vs Game 24, Home Game 14 Tuesday, December 18, 2012 – 7:00 PM CT United Center Comcast SportsNet / ESPN 1000 AM / WRTO-AM BULLS VS. CELTICS ALL-TIME ALL-TIME ............... Celtics lead 113-91 BULLS CURRENT STREAK.......1 Loss BULLS HOME STREAK..............1 Loss BULLS ROAD STREAK ..............1 Loss BULLS VS. CELTICS THIS SEASON Nov. 12 @ Chicago – CELTICS WON 101-95 Dec. 18 @ Chicago – Jan. 18 @ Boston – Feb. 13 @ Boston – LAST FIVE BULLS GAMES Dec. 17 @ Grizzlies L 71-80 Dec. 15 vs Nets W 83-82 Dec. 12 @ 76ers W 96-89 Dec. 11 vs Clippers L 89-94 Dec. 08 vs Knicks W 93-85 Game Notes Chicago Bulls (13-10) Home 7-6 Road 6-4 Bulls Averages: PPG: 92.5 (Opp: 90.4) RPG: 43.52 (Opp: 39.96) APG: 22.3 (Opp: 18.4) SPG: 7.30 (Opp: 8.09) BPG: 5.04 (Opp: 5.70) TO: 15.57 (Opp: 14.48) FG%: .439 (Opp: .424) FT%: .801 (Opp: .759) 3p%: .334 (Opp: .321) Probable Bulls starters Kirk Hinrich - PG - Marco Belinelli - SG - Luol Deng - SF - Carlos Boozer - PF - Joakim Noah - C - Bulls Stats Leaders Points: Deng 17.5, Boozer 14.1 Rebounds: Noah 10.5, Boozer 9.7 Assists: Hinrich 5.5, Noah 4.3 Steals: Noah 1.43, Deng 1.09 Blocks: Noah 2.22, Gibson 1.09 FG%: Butler .524, Noah .484 FT%: Hamilton .930, Robinson .864 3FG%: Belinelli .424, Hamilton .375 Injury report Richard Hamilton (torn plantar fascia in left foot) is day-to-day Derrick Rose (left knee) is out. For a full report and the latest on Bulls' injuries, check out the AthletiCo Injury Report. Boston Celtics (12-11) Home 8-4 Road 4-7 Probable Celtics starters Rajon Rondo - PG Courtney Lee - SG Paul Pierce - SF Brandon Bass - PF Kevin Garnett - C Injury report Avery Bradley Shoulder Surgeries Out -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bulls-Season-Highs-2012-2013 Active-Bulls-Career-Highs
Apparently, Kirk played a bad game last night. Today will be better. We win, even though Rondo may give Kirk's balky knee some trouble. Marquis will be the difference. Bulls 90, Celts 84
Interesting thing to take away from the game is the Celtics starting SG. Courtney Lee. You know, the guy was mentioned in trade rumors involving the Bulls and some saw him as potentially the right guy for us at SG. With Boston, he's getting just 24 MPG, averaging 6.3 PPG. His 3pt shooting has fallen off a cliff - going from .400+ to .278. He has a PER of 8.5. Sometimes the best deal you make is the one you don't make.
Kirk didn't play much. He's clearly not at full strength. But he contributed to winning. And Marquis got into the game, even along with Nate for a stretch! Sam Smith had some hilarious quotes from Nate. Nate talked about his "Peter Pan" philosophy of game prep. Very funny. This team is 14-10. Wild.
Kirk started and played just 3 minutes less than his season average minutes. I'm really not so opposed to him being on the team. I'm really scratching my head why we paid so much for him and for how little he brings for that money. In the spirit of the Courtney Lee post... OJ Mayo scored 26 points with 8 assists in 36 minutes last night. he shot 8-12 and 2-2 from 3pt and also 8-9 FT and got 3 steals to boot. Dallas beat Philly, too. For the season, Mayo is averaging 20.6 PPG on .488 FG and a stellar .519 3pt shoting percentage. With 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal, too. He's making $4M this season, same as Kirk.
Are you sure Mayo didn't want to play here? I think we didn't make him an offer that interested him. We spent $4M on Kirk and handcuffed ourselves as to what we could offer anyone else. You'd have to think that an equal salary, starting SG job, get to play next to Rose in the back court for years to come, etc., would be pretty tempting.
