Following Saturday night’s loss to the streaking Houston Rockets, the Boston Celtics will look to rebound Monday night against the Chicago Bulls without all-star Kyrie Irving.
According to the Celtics, Irving will be out dealing with left knee soreness and forward Daniel Theis is listed as probable with right hamstring soreness.
Brad Stevens says Kyrie Irving aggravated his knee during the Houston game. “He was playing and felt it throughout the night.” Stevens adds that the knee was feeling a little bit better yesterday, but was sore today when Kyrie woke up. #NEBHInjuryReport
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 5, 2018
With Irving out, we can expect Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier III to assist in filling the void on both ends of the floor. And this could even be a big game for the likes of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, having to pick the lack of scoring by the starters with Irving out.
Coming into Monday night’s game, the Bulls have won one of their last six games, which includes a five-game losing streak. Guard Zach LaVine leads all Bulls’ scorers with 17.6 points-per-game. And forward Lauri Markkanen is averaging 14.9 points-per-game to go with 7.7 rebounds.
The Celtics and Bulls have met twice already this season, with the Bulls taking the first out in Chicago, 108-85, and the C’s taking the second at home, 117-92. Including Monday night’s game, the Celtics still have a pair to play against the Bulls, with the last matchup coming in early April.
In the two games so far this year behind these Eastern Conference foes, the Celtics have struggled with containing the Bulls’ Bobby Portis. In two games, he’s scored a combined 40 points on 60 percent shooting to go along with 12 rebounds.
RELATED: Smart, Morris And Rozier Leading Charge For Celtics’ Bench
Since returning from the break, the Celtics are shooting 49.8 percent from the field and 45.9 percent from deep. Prior to Saturday night’s loss, the C’s had won four straight, while beating opponents by an average of 15 points.
The Celtics’ second unit has been red hot over their last five games.
Over the last five games, the C’s bench has averaged 56 points while shooting 50.5 percent from the field. And their highest scoring total came against the Rockets with a whopping 67 points. The Celtics’ bench has scored more than 60 points in consecutive games and three times total over their last five.
Stevens: “All you can ask as a coach is that everybody is focused and together and works the right way. Since we’ve gotten back from the break, we’ve had the right focus and we’ve been locked in.”
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 5, 2018
RELATED: Celtics Fall Apart In Final Minutes, Lose To Red Hot Rockets, 123-120
UP NEXT: The Celtics (44-20) will play the second of a three-game road trip Monday night against the Chicago Bulls (21-41). Catch the call of the game with Sean Grande and Cedric Maxwell, live on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Pre-game coverage begins at 7:30 p.m., with tip-off set for 8:00 p.m.
— By John ‘The Dude’ Hardiman, 985TheSportsHub.com