Bulls (25-36) at Celtics (47-12) 3/7

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Chicago Bulls (25-36) at Boston Celtics (47-12)
Friday, March 7
8:00 PM
Regular season game #60, Home Game #32
TV: ESPN, CSN HD, WGN
Radio: WEEI, Sirius 153
TD Banknorth Garden


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Probable Starters

Rajon Rondo/Ray Allen/Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett/Kendrick Perkins

Off the Bench
James Posey, Eddie House, Tony Allen, Big Baby Davis, Leon Powe, PJ Brown, Sam Cassell, Brian Scalabrine

Injuries
Scot Pollard, ankle, out



[img width=500 height=54]http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/chicago/00-Bullslogos.gif[/img]
Probable Starters

Larry Hughes/ Kirk Hinrich/ Luol Deng/ Drew Gooden/ Joakim Noah

Off the Bench
Andres Nocioni, Aaron Gray, Ben Gordon, Chris Duhon, Tyrus Thomas, Cedric Simmons, Shannon Brown

Injuries
Thabo Sefolosha, groin, day to day

Key Matchups
vs
Rajon Rondo PPG 10.7 RPG 4.30 APG 5.1 EFF + 14.29
Larry Hughes PPG 12.9 RPG 3.60 APG 2.6 EFF + 10.87
Hughes has more experience than Rondo, but Rajon has the speed advantage. He should be able to beat Hughes off the dribble every time down.

vs
Kendrick Perkins PPG 7.4 RPG 5.90 APG 1.1 EFF + 11.58
Joakim Noah PPG 5.2 RPG 4.90 APG 1.0 EFF + 8.44
Noah has been playing very well. Both players are coming off 20 rebound games. If Perk stays aggressive, he should be able to muscle his way past Noah for rebounds and to get inside to score.

Honorable Mention
Paul Pierce PPG 20.4 RPG 5.40 APG 4.7 EFF + 20.08
Luol Deng PPG 17.0 RPG 6.70 APG 2.4 EFF + 16.88
This should be a good matchup of two similar players. Pierce should have a good game after struggling somewhat against the Pistons.

Keys to the Game
No Letdown This could be a trap game if the Celtics let down after the big win over the Pistons. If the Celtics come out flat, the Bulls will make them pay. They can't take any team for granted because every team is gunning for the Celtics and will play their best games against them.

Rebound The Bulls are a very good rebounding team. The Celtics need to concentrate on boxing out and beating the Bulls to the boards. Perk should be able to feast on the boards if he continues to aggressively go after them.

Defense The Bulls can score inside and they also have players who can hit the 3. The Celtics need to defend on the perimeter as well as in the paint.

X-Factor
Fatigue - For the second game in a row, the Celtics are facing a team that played a tough game the night before. If the Celtics run, they should have the advantage as the Bulls will be tired.