While there are a few good games in the East tonight there is one that stands alone
Chicago Bulls (2-2) @ Boston Celtics (4-1)
Everyone remembers the infamous foul Rajon Rondo commited on Brad Miller. It was the slap heard around the NBA. That series was , by most NBA standards, the best of the entire playoffs. The Baby Bulls fought the NBA Champs till the final second. In the 7 games, 4 of them went to overtime & one went to triple overtime. But this is a new season & this Bulls team is alot different. The Celtics have kept the same team for the most part but , unlike their series in 2009, they have a healthy Kevin Garnett. Lets take a look at this exciting matchup position by position then ill give you my prediction.
Point Guard
This is a head to head matchup of two of the NBA's best young point guards. Rose is a dazzling scorer while Rondo seems to have nearly every assist. It will be fun to watch these two go head to head.
In 7 regular season career matchups numbers look like this:
Rajon Rondo 4-3
11.6 ppg 10.6 apg 1.7 spg 4.9 rpg .455 FG %
Derrick Rose 3-4
18.3 ppg 4.3 apg 0.3 spg 3.6 rpg .500 FG %
This season, both guards have taken their respective games to another level. Rondo is averaging nearly 16 assists per game this year while Rose is scoring close to 30 per contest.
Advantage None
Shooting Guard
Keith Bogans & Ray Allen have met up a total of 16 times in their NBA careers. The stats dont tell that great of a story when it comes to victories though
Keith Bogans 7-9
4.3 ppg 1 apg 2.5 rpg .6 spg .347 FG %
Ray Allen 9-7
19.2 ppg 3.0 apg 3.6 rpg 1.0 spg .420 FG %
Keith Bogans has always been a decent defender. He will have to play well tonight or Ray Allen could have a bigger night than he usually does verses Bogans. I dont expect Bogans to shut him down by any means but i do think he will pester him tonight.
Advantage Allen
Small Forward
Luol Deng & Paul Pierce are actually similar players as far as skill set goes. They are both play each other well and have nearly split their 21 career matchups.
Paul Pierce 10-11
19.7 ppg 4.4 apg 6.3 rpg 1.3 spg .427 FG%
Luol Deng 11-10
13.9 ppg 3.0 apg 5.7 rpg 1.1 spg .434 FG%
I think this matchup will be fun to watch. Pierce is in the best shap he has been in in the last 5 years & it is showing in his play. Deng seems to have finally shaken the injury bug and has been playing great basketball this season. this is a matchup to watch closely
Advantage None
Power Forward
Taj Gibson has only been in the NBA for a year but he has quickly adjusted to this level of play. He has only faced Kevin Garnett 3 times but he has played rather well even though they lost two of those games
Kevin Garnett 2-1
14.0 ppg 7.7 rpg 2.0 apg 1.0 spg .545 FG%
Taj Gibson 1-2
8.0 ppg 5.7 rpg 1.3 apg 1.0 spg .450 FG %
Taj is playing great this year in the absence of Carlos Boozer. That Being said he will have to stay committed on defense if he wants to have any chance against KG.Look for KG to play on Gibsons youth in this matchup
Advantage Garnett
Center
Joakim Noah isthe heart & soul of this Bulls team. His fearless attitude fuels them on the defensive end of the ball. Last year he showed that is is anything but afraid of Shaquille O'Neal. In four career regular season meetings with the O'Neal , Noah has a 3-1 record.
Joakim Noah 3-1
5.3 ppg 9.3 rpg 1.8 apg 1.0 spg .368 FG%
Shaquille O'Neal 1-3
16.0 ppg 8.8 rpg 1.5 apg 0 spg .581 FG%
Shaqs numbers look good but anyone who has played Noah knows that his strengths dont register on the stat sheet. I think his energy is going to be the biggest factor in this matchup.
Advantage Noah
Bench
The Bulls bench is hurting. With the injury to Carlos Boozer they have to start their best bench player , Taj Gibson. The Celtics however have one of the best benches in the NBA. Robinson & Davis in particular provide energy & toughness off the bench that cant be matched on the Bulls side of the ball at this point.
Advantage Celtics
Prediction
The Celtics are hot right now & the Bulls are on the second game of a back to back. Ill take the Celtics in this one, even though i would love to see the Bulls get a win.
Celtics 98
Bulls 95
Here are the rest of my picks for Friday night
Milwaukee (1-4) 103
Indiana (2-2) 94
That 110+ performance at San Antonio doesnt seem like a fluke now. The Pacers also have a few advantages as far a size goes as well. But i dont see the Bucks losing this game since they are already dropping to the bottom of their division already.
New Jersey (2-2) 85
Orlando (2-1) 103
New Jersey is not a bad team but since Orlando lost to Miami last Friday they seem to be playing angry. I am however excited to see how Terrance Williams does. He may be the only bright spot for the Nets tonight.
Cleveland 100 (1-3)
Philadelphia 94 (1-4)
J.J. Hickson apparently ate his Wheaties all summer long. He has been playing great since their first game of the season. Look for Iggy to exploit Moons offense this game too. Clevelands commitment to defense will be the key to this game.
Charlotte (1-3) 96
Detroit (0-5) 93
This game is going to be interesting. Neither team has alot of size but they do play with alot of physicality. This might be the closest game of the night.
Washington (1-2) 107
New York (2-2)115
This is exactly where each teams star likes to be : the Spotlight. John Wall had an amazing home opener for the Wizards so you can imagine that he is more that ready for the bright lights of MSG. Amare on the other hand is the leader of this Knicks team that seems to score at will. I think this game will basically be decided when one of them starts missing shots. Its going to be a shootout.
Those are my picks for this Friday night. Hope Everyone enjoys the games. Thanks for the continued support.
-Fraz
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