Bulls v. Celtics

I was lucky enough to go to the Bulls/Celtics game in the Garden here in Boston.  It was my second time at the Garden, which is actually a pretty nice place to watch a game.  I was in the balcony in the corner opposite of the Bulls bench.  It's not the greatest view because at times your perspective can be distorted, but it was closer and better than I had anticipated.  Below are some random game thoughts.

Congrats to Celtics Fans

No, I'm definitely not becoming a Celtics fan, but I have to give the Celtics fans credit.  The Garden seemed to be rocking even through it seems the fans have little to cheer for.  Although the Celtics were recently on a 7 or 8 game win streak,  they've lost their best player, Rondo, for the season and  Pierce and Garnett are soon to be retired.  The team seems like it will be in rebuilding mode in the near future.

Additionally, this game was a slogfest.  I think there was a combined 20 points scored in the 3rd quarter.  There were plenty of badly missed shots throughout the game by both teams.  Nonetheless, the Boston fans seemed to keep the energy alive and rose to the occasion when the Celtics crept back in the game after the Bulls had opened some distance from them in the 3rd quarter and were really loud at the end of the game as the Bulls had a chance to take the victory in the closing seconds.    

Cold Start

Not sure if both teams didn't get enough warm up in or if this is the game before the All-Star break syndrome, but both teams started the game off cold, missing the first three or four shots by a fairly large margin.  There seemed to be a lack of execution on both sides of the ball as well.

Robinson vs. Bradley

One interest subplot was the interaction between Nate Robinson and Avery Bradley.  Both players were going at each other throughout the game.  Bradley is known as a player that will routinely pick up the opposing point guard at half court and relentlessly pursue him.  You could tell early on that the pressure was taking its toll on Nate.  Nate started complaining to the refs.  Robinson was pulled in favor of Teague midway through the 1st quarter and didn't come back until the 2nd half.  In the second half, it was Robinson that got the best of Bradley.  After initial harassment, Nate went after Bradley just as hard on defense and forced him into an offensive foul and a defensive foul and sent him to the bench with some satisfaction.  

Garnett elbowed Deng

Garnett got away with a cheap shot in the backcourt in the second half as Luol was on the ground.  Garnett gave him a cheap shot as he passed by.  The refs didn't see it because they were already down the court.  Just another reason to dislike KG.

Deng not right

Deng took a charge, in the first half and didn't seem right after it.  He got up slowly and looked to be grabbing his back during timeouts.  I didn't look serious, but it seemed to hurt him throughout the game.

Nothing on offense easy

The Bulls never got into a rhythm and on most possessions couldn't get into their offense until there was about 10 left on the shot clock.  Ball handlers Robinson, Bellineli, and Teague seemed to dance beyond the three point line and then try to create something at the last second.  I'll give credit to the Celtics, but the Bulls were equally as devastating on defense.

Missed opportunities

I felt that the Bulls should have run the offense through Carlos Boozer more throughout the game.  I felt that he might be able to create either his own shot or at least find a cutter, but as I mentioned about too much of the game was wasted with ball handlers running through fruitless screens near the three point line, only to jack something up near the 24 second limit.

I thought that Celtics should have gone to Garnett more in the fourth.  I get nervous when KG starts to knock down that outside shot, because once he starts knocking that down it complete disrupts the Bulls defense.  In the fourth, he hit a couple shots in a row, but then the Celtics went away from him for a few possessions.  If I were them I would keep exploiting that advantage until the Bulls stopped it, but luckily they went away from it.