Celtics Put on Clinic in Chicago for 50th Win of the Season
April 6, 2022
After starting the season 16-19, the Boston Celtics have now won their 50th game of the season with two games to spare. It’s a truly historic in season turnaround that seemed impossible in early January. The organization deserves an immense amount of praise, from Brad Stevens and the front office, to Ime Udoka and the coaching staff, to the players who have been dominating the NBA since the turn of the calendar. And that praise has come and will keep coming. But for now, the Celtics aren’t worried about any of that praise, and 50 wins is just a number. This team has bigger goals and aspirations, and they were on full display Wednesday night as the Celtics traveled to Chicago and obliterated the Bulls, 117-94.
The Celtics came out with a ton of energy and looked to be playing at a different speed and level of intensity than the Bulls. If not for a few vintage DeMar DeRozan midrange jumpers, this could have been a 20 point game within the first few minutes. Al Horford and Daniel Theis look increasingly comfortable playing together and this team is starting to figure out how to play without Robert Williams. Boston’s defense looked back to its peak form; flying around to swarm the ball, cutting off penetration and passing lanes, and forcing Chicago to settle for contested jump shots off the dribble. The Bulls were able to muster only 51 points by halftime, and had turned the ball over 10 times. The Celtics on the other hand were humming, converting those turnovers into 14 points which helped propel them to a 16 point halftime lead.
The Celtics offense was just as crisp as the defense, keeping the ball moving one step ahead of the Bulls defense all night. At halftime the Celtics had an eye-popping 20 assists on 26 made baskets while shooting 58% from the field, 9/18 from the three point line, and turning the ball over only four times. The Celtics led this game from wire to wire, opening up a double digit lead in the first quarter and never looking back. They led by as many as 27 at one point, and the Bulls were only within ten points for a couple of possessions early in the second quarter. This one was a rout from start to finish and looked like a complete mismatch on both sides of the floor.
It was a totally balanced attack for the Celts, who were all about making the extra pass and getting the best possible look on each possession. Jaylen Brown led the way with 25 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists on 10/21 shooting, while Jayson Tatum flirted with a triple double, posting 16, 10, and 8, including a career high 7 first half assists. It was actually a relative off night for Tatum’s shot, as he struggled to hit only 5/18 from the floor, 1/8 from three, and even missed a couple of free throws. But that was about the only thing the C’s could do wrong all night. Horford looked like he did in his prime, completely erasing the paint against Chicago while putting up 17 points and 10 rebounds on perfect 7/7 shooting. His frontcourt mate, Daniel Theis also imposed his will with 15 and 6. In fact, the Celtics were so thoroughly dominating physically, that at one point a flummoxed Billy Donovan tried playing Nikola Vucevic and Tristan Thompson together (it wasn’t pretty).
The Bulls had no answers for the Celtics. They couldn’t slow them down on defense, and they couldn’t score on them on offense. After a solid start, DeRozan finished with only 16 points on 6/16 shooting. His all-star teammates appeared almost invisible; Vucevic added only13 points on 5/13 shooting, and Zach Lavine (who is coming off an injury) looked like a shell of himself out there, supplying only 7 points on 2/9 shooting. With Lonzo Ball officially being ruled out for the season, I’m not sure where the Bulls look for reinforcements. Disregard what I wrote yesterday; if the Bulls draw the Celtics in the playoffs they are in big trouble.
With this win the Celtics improve to 50-32 on the year and pull back into the 2 seed in the East with a half game lead over the Bucks and Sixers. With a game looming Thursday night in Milwaukee, the Celtics have to figure out what their priority is down the stretch. One option is to “rest” most of their starters on the second night of a back to back and concede the 2 seed to the Bucks. This would ensure that the Celts avoid the Nets in round one and likely secure a matchup with the Bulls - the very team they just crushed on the road by 23. But on the other hand, that would mean sacrificing home court advantage in a potential round 2 series against the Bucks. It’s hard to predict what the Celtics will do at this point, and I think a reasonable case can be made for either option. Frankly, even if the Celtics play everyone and go for it, there is no guarantee they will be able to win in Milwaukee on short rest. However, the next few days out, the important thing is for the Celtics to be healthy and playing their best basketball, which they appear to be doing at the moment.
Ben Handler