Celtics-Bulls halftime hot takes

Chicago came out red-hot from deep

The Bulls entered tonight’s game as one of the hottest three-point shooting clubs in basketball. They are fourth in the NBA in long-range accuracy at 38.2%. With this in mind, you’d think the Celtics would be focused on defending the line from the opening tip. Well, this wasn’t the case. Chicago started off the game a blistering 6-for-7 from three. The Celtics got destroyed in the high pick-and-roll early and too often guarded with their hands by their sides (as Brian Scalabrine pointed out on the broadcast). Boston hasn’t consistently defended the line well this season, but — of course — there’s still plenty of time for Coach Udoka and company to figure things out.

DeMar DeRozan and Jaylen Brown were unstoppable offensively

DeRozan is in his first season with Chicago after stops in Toronto and San Antonio. Usually, it takes players a bit to truly find their footing in a new system. However, DeRozan already appears to be in midseason form. He is up to 21 points on 9-for-12 shooting at the break, including 2-for-2 from behind the arc. DeRozan leads all scorers for both sides, but Brown is right behind him with 17 points and five rebounds. Following a slow start, he went off for 13 points across five minutes during the second quarter. Brown got the Celtics back into the game once Chicago’s lead began to approach double-digits in the second stanza. Keep an eye on the Brown-DeRozan duel in the second half. Whoever has the better game may end up leading their team to victory.