How we see it goin' down: Celtics vs Bulls

Tip: 9:30 PM Court: United Center Watch it: CSN Hear it: WEEI

Referees: Monty McCutchen, Leroy Richardson and Sean Wright

The Matchup


Record: 30-23 (1st Atlantic, 4th East)	Record: 42-13 (1st Central, 1st East)
On road: 11-14	At home: 21-6
Streak: Lost 1	Streak: Lost 2
Leaders	Leaders
Buckets: Pierce (19.0 ppg)	Buckets: Derrick Rose (22.8 ppg)
Boards: Garnett (8.2 rpg)	Boards: Joakim Noah (9.8 rpg)
Dimes: Rondo (11.0 apg)	Dimes: Rose (8.0 apg)
For the Stat Geeks:	For the Stat Geeks:
Offensive Rating: 100.5 (27th NBA)	Offensive Rating: 108.3 (4th NBA)
Defensive Rating: 98.6 (2nd NBA)	Defensive Rating: 99.3 (3rd NBA)
Pace: 90.5 (20th NBA)	Pace: 89.3 (27th NBA)

Last time

The Bulls lead the season series 2-1. Rajon Rondo scored 32 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in the Celtics 95-91 victory on Feb. 12. The Bulls beat Boston, 89-80, four nights later.

This time

Get it to: Rajon Rondo

Let the boy run wild. If Derrick Rose plays, he'll (hopefully) be rusty and (maybe) hesitant. C.J. Watson has been playing through sore ankle/elbow injuries and Tom Thibodeau has hinted rest may be in order. Rondo could see a healthy dose of John Lucas III. Run, Rajon, run.

Gotta stop: Carlos Boozer

I'm not Boozer's biggest fan. Maybe because he's a soft, overpaid front-runner. But he plays well against the Celtics (19 ppg, 63% FG this season).We're going to need a tough effort from Brandon Bass.

The Wild Card: Rebounding

It's a foregone conclusion that Chicago will win the rebounding battle. We can only hope/pray the Celtics minimize the damage on the offensive boards and do not waste solid defensive possessions by allowing chinsy put-backs.