Celtics at Bulls
THE STORY: If the Boston Celtics have any hope of regaining the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference in time for the playoffs, a win over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday is critical. Of course, that’s probably not as important as making sure the team is fully healthy by the time the playoffs start. The Bulls have overtaken the East in the past month and have shown no intention of vacating their perch. Boston will take one last run at it when it visits Chicago on Thursday.
TV: 8:00 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE BULLS (57-20): Chicago has won 16 of its last 18 games to pull a comfortable three games ahead of the second-place Celtics with the Miami Heat close behind in third. Getting down to the final handful of regular-season games, a couple more wins should secure the Bulls the top spot and the right to play the sub-.500 Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs. Chicago’s latest winning streak reached four games on Tuesday as it held on for a 97-94 home win over the Phoenix Suns. The Bulls led by as much as 22 points late in the third quarter and almost let it slip away completely in the final minutes. Derrick Rose continued his MVP campaign with 19 points and Luol Deng added 18. Chicago is still in the running for the best record in the NBA, two games behind the San Antonio Spurs (60-19).
ABOUT THE CELTICS (54-23): Boston has struggled a bit since sending center Kendrick Perkins away to Oklahoma City at the trading deadline. Coach Doc Rivers has spent the last month trying to find the right combination for his second unit while the team waits out yet another injury from center Shaquille O’Neal. The future Hall of Famer missed 27 straight games with an Achilles injury only to return on Sunday and strain his right calf. The Celtics held the lead in the East for most of the first four months, occasionally getting a challenge from Miami. But a 6-8 stretch between Mar. 9 and Apr. 1 allowed the Bulls to take over. They seem to have gotten things under control in the last two contests, beating Detroit at home on Sunday and then crushing the Philadelphia 76ers, 99-82, in a possible first-round preview on Tuesday. Paul Pierce scored 18 points and Boston held the 76ers to just 32 points in the second half.
WHO’S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Carlos Boozer has recorded three double-doubles in the last six games for Chicago. Rajon Rondo has at least 13 assists in three of the last four games for the Celtics while Jeff Green has failed to reach double figures in scoring in any of the last seven contests.
KEY STATISTIC: 1 vs. 1. Its all about defense for both of these teams. Boston leads the league in scoring defense - holding opponents to 90.8 points - while the Bulls pace the NBA in field-goal percentage defense - limiting others to a .430 mark in the category.
SEASON SERIES: The Celtics took the first two meetings - both at TD Garden - but fell in the most recent matchup, 90-79, at the United Center on Jan. 8. Rose scored 36 points and Boozer added 22 and 10 rebounds as Boston played without Kevin Garnett due to a knee injury.
KEY INJURIES: BOSTON: C Shaquille O’Neal (calf). CHICAGO: G Keith Bogans (knee).
LAST WORD: The Celtics have two games left against the lowly Washington Wizards but also have to travel to Miami on Sunday afternoon for a nationally-televised game that will could determine the No. 2 seed in the East. They finish up at home on Apr. 13 against the New York Knicks, another team they might see in the first round.