The Celtics and Bulls feature a Friday night frenzy of games with Chicago facing elimination. The top-seeded Celtics are on a roll lately, winning their last three straight heading into Friday's match.
The Bulls took the first two games in the series, but instead of moping around and letting it get out of hand, the Celtics found a rhythm and turned around a series that was fading away from them.
Game 5 review
Game 5 was a potentially defining moment for Chicago. The Bulls had a chance to steal one away from Boston, but the Boston team did not have it.
Isaiah Thomas had 24 points but what was more important were the others on the team who stepped up. Avery Bradley totaled 24 points as well, and Al Horford came up big shooting 7 for 11. The Celtics looked like a completely different team when Bradley was scoring alongside Isaiah Thomas.
The Bulls had 16 turnovers to the Celtics 6, and even though Dwyane Wade almost had a triple double, it didn't matter. The Bulls looked horrendous in the fourth quarter and are now facing this tight elimination game.
Luckily for Chicago, they'll either send it to a 7th game or end at on their home floor.
Role Players
Role players are going to play a huge factor in this game 6. The Bulls are so top-heavy in their offense that they need Isaiah Canaan and others to step up.
Nikola Mirotic is a name that didn't step up in game 5. He had just 6 points on 2 of 6 shooting. He has to be more assertive in looking for offense. The Bulls can score on the Celtics but not if it's all going through Dwyane Wade.
Stars need to take over
The Chicago Bulls saw Dwyane Wade drop 26 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists.
These numbers on paper are great, but Wade took three more shots than Jimmy Butler. The Bulls aren't going to win with Dwyane taking all the shots. Jimmy Butler is the best player on the floor, and he's going to need to play like it for Chicago to pull out a game.
For Boston, it comes down to Isaiah Thomas in the fourth quarter.
For much of this series, Isaiah had some issues gaining space in the last quarter. He's very explosive off the dribble, and if he's getting somewhere with it late into the game, then the Celtics are in a stable spot.
All in all the game is going to be a battle of guts. The Bulls are the home team, so Boston is going to have to come in and let their presence be known early on. The Bulls are in full survival mode right now and need to pull out this win or have an early vacation.
