The Celtics have a chance to exploit Chicago’s early defensive struggles, but the Bulls bring a potent scoring pair into Boston.
Boston enters 1-1 and 14th in the power index, while Chicago is 1-2 and ranked 20th after allowing 128 points per game. The Bulls have scored 114.7 per game, led by Caleb Wilson’s 67 points and Norman Powell’s 58 through three games. Boston’s Paul George has 53 points and Jayson Tatum 49 in two games, setting up a test of whether the Celtics’ top scorers can press a defense with a minus-40 point differential. The deciding factor is whether Boston can curb Chicago’s scoring without letting Wilson and Powell turn the game into a shootout.