Watch as the Bulls take on the Boston Celtics tonight on CSN and streaming live on CSNChicago.com. Coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. with Bulls Pregame Live. And be sure to stick around after the final buzzer to watch Bulls Postgame Live for highlights and analysis.
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Five Things to Watch:
1. Playoffs Jimmy Butler. When the Bulls made the playoffs two seasons ago Butler was just coming into his own as a star in the NBA. When he made an even bigger jump a year ago the Bulls missed out on the postseason. Fast-forward a year and Butler is better than ever and being asked to carry a bigger load than ever. The best players step up when the stakes are highest, and Butler has shown up in the clutch many times over the course of his young career. This is his biggest stage yet.
2. How will Isaiah Thomas focus? Tragedy struck the Celtics' leading scorer just one day before tipoff when Thomas' sister, Chyna, was killed in a highway accident in Washington. Basketball seems trivial at this point, but the reality is the game is going to be played and one has to wonder how it will affect the All-Star point guard.
3. Hitting the glass. The Celtics were one of the worst rebounding teams in the NBA this season, ranking 27th in rebound percentage. Not only were the Bulls excellent on the offensive glass in 2016-17, players like Butler and Rajon Rondo rebound so well for their position that it could have an even bigger effect. Missed shots won't be the end of the world for the Bulls, but it will if they aren't hitting the glass hard. It's almost worth it to risk transition points because of how much Boston allows on the glass. It'll be a key to every game in the series.
4. Jimmy Butler vs. Jae Crowder. These two former college teammates don't like each other, and they're also an excellent matchup and don't mind getting scrappy. That should make for excellent playoff basketball, and it wouldn't be surprising to see these two scuffle early in Game 1 to set the tone for the rest of the series.
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5. More nail-biters? The last time these two teams met it created one of the most epic playoff series in NBA history. These two teams appear more evenly matched than your usual 1-vs.-8, and one has to wonder if we'll see some overtimes, buzzer-beaters and massive box score lines. We can only hope so.
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