It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The Chicago Bulls barely snuck into the playoffs by default. The Boston Celtics took the No. 1 seed crown from the Cleveland Cavaliers. This was predicted to be a damn near sweep. Now, two games later it’s the complete opposite of what anyone thought.
Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo have brought their veteran leadership to the first round of the playoffs and taken a commanding 2-0 lead against the Celts, getting two wins on the road.
They did it in part by Rondo, who was one rebound shy of a triple double. Both Butler and Wade dropped 22 points on the game as well, with Robin Lopez scoring 18 points in the win.
The big story of the series has been away from the court and Isaiah Thomas, who lost his sister in a car accident before the playoffs started. Obviously, he’s been very emotional the first two games, but he’s still carrying the team on his back. In the two games so far, he’s led the team in scoring, dropping 33 points and 20 points respectively.
The issue for the Celtics is they need someone else to step up and help Mighty Mouse, if they have any chance of advancing to the next round. And at this point, some would argue that this series is damn near finished. At the least, Boston has a very steep hill to climb.
Al Horford, Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley need to come through in the clutch.
FINAL: CHI 111 | BOS 97