Bulls vs. Celtics game preview and open thread

They’ll probably make it four in a row

Chicago Bulls (27-51) at Boston Celtics (53-25)

6:30 p.m., WGN

Injury Report:

In a catastrophic blow to the Celtics, point guard Kyrie Irving will undergo a procedure to remove two screws implanted in his left patella, costing him the rest of the season and the playoffs. Marcus Smart has also been out with a long-term injury, and Gordon Hayward even longer still.

And for tonight, they’re resting Al Horford and rookie Jason Tatum. But Shane Larkin is back...

The Celtics’ likely starters will feature a combination of Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Morris, Aron Baynes

The Bulls, as we know, are lamely limping into the end of the season. Denzel Valentine, Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, Paul Zipser, and Antonio Blakeney are all done. As for tonight:

Bulls will start the same way tonight at Boston - Payne, Holiday, Nwaba, Markkanen and Felicio. Noah Vonleh (calf strain) is out. #Bulls #Bullsnation

— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) April 6, 2018

Season Series:

The Bulls are 1-2 against the Celtics this season. Ironically, Irving has missed three out of the four matchups against the Bulls counting tonight.

The Bulls lone win came in the “Niko’s back” era when Chicago thumped a Kyrie-less Celtics team 108-85 at the United Center. With Irving back two weeks later for the second matchup between the two teams, the Celtics predictably rolled 117-92 at their place.

Finally, with Irving out again on March 5 the Celtics younger and more athletic guard Jaylen Brown scored 21 points to propel Boston to a 105-89 victory that was more of a blowout than even the double-digit Celtics advantage indicated.

Preview:

A three-game winning streak at the end of a season where draft positioning is at a premium is exactly why the Chicago Bulls don’t usually get nice things. Which is why they’ll undoubtedly find some stupid way to win tonight, further ruining the only remaining point of the season.

But don’t fret, the all-important summer offseason is just around the corner. Barring stupid lottery luck, the Bulls will pick 6-10 and will have to hope that a franchise changer awaits in that range of the draft.

The Bulls players have already made plans to train together this offseason to further establish that vaunted Bulls culture. Kris Dunn, Lauri Markkanen, and Zach LaVine should be handcuffed together all summer until they learn how to play better together.

And the fact that I’m talking about the summer when the Bulls still have games to play and it’s 30 degrees outside should tell you all you need to know about the relevance of these last four games in the eyes of most fans. The writers on here and the most rabid fans will continue to care. But, to everybody else the Bulls season has become an eye-rolling, snore fest.

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