The Chicago Bulls host the Boston Celtics for the fourth and final group game of the Emirates NBA Cup. Both teams are 2-1 in group play and this game is very important for both teams. To advance, the Celtics must beat the Bulls and the Cavaliers must beat the Hawks. The Cavs/Hawks game is on Friday at 2:30 p.m. and therefore the Celtics will know the results before tipoff for that game.

The Celtics are 8-1 on the road and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They are 13-2 against Eastern Conference teams and have won their last 6 games. The Bulls are 2-6 at home (and 6-6 on the road). They are 4-6 in their last 10 games. In the last seven games they alternated between defeats and victories, ending with a defeat on Wednesday. They are 7-5 against Eastern Conference teams.

The Bulls are playing in their 3rd game in 4 nights. They played back-to-back away games on Tuesday and Wednesday. This is the first of two home games. They will host the Nets on Monday and then play in San Antonio. They return home to face Indian and Philadelphia before 12/19. and 21.12. comes to a home game against the Celtics.

The Celtics haven’t played since Monday, when they hosted the Los Angeles Clippers for the second night of back-to-back games. After that game in Chicago, they play in Cleveland before returning home and playing five home games against Miami, Detroit, Milwaukee, Memphis and Chicago. They then visit Chicago and Orlando before another four-game homestand where they host Philadelphia, Indiana twice and Toronto.

This is the first of four meetings between these two teams this season. They will meet again in a home-and-home series on December 19th in Boston and December 21st in Chicago. They will meet one last time on January 29th in Boston. Boston won the series 3-0 last season. They are 134-109 overall against the Bulls and 53-69 overall in Boston.

Kristaps Porzingis returned to the Celtics on Monday against the Clippers. Luke Kornet missed three games with a hamstring strain but is listed as probable for this game. For Chicago, Lonzo Ball returned Wednesday after a 15-game absence with a sprained wrist and is probable for this game. Dalen Terry left Wednesday’s game with an ankle injury and is questionable for this game.

Starting shooting guard Coby White is questionable for this game with a sprained wrist. I suspect Lonzo Ball could start if White can’t play. Patrick Williams has missed the last five games after imaging revealed inflammation in his surgically repaired left foot. He is out for this game. Adama Sanogo is out with a knee injury. Jalen Smith is questionable due to an ankle injury.

Likely Celtics starters

Celtics reserves
Payton Pritchard
Jaden Springer
Jordan Walsh
Sam Hauser
Baylor Scheierman
Neemias Queta
Xavier Tillman
Luke Kornet
Al Horford

2-way player
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anthony Watson

Injuries/losses
Luke Kornet (hamstring injury) likely

Head coach
Joe Mazzulla

Likely Bulls starters

Bulls reserves
Lonzo Ball
Matas Buzelis
Jevon Carter
Torrey Craig
Chris Duarte
Talen Horton Tucker
Julian Phillips

Two-way player
EJ Liddell
DJ Stewart
Adama Sanogo

Injuries/losses
Lonzo Ball (wrist) probably
Adama Sanogo (knee) is out
Jalen Smith (ankle) questionable
Dalen Terry (ankle) questionable
Patrick Williams (foot) is out

Head coach
Billy Donovan

Key Matches

Jaylen Brown vs. Zach LaVine
LaVine is averaging 21.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. He shoots 51% from the field and 43.4% from distance. Against Boston, he averaged 18.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists over his career. He shoots the ball very well, so the Celtics need to stick with him both inside and on the perimeter to limit his scoring output

Kristaps Porzingis vs. Nikola Vucevic
Vucevic is averaging 20.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists. He shoots 57.1% from the field and 44.9% from distance. During his career against Boston, he averaged 16.3 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Porzingis should help the Celtics improve their interior defense, but they must try to keep Vucevic away from the boards and limit his shots as he shoots the ball very well.

Honorable mention
Derrick White vs. Coby White
White is averaging 18.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He shoots 44.1% from the field and 38.9% from distance. Over his career against Boston, White averaged 11.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists. White is questionable for this game, so it could be Lonzo Ball or another shooting guard who starts here.

Key to the game
defense – Defense is always the key to victory. The Celtics rank 8th in the league with a defensive rating of 110.2. The Bulls rank 27th with a defensive rating of 117.8. The Bulls are 5th with 118 points per game while the Celtics are 3rd with 120.2 points per game. The Celtics need to win this game with their defense and not try to win a shootout. The Celtics will need a strong defensive performance from every player on the court and make defense a priority for 48 minutes without letting up. The Celtics especially need to guard the 3-point line as the Bulls shoot very well from the perimeter.

rebound – The Celtics need to box out and crash the boards. They can’t score without the ball and it will take extra effort on their part to beat the Bulls on the boards. The Celtics average 42.8 rebounds per game, which is 21st in the league. The Bulls average 44.2 rebounds per game, which ranks 13th. The Celtics need to put in more effort to get the rebounds in front of the Bulls, get more possessions, and limit those possessions for the Bulls.

Three-point shooting – The Celtics often shoot three-pointers at a historic rate, but sometimes their shots just don’t fall. The Celtics are first in the league with 50.6 three-pointers per game. The Bulls are third, allowing 43.5 three-pointers per game. The Bulls are more efficient, shooting 38.3% from distance (5th), while the Celtics shoot 37.5% from distance (9th). The Celtics need to focus on making good shots and they need to move the ball to get free shots. If the 3s don’t fall, they have to go to the basket.

Dots in color – The Celtics are bottom of the league with 39.3 points. The Bulls are in 20th place with 46.7 points. However, the Celtics are in 26th place, giving their opponents 53.2 points. The Bulls are in 30th place and have 54.1 points in the table. I expect the Celtics to be better at defending their team now that Porzingis is back. I’m not sure they’ll score much more on the team if their three-pointers don’t fall. But they have to prevent teams from getting easy baskets in the field.

X factors
Street play and fatigue – The Celtics are playing on the road and are distracted by travel, a hotel stay and playing in front of hostile fans in an unfamiliar arena. The Celtics have been off since Monday and should be well rested. The Bulls are playing in their 3rd game in 4 nights. As the Bulls progress, fatigue could come into play.

Emirates NBA Cup game – This is the last tournament game of the season for both teams. Both teams are 2-1 in tournament play. The Celtics have a point differential of +14 while the Bulls have a point differential of +15. There is a possible path forward for both. Does the tournament give players extra motivation to play harder? Will the Celtics do everything they can to get a win so they can advance? Will the Bulls do their best to move forward and surprise the Celtics?

Officiating – The office is always an x-factor. Sometimes a team decides the game is close and blows the whistle on every play. Sometimes they let them play and let the game get physical. The Celtics must adapt to the way the play is called and not allow missed or bad calls to affect their concentration. If the calls are bad, they just have to play harder to compensate and not waste time arguing with the officials.

And be sure to check out CelticsBlog’s playback stream for live talk of the game. To participate, simply create a free account, connect your LP subscriber if you have one, and join our community.