BSJ Live Coverage: Celtics 123, Bulls 119 (Final) - Tatum hustle plays secure win

Game 8: Celtics (-2) vs. Bulls, 7:30 p.m., TD Garden, ESPN

Injuries: Boston - Danilo Gallinari, Robert Williams.  Chicago: Andre Drummond (shoulder), Coby White (doubtful, quad), Ball (knee)

Chicago probable starters: Ayo Dosunmu, Zach LaVine, Nikola Vucevic, Patrick Williams, DeMar DeRozan 

Refs: Marc Davis (#8), Brent Barnaky (#36), Ray Acosta (#54)

A little something about the game: Everything was going right for Boston in their first matchup. Brian Scalabrine and Sean Grande were laughing about how good the Celtics were during the broadcast. Then the bench came in and the whole thing fell apart. Now the Celtics are looking for revenge for an 18 point loss. That win was Chicago’s biggest of the season and their second-best shooting performance of their nine games so far. It was also their second-biggest offensive rebounding output, so the Celtics will have to shore up some of their obvious weaknesses to put Chicago away this time. Also, Grant Williams and Joe Mazzulla got ejected ... let's not have that happen again.

How Boston wins: The Celtics were on their third game in four nights when these two teams met the first time. Now it’s Chicago’s turn. Of course, the Celtics are coming home after an overtime loss, but this is still a home game after a day off so the Celtics should be able to push the pace early and see if they can get the Bulls to quit trying. The Bulls did their damage with second chance points and free throws, so defending without fouling, a big weakness for Boston so far (8th-most fouls per game), has to be a priority. 

Accounting for Vucevic on the boards has to be a priority as well. He had 10 offensive rebounds in the game, but he had one possession with three of them and a few possessions with two each, so just boxing him out would have cut that number way down. Account for him on the pick-and-roll better and don’t let him sneak in for cheap boards. On switches, the Celtics need to be aware when he’s drawn a mismatch and do a better job of scramming a big back in there to at least muscle him off the boards. I appreciate Jaylen Brown’s willingness to do some of the dirty work, but the Celtics' awareness needs to be bumped up a few notches to get through these low points in games. 

How Chicago wins: Obviously, taking advantage of their size is going to help, but the best way for them to beat Boston is to keep running those pick-and-rolls with DeRozan stepping into mid-range shots. If I was Billy Donovan, I’d run DeRozan/Vucevic pick-and-rolls and dare the Celtics to adjust. The Celtics could stick to their guns and play the drop coverage, which would open up shots in DeRozan’s wheelhouse. The Celtics overreacted wildly to pick-and-roll ball handlers, and if they do it again it will set Vuc free to get tip-ins and draw more fouls … Or the Celtics will decide to blitz the ball handler, leaving the rest of them to play 4-on-3. Vucevic can take a dribble from the elbow and find a baseline cutter. A heavy dose of DeRozan will be what makes the rest of the offense flow. Then you have the oh-by-the-way LaVine drives to deal with, followed by another frustrating shooting night from Dosunmu. He went 4-4 from deep against Boston, and is 3-13 since. Run the Celtics defense ragged again and watch him go 5-7. 

Things I’m looking for:

- Sustained effort: The Celtics can look great for 12 minutes and then let up. Other teams are going to make runs, and the Celtics seem all too happy to let them sometimes, exacerbating the issue. I don’t understand why players on great teams can’t grasp the concept of playing hard after having a big early lead so they can sit for most, if not all, of the fourth quarter. Lay the hammer down early and get your rest later. 

- Brogdon bounce-back: Malcolm Brogdon was terrible against Chicago. His absolute worst game in Boston. He is very well aware of what happened. 

“It was against Chicago when the starters came in and played really well and the second group came in there and laid an egg and did not play well and let them back in the game and it was too late,” Brogdon said after the win over Washington. “They had too much momentum and they ended up beating us. I don't want to see that happen again, the second team doesn't want to see that happen again. So it's about rallying the troops and making sure we're all in alignment and ready to come out and play.”

At its best, Boston’s bench can be one of the best in the league. That happens when Brogdon is attacking and distributing.

- Reduced minutes for Al Horford: He already has two 40-minute games this season, which is just unacceptable. This is mostly because Mazzulla feels like running Horford out there is the best chance to win, and that's a failure of the rest of the roster. The bigs who are playing behind him have to be focused and ready, but more so, the perimeter guys on this team have to be better about staying in front of guys defensively. The porous perimeter defense, which has gotten better lately, has put too much pressure on a thin frontcourt, and put pressure on Mazzulla to keep Horford out there. Play better, connected defense and the Celtics can keep Horford fresh. 

Follow along below or in the comments during the game, chime in, and let’s have fun.