The Boston Celtics host the Chicago Bulls on the first night of a back-to-back. Here's your full-season Celtics guide, with the full roster, schedule, salaries, and more.
Bulls (1-2, 1-1 road) at Celtics (1-1, 1-0 home), TD Garden, 7:30 p.m.
TV: NBC Sports Boston
Boston projected starters: Derrick White, Jordan Walsh, Jayson Tatum, Paul George, Mitchell Robinson
Chicago projected starters: Matas Buzelis, Caleb Wilson, Jalen Smith, Norm Powell, Josh Giddey
Officials: Zach Zarba (#15) Jacyn Goble (#68) Klajdi Mulla (#97)
Injuries: BOSTON: Devin Carter (out, illness) | CHICAGO: Nic Claxton (out, hamstring), Noa Essengue (questionable, right hand contusion), Patrick Williams (questionable, groin soreness)
The Bulls are rebuilding, but there is some talent on the roster. Giddey is capable of getting people going, Powell can explode for a lot of points, Buzelis has shown some big flashes, and Wilson is an exciting rookie. Taking them lightly could make this a tough game.
Here’s what I’m watching for tonight.
Different rotations
We’re still not 100% sure how Joe Mazzulla is going to handle back-to-backs, but the safe assumption is that Mitchell Robinson and Paul George will be limited. So what does that look like?
Will one or both of them play but at reduced minutes? Will they both sit out tomorrow night against Brooklyn? Neither is on the injury report for tonight, so the idea of staggering it so one misses this game and the other misses tomorrow seems to be out the window.
Also, will there be any surprise DNP-CDs in the box score tonight? Maybe Hugo Gonzalez sits out tonight and gets bigger minutes tomorrow. Maybe Luka Garza picks up a bigger part of the workload tonight so Neemias Queta and give big minutes tomorrow.
Back-to-backs in October are tough to navigate because no one wants to overwork players at this point of the season, so the way subs are deployed might be a little different than they would in February or March. Also, we haven't seen a back-to-back yet, so there's no guide for how Mazzulla will handle things. So we’re all going to learn together on this one.
Increased pressure
The Bulls are young, inexperienced, and they're still learning their new coach’s system. That is leading to 17.7 turnovers per game so far, and Caleb Wilson is the biggest culprit. I expect to see a lot of hands in the cookie jar trying to knock the ball free, and a lot of passing lanes being jumped trying for pick-sixes. This could be a night for some fun highlights.
Sticking to the plan
This is a great night to get the execution down, so it’s really important to focus on the timing and precision of some of their sets.
The Celtics have been getting very creative in the sequencing of their screens to disguise some of their pet actions. Playing a team like Chicago is when this stuff should be executed even better, because the defense isn’t as good and clean, well-timed sets should produce a lot of points.
Getting lazy against a bad opponent is when mistakes happen, and it’s what lets a lesser team get out and run, gain confidence, and make life difficult for the better team. If the Celtics lean into their execution, they can put this game away early.
Payton Pritchard getting comfortable
The Pistons and Knicks presented big challenges for Payton Pritchard, who is being relied on to buoy second units right now. This is a great chance to get him cooking a little bit, and to work on the chemistry with some of these second-unit lineups.
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