has clearly affected him, but expect Thomas to come back strong on Friday night and lead the Celtics to a big win against the Bulls.
NBA Odds: Celtics 104, Bulls 98
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
