GAME NIGHT FROM BOSTON
Bulls (27-51, 10-29 on the road) at Boston: (53-25, 25-13 at home)
TV: WGN TV: Neil Funk and Stacey King: 6:30 CT.
RADIO: 560AM: Chuck Swirsky, Bill Wennington and Steve Kashul. 6:15 CT pre.
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: Markkanen: 15 ppg. Boston: Brown: 14 ppg.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Markkanen: 7. Boston: Horford: 7
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Grant and Payne (4). Boston: Horford: 4.
SEASON SERIES: Boston 2-1.
LAST MEETING: March 5, 2018. Boston 105 Bulls 89.
CCI 24 SECONDS COMMENTARY: Boston, although mathematically still alive for the EC regular season title is basically locked in to the second seed with four games left.The Celtics, like the Bulls, are a battered and beaten up team. However, the Celtics have more ball to play and the Bulls do not. Brad Stevens has proven he is a top five coach in the NBA but not even his bench skill can compensate for the loss of Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving. Both will not play in the post season. The Celtics lost Hayward in the opener and have played terrific ball but losing Irving has proven to be just too much to withstand. Irving will undergo surgery on his left knee Saturday and is expected to miss four to five months.
Who plays and for how long for the Celtics? Who sits? CCI will keep you posted!
Antonio Blakeney was named G-League Rookie of the Year. He was a scoring machine for the Windy City Bulls averaging a whopping 32 points per game.
The Bulls will hold shoot around this morning in Boston and I’ll file an update on Twitter regarding who will start or who is available when we hear from Head Coach Fred Hoiberg.
NBA NEWS AND NOTES
Houston 96 Portland 94. Chris Paul hit the game winning shot. The Blazers were without Damian Lillard.
Cavs 119 Wizards 111. The Cavs erased a 17 point fourth quarter deficit. The Cavs won their fifth straight game and eighth straight at home. LeBron with 33. Tyronn Lue returned to the sideline to coach the Cavs after missing nine games due to health reasons.
Denver 100 Minnesota 96. Jokic 16 points-14 rebounds. KAT with a big time game but he fouled out with 1:46 left and that was it. Paging Jimmy Butler ! The Nuggets and T-Wolves tied for eighth, tailing NOLA by 1/2 game.
Indiana 126 Golden State 106. The highlight of the game? MC Hammer was in attendance! Party on !
Nets 119 Bucks 111. Brooklyn shot 48% behind the arc. The Bucks remain in the dreaded eighth slot in the East.
Utah 117 LAC 95. Eight double figure scorers for the Jazz. Donovan Mitchell scored 19. Slacker! LOL. The Clippers trail eighth seed NOLA by 2 /12 games with three left.
Dirk Nowitzki underwent ankle surgery. No word yet on whether he’ll return for the 2018-19 season but my CCI opinion is he will be back.
Thanks for reading CCI. E mail me at cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter: @ctsbulls.
Always a pleasure!