Chicago Upsets Boston
The Chicago Bulls on Saturday night played against the 5th seeded Boston Celtics in Chicago. Coming into the game Boston were 10 point favorites on the road. Obviously the Bulls were not looking like they were going to win this ball game but their best players came to play and came to win. On the season the Chicago Bulls are currently 16-44 and only had 15 wins coming into the game, complete underdogs. In the grand scheme of things one game does not have a lot of affect on the Celtics season outlook, but a win for the Bulls could have them out of the three spots in the 2019 NBA Draft.
The Chicago Bulls have had a season that has been disappointing but somewhat expected. Only 24 games into the season they decided to fire their head coach Fred Hoiberg. Since then they have won 11 games ,with Saturday night being their 11th, they are now managed by interim head coach Jim Boylen. The Bulls have two great offensive players in Zach Lavine and Lauri Markkenan. Both these players did not participate in the All-Star game last weekend. The way they played they seemed annoyed and bothered by the fact they were not seen as part of the NBA’s elite. Lauri finished with 35 and 15 rebounds, and Zach finished with a career high 42 points. “They played like All-Stars to me.” said Juan Zamudio a Chicago native and Bulls fan.
The Boston Celtics this season have the expectation to make a deep run in the playoffs, but probably do not expect to win a championship however. With Golden State having their big three intact (Klay, KD, and Steph) they will always be the favorite to win the championship, but Boston does have a chance to make it out of the East and into the Finals this season. Kyrie Irving finished with 37 points leading his team in scoring. It was not so much a lack on offense by Boston as much as it was a lack on the defensive end. Allowing two players to combine for 77 points, more than half of the Bulls score, is unacceptable. Now Boston is not terribly affected by this but what is going to happen when they have to play Philadelphia in the playoffs.
Usually at this point in the season playoff teams go on a winning stretch as they get into playoff mode. “Boston has a team that could compete with Milwaukee in the playoffs this season.” said Sam Griffoul a Bucks fan. Boston was shocked by this young Bulls team, a team that coming into the game knowing their best players were Zach Lavine and Lauri Markkenan. With that being said Boston at this point in the season should have prevented that result from happening. Instead Zach and Lauri have proven that the Jimmy Butler trade was worth it for the Bulls. The Bulls are not going any where anytime this season, but match Zach and Lauri up with a good free agent signing and a top-3 selection in this upcoming draft, they would be a good team heading into the future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM_m1G8bXCY
https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/ct-spt-bulls-celtics-photos-116-20190223-photogallery.html
http://www.vegasinsider.com/nba/odds/las-vegas/line-movement/celtics-@-bulls.cfm/date/2-23-19/time/2005
https://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/285704/lauri-markkanen
