The Celtics are coming off their biggest win of the season in Milwaukee Saturday night. After just one off day, the Celtics are back in action tonight in the Windy City to face the 4-2 Chicago Bulls. The Celtics are just 3-3, which I would call disappointing. Whenever we get down on them, they bounce back. But when we got to confident in them, like after they beat the Wizards twice in a row, they went out and became an easy win for the 76ers. This game won't be easy, but I'm feeling confident in their ability to come out on top. Here are five things that the Celtics must do to win tonight:
5. KEEP JEFF GREEN HOT:
Jeff Green had a very disappointing first five games of the year, but slightly made up for it with his best game in Milwaukee. In the game, Green had 12 points on 3/8 shooting. You may not look at it as an amazing performance, but he made a lot of big shots. He can score 0 points the first three quarters, but if he scores 15 in the fourth and they win by 1 then I'm fine.
4. GET LEE AND BARBOSA INVOLVED:
In the win on Saturday, Courtney Lee and Leandro Barbosa combined for 0 points on 0/9 shooting. Barbosa went 0/6, Lee went 0/3. I've been saying for weeks that Barbosa is better than we think and could contribute more if he got more shots, so that's what I'll say again. Barbosa had sixteen points off the bench on opening night, so why did the Celts ignore him? If he can get as many shots as Rondo does, he could easily be averaging around 10 points per game. Courtney Lee will bounce back. He's had a solid year so far, but just didn't do anything in Milwaukee.
3: GIVE WILCOX MORE PLAYING TIME AND SULLINGER LESS:
I loved Jared Sullinger in the summer league, but he hasn't showed up yet for the regular season. He just hasn't done anything. He'll play around eight minutes to start out, and then you'll hear the announcer say he has 0 points and maybe 1 rebound. Eventually, he'll be productive, but not yet. On the other hand, Chris Wilcox is an experienced veteran who hasn't scored a lot. You can compare him to Barbosa, he's good but not getting chances. He plays his heart out and is capable of scoring 15 points per game. Let him play in front of Sullinger.
1. STAY IN THE GAME:
On Saturday, the Celtics were outscored in each of the first three quarters. The key to winning was that they didn't let the Bucks pull away. They were outscored by two in the first, one in the second, and one in the third. They were only down by four which allowed them to come back. So they don't necessarily need to lead all forty-eight minutes, just a few seconds before the buzzer goes off.
Tip-off is at or around 7:00 pm CT. It can be seen on Comcast-Sportsnet New England. Enjoy it.