The Chicago Bulls talked often during the regular season about believing they had the personnel to play as a physically imposing team. Their output has caught up to those desires so far during the postseason. Jimmy Butler (6'7''-G/F-89, college: Marquette) scored 22 points, Rajon Rondo (6'1''-PG-86, college: Kentucky) finished one rebound shy of a triple-double and the Bulls beat the Boston Celtics 111-97 on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their series against the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. While some might be shocked by how Chicago has played as a No. 8 seed that was just 41-41, Butler made it clear he's not one of those folks. "I'm not surprised because everybody's so locked in right now," said Butler, who added eight rebounds and eight assists. Rondo had 11 points and 14 assists on a night when all five Bulls starters reached double figures. Dwyane Wade (6'4''-G-82, college: Marquette) had 22 points, including 16 in the second half, and Robin Lopez (7'0''-C/F-88, college: Stanford) added 18 points and eight points. "Everybody's putting in each work, watching film, working on their game," Butler said. "That's where your confidence always comes from." The Bulls host Game 3 on Friday. After a better start by the Celtics, a familiar theme started to take hold as the Bulls took control by again dominating on the offensive glass. Chicago held a 43-38 rebounding edge for the game. Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points for Boston. Boston got within 91-82 early in the fourth before Chicago went on a 14-4 run to push its lead up to 19. The Celtics did a much better job containing reserve Bobby Portis (6'10''-PF-95, college: Arkansas) in Game 2 after he hurt them with 19 points off the bench in Game 1. But Paul Zipser (6'8''-G/F-94, agency: BeoBasket) picked up the slack in Game 2, scoring 16 points in 29 minutes. After getting thoroughly pushed around underneath in Game 1, the Celtics grabbed the first four rebounds of the night while scoring the game's first seven points. That changed quickly, though, as the Bulls responded with a 20-4 run. Boston's early rebounding edge evaporated just as fast, with all five Bulls starters grabbing an offensive rebound in the first six minutes of action. Boston shot 46 percent for game, but too many times was just one-and-done in the half court. Chicago again used its big men to push the Celtics out of the paint and was quicker to the ball in a lot of 50-50 situations. The Bulls outscored the Celtics in the paint 32-20 for the half. "I feel like in the second half, the ball stopped moving. It wasn't moving at all," Celtics guard Avery Bradley (6'2''-PG-90, college: Texas) said. "Even when we made a good play, got a steal, got an offensive rebound, we were just thinking quick 3s. As a polished team we have to know when to take those shots and when not to." Courtesy of: abcnews.com
Report: Grizzlies Working On Deal To Make J.B. Bickerstaff New Head Coach - 4 hours ago
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It appears the Memphis Grizzlies will keep interim coach John-Blair Bickerstaff at the helm. According to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, the organization is working on a deal to make John-Blair Bickerstaff the new head coach. John-Blair Bickerstaff , 39, was the interim coach for a majority of the 2017-18 season, following the firing of David Fizdale in November. This would be his first opportunity as a head coach, having served as an assistant or interim since 2004.
Courtesy of: slamon... [read more]
It appears the Memphis Grizzlies will keep interim coach John-Blair Bickerstaff at the helm. According to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, the organization is working on a deal to make John-Blair Bickerstaff the new head coach. John-Blair Bickerstaff , 39, was the interim coach for a majority of the 2017-18 season, following the firing of David Fizdale in November. This would be his first opportunity as a head coach, having served as an assistant or interim since 2004. Courtesy of: slamonline.com
48-year old coach Mike Budenholzer left Atlanta Hawks. Budenholzer has coached there for the last five years. AddhereLastSeasonawards He has never been drafted by the NBA. Budenholzer was voted All-NBA Coach of the Year back in 2015. He used to coach NBA All National Team (as & arrNT2(10,4) & ) back in 2015 [read more]
MIKE BUDENHOLZER
48-year old coach Mike Budenholzer left Atlanta Hawks. Budenholzer has coached there for the last five years. Budenholzer was voted All-NBA Coach of the Year back in 2015. He used to coach NBA All National Team back in 2015. Budenholzer has coached previously San Antonio Spurs.
Thunder avoid elimination with stunning 25-point comeback in 107-99 win over Jazz - 12 hours ago
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Russell Westbrook (6'3''-PG-88, college: UCLA) scored 45 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from 25 points down in the second half to fight off elimination and beat the Utah Jazz, 107-99, on Wednesday night. Westbrook also had 15 rebounds and seven assists. Paul George (6'9''-G/F-90, college: Fresno St.) added 34 points and eight rebounds. Utah takes a 3-2 lead back to Salt Lake City for Game 6 on Friday. Oklahoma City took advantage after Utah's post players, Rudy Gobert (7'1''... [read more]
Russell Westbrook (6'3''-PG-88, college: UCLA) scored 45 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from 25 points down in the second half to fight off elimination and beat the Utah Jazz, 107-99, on Wednesday night. Westbrook also had 15 rebounds and seven assists. Paul George (6'9''-G/F-90, college: Fresno St.) added 34 points and eight rebounds. Utah takes a 3-2 lead back to Salt Lake City for Game 6 on Friday. Oklahoma City took advantage after Utah's post players, Rudy Gobert (7'1''-C-92) and Derrick Favors (6'10''-F-91, college: Georgia Tech), got into foul trouble. Both finished with five fouls, and Oklahoma City was able to get to the basket consistently for the first time in the series. Jae Crowder had a career playoff-high 27 points for Utah. Donovan Mitchell (6'3''-G-96, college: Louisville) scored 23 points, and Joe Ingles (6'8''-SF-87) added 16. Utah opened the second half on an 8-1 run to go up 64-42, and Crowder's 3-pointer made it 71-46 with 8:34 left in the third quarter. Westbrook hit back-to-back 3-pointers, then made a layup with 5:07 left in the third quarter to cut Utah's lead to 73-60. Gobert picked up his fifth foul with 3:46 left in the third quarter. Westbrook's 3-pointer tied the game at 78 heading into the fourth quarter. Westbrook scored 20 points in the third quarter. Westbrook scored immediately at the start of the fourth to finally put the Thunder in front. Back-to-back threes by Westbrook and Alex Abrines (6'6''-SF-93) put Oklahoma City up 96-91, and a jumper by Westbrook with 1:24 left put Oklahoma City up 107-99. Courtesy of: baltimoresun.com
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