BSJ Game Report: Bulls 120, Celtics 102 - Poor defense, lack of composure, doom C's in first loss

Everything you need to know about the Celtics first loss of the season in Chicago, with BSJ insight and analysis.

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics came out blistering hot, opening up a 19 point lead on some beautiful basketball. Then the bench, normally, a strength, came in and gave it all back. Aside from an early third quarter run, things got worse from there. At one point, Chicago was on a 47-11 run. Joe Mazzulla and Grant Williams were both ejected, the C’s went incredibly cold, and they got away from what worked. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

Got away from what worked: They had 11 assists in the first quarter. They had 15 the rest of the way (11 in the second half). That's what you need to know about how things changed after the first quarter. The Celtics took 48 3-pointers in the game and too many of them were quick. 

Celtics vs. refs: I have no clue what happened with Mazzulla to get him tossed. I’m surprised that he said anything to rise to that level, unless he was doing it on purpose to try to light a fire under his team. Grant Williams got tossed for making contact with an official, the intent of which was debatable. Jayson Tatum did his dismissive hand wave thing and got a tech. 

Defensive issues: We can say what we want about the refs, but they didn’t give back the 19 point lead early on. They didn’t give the Bulls 14 offensive rebounds and 16 second chance points. The Celtics are too loose on the perimeter, and they can’t be that way without Robert Williams. There has to be more pride taken in staying in front of drivers, or at least not getting blown by so often. 

TURNING POINT

The Celtics cut the lead down to 69-66 in the third quarter when the Bulls called a timeout. They promptly went on a 15-2 run to regain control of the game. The Celtics only made three baskets after that timeout and ended the quarter down 21. 

ONE UP

Jayson Tatum: He was great early, and he did hit some tough shots later. I didn’t want to give anyone an “up,” but Tatum’s 26 point on 8-18 shooting (4-8 3pt, 6-6 ft), 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 turnover night is pretty good for a bad night. He was not innocent when it came to some of the C’s problems, and his dismissive waves of officials are automatic techs, so he needs to understand that. 

THREE DOWN

Malcolm Brogdon: I fully expected him to come into the game against the Bulls bench and dominate. Instead, quite the opposite happened. The bench crumbled, and Brogdon had his worst game as a Celtic. He shot 3-7 in the first half with 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 2 assists, and a -24 in just 13:21 of play. He ultimately shot 38.5%. 

Noah Vonleh: He was absolutely awful. He had four fouls in rapid succession in the first half, including another illegal screen. He did everything wrong. I’m not trying to die on the Luke Kornet hill, but Vonleh was so bad, and the Celtics defense was giving up so much at the rim, why wasn’t Kornet an option until garbage time?

Grant Williams: His hot shooting went away, as did his ability to play good basketball in this game. The ejection was questionable, though I can see an argument that he could have actually avoided contact with the official. He saw where she was while he was on the ground, and maybe, possibly, that left arm extended a little bit on his way by. It’s hard to say. I’m actually more concerned about his outburst on the way back to the locker room and the potential for some choice words adding to whatever punishment might be coming. 

TOP PLAYS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER 

- They really miss Robert Williams

That's been obvious, and I mentioned it earlier in my statistical look at the early hot start, but it was very obvious in this game. The Bulls finished with 46 points in the paint, and the Celtics drop coverage let the Bulls walk into shots. 

With Williams in the game, Horford can play up to touch, meaning he can get right into Zach LaVine and then try to recover back to his man because a pass to the roller would just be met by Williams at the rim. Teams know that without a rim protector out there, the Celtics can’t commit the same way. 

It’s hard to change coverages now, but the Celtics can certainly execute it better. They have to be more aggressive chasing over the top of that screen to push the ball handler away from the 3-point line and further into the teeth of the defense. 

I’ll reiterate that the Celtics perimeter defenders have to be better overall. They don’t have their safety net, so they have to be more precise. And they can’t let their frustration on a tough offensive night bleed over to the other end. 

“They started making shots, we started missing shots and I guess it started to affect us on the defensive end,” Marcus Smart admitted after the game. “We can't have that. No matter whether we make a shot tonight, we got to stay consistent on the defensive end and we've got to help each other out.”

Games like this are going to happen from time to time, and each of them should be a lesson. The Celtics defense has not been good overall. They have given up way too many points, and it has been masked by great offensive production. 

The offensive production went away vs. Chicago and despite all the other factors people will want to point to, the defense is the absolute top reason why this got away from them.