Boston Celtics Chicago Bulls Game 7 Predictions
Written May 1, 2009 by Jason Lowry
The Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics will finally close out was has arguably been the best first round series, if not the best series ever in the postseason, when the two teams lock up for game 7 this Saturday night in Boston. Game 6 might have been the best of them all, as the two teams exchanged punch for punch in a triple overtime thriller. The Bulls won 128-127 thanks to a huge steal and break away dunk for a 3-point play by Joakim Noah, and then an incredible block by Derrick Rose on a Rajon Rondo jumper to win it. The Bulls were led by a 35 point outburst from John Salmons, who picked up the scoring slack of Ben Gordon. Gordon came in averaging right around 25 points a game, but was able to manage just 12 points, and barely played in the overtimes cause of foul trouble. The Bulls also got another big time performance from Rose, who had 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. The real story for this Bulls team was the outstanding play of Kirk Hinrich and Brad Miller off the bench. Miller had 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Hinrich added 11 points and 7 assists. For the Celtics Ray Allen put on an amazing shooting clinic on his way to scoring 51 points, and literally carrying the Celtics for much of the game. The Celtics also got 23 points from Glen Davis and 22 points from Paul Pierce, but got very little scoring from the rest of the starters and bench players. Rondo finally had an off night shooting, as he cashed in just 4 out of 17 shots, but was create distributing the basketball, as he had a series best 19 assists to go along with 9 rebounds. One concern leading up to game 7 is whether or not Rondo or Hinrich will be suspended because of minor tangle the two had early in the game, I am guessing nothing will happen, but you never know. Here is a look at what I think each team needs to do to win game 7, plus my prediction on who comes out on top against the spread.
What the Bulls have to do to win: For nearly ever Bulls player game 7 will be the biggest game of their basketball careers, and it won’t be easy to do on the road, but besides a lack luster performance in game 3, this Bulls team was right in the thick of things. The Bulls will need big time performances from at least two of their big scorers in the starting lineup, between Salmons, Rose, and Gordon. Noah and Thomas don’t necessarily have to do a lot of scoring, but their defense and rebounding will be crucial to this team winning game 7. Lastly I think the Bulls will need another strong showing from both Miller and Hinrich off the bench, as these two guys have dominated the Celtics bench players throughout the series. Defensively the Bulls need to do a better job on Ray Allen in game 7, even though Allen made a number of contested shots, he still had plenty of wide open looks. Also, if the Bulls can somehow keep Rondo around 10 points, I think they have a great shot at winning this game. Bet the Bulls +6.5 at Sportsbooks.com.
What the Celtics have to do to win: The Celtics will need the big 3 of Rondo, Allen, and Pierce to all show up and play well in game 7, as they haven’t really all clicked on the same page during a game this series. The reason this is so big for the Celtics is they are getting little to no bench play from anyone. The problem with the bench play has cause a number of Celtics to play a ton of minutes in this series, and it will be interesting to see if it plays a role in game 7 or later on in the playoffs, if they are able to get by the Bulls. I think another big key for the Celtics is doing the best they can to stay out of foul trouble, as the Bulls are much better prepared to deal with its star players deal with that problem. The most important player besides the big 3 staying out of foul trouble is Kendrick Perkins, who fouled out of game 6, and it really hurt the Celtics ability to keep the Bulls out of the paint. This game has all the makings of being another classic, so I am not sold one bit on the Celtics coming out and dominating this game. Bet the Celtics -6.5 at Sportsbook.com.
My Prediction: Bulls +6.5. I am a little unsure why the oddsmakers have the spread so big after how close all these games have been in this series. The Bulls have proven they can win at Boston, and in their two losses they lost by a combined 5 points. I am not even sold that the Celtics will win this game, yes the edge is clearly theres, but the Bulls are playing some very good basketball and match up very well with this Celtics team. Hopefully this game is just as amazing as the first 6, and don’t be shocked to see yet another overtime game.
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