DraftKings Post-Ups: Celts Not Jaded by Bulls' Reputation

CHICAGO – The general consensus about the Chicago Bulls is that they will struggle because they lack outside shooters. Brad Stevens isn’t buying it, and here’s why.

“They’ve got great outside shooters in (Nikola) Mirotic and (Doug) McDermott,” Stevens said about 90 minutes before tipping off against Chicago. “(Dwyane)Wade is 7-for-16 during the preseason from 3. Jimmy Butler has been making bit shots his whole career. (Rajon) Rondo made five 3s against us a couple of years ago at the Garden.”

Stevens believes that those players’ reputations are not indicative of their abilities.

“[Long-range shooting] may not be something that those guys look to do from a volume standpoint,” he said, “but they’re all very capable shooters and they’re all really good players. So they’re going to create space because you respect good players.”

It doesn’t hurt that Rondo, Wade and Butler are surrounded by legitimate NBA players like Mirotic, McDermott and others.

“They’re very talented. I think that goes without saying,” Stevens said of the Bulls. He then singled out a couple more Chicago players, saying, “(Robin) Lopez and (Taj) Gibson provide great rebounding and ability to score in and around the paint. Gibson can obviously stretch it a little bit.”

Add all of those comments up and Stevens spoke highly of seven of Chicago’s players. And that list doesn’t even include promising youngsters like Bobby Portis, Denzel Valentine and Michael Carter-Williams, all of whom were first-round picks in the last four years.

Stevens said that the Celtics are “going to have to play well tonight” in order to win. It would be hard to argue with him on that notion.

Chicago may not be deep to the 15th roster spot, but it has a ton of talent in its core rotation. Tonight also marks the team’s Opening Night, which will be played in front of some of the rowdiest fans in the league.

So while many outsiders view the Bulls as a team filled with star names that doesn’t fit together, the Celtics aren’t buying it. They understand that tonight’s game stands as a hefty challenge, because talent is talent, and the Bulls will have plenty of it when they make their season debut tonight.

- Marc D'Amico