Here's What The Bulls Need To Do To Steal Game 2 From The Celtics

Coming into their first playoff game as the East's #1 seed, the Boston Celtics were reeling from a sudden tragedy. Isaiah Thomas, the team's driving force, lost his younger sister in a car accident on Saturday morning. The star point guard decided to play despite the extreme emotional weight, and led the Celtics in an inspiring performance with 33 points and 6 assists. It wasn't enough though, as the underdog Bulls stole Game 1 thanks to Jimmy Butler's 15 fourth quarter points. Now the Bulls face the tough task of winning another game in the loud and hostile TD Garden. And yes, Thomas will play in Game 2 tonight. Can Fred Hoiberg and his crew back up their promising victory, or will the Celtics reestablish themselves as the favorites to win the series? Here's what the Bulls must do to have a chance at seizing an unexpected 2-0 series lead.

1. As Jimmy Goes

All season long, through ugly losses to bad teams and surprising triumphs over the league's top contenders, the Bulls' successes and failures depended on the play of their All Star leader Jimmy Butler. If he's aggressive offensively from the jump and is knocking down shots, the Bulls are a tough out. On top of that, he sets the tone for his teammates defensively. In the crunch time moments of Game 1, Butler took over the daunting task of guarding Thomas. He might be asked to do that earlier and more frequently in Game 2, because Isaiah looked unstoppable when guarded by anyone other than Butler on Sunday. If Jimmy can maintain his position as the best two-way player in this series with a well-rounded effort tonight, the Bulls should keep it close and find themselves within striking distance entering the fourth quarter. Speaking of keeping it close...

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2. Withstand Boston's Early Flurry

The Celtics will undoubtedly come into Game 2 with a chip on their shoulder and a dose of desperate energy. That spells danger for the Bulls. Oftentimes throughout this season, Hoiberg's team came out flat and built themselves a big hole. Usually, the roster isn't good enough to overcome such large deficits, and the game is over by halftime. That was the case in the regular season finale between Chicago and Boston. The Celtics outscored the Bulls 22-9 through the first 12 minutes. The deficit was 20 by halftime and the Bulls failed to mount anything resembling a comeback in the second half. Boston's home crowd will blow the roof off the place if they get out to an early lead. The Bulls must weather that expected storm, and keep themselves within striking distance. If this mentally fragile group doesn't gather itself after Boston's first punch and punch back, things could get ugly rather quickly.

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3. Continue To Dominate Glass

The Celtics were one of the league's worst defensive rebounding teams this season, and their undersized front court gives Chicago a rare advantage in this matchup. While Butler and his sidekick Dwyane Wade were getting off to slow starts and Nikola Mirotic was throwing up bricks in the early stages of Game 1, Robin Lopez kept the Bulls in it by bullying Boston in the paint. The veteran center pulled down 7 of his 8 offensive rebounds in the first half, providing his team with putbacks and extra possessions. The Bulls enjoyed a 20-12 edge on the offensive boards, and a whopping 65-44 advantage in total rebounds. A repeat performance from RoLo would be great, but Bobby Portis and Cristiano Felicio must continue to be aggressive attacking the offensive glass too. The Bulls also got 9 defensive rebounds from their backcourt in Game 1, which can help their transition offense get going.

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4. Limit Turnovers

Game 1 is always a feel-out game, and both teams are dealing with some playoff nerves and added adrenaline. That usually results in sloppy play and big turnover numbers, which it did for the Bulls and Celtics on Sunday. Chicago turned the ball over 19 times compared to 16 for Boston. But Butler (5 turnovers) and his teammates got lucky, as the Celtics didn't fully capitalize on the Bulls' mistakes. Despite coughing up the ball three more times, Chicago outscored Boston 18-17 in points off turnovers. Hoiberg needs to emphasize ball security coming into Game 2. The Celtics aren't an elite fastbreak team, but you don't need to be to take advantage of the Bulls' porous transition defense.

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5. Paging Nikola Mirotic

Bulls X-factor and recently hot three point assassin Nikola Mirotic couldn't buy a bucket in Game 1. He finished with just 4 points on 1-9 shooting (0-5 from downtown). After a three-game benching from Hoiberg in early March, the third year forward resurrected a previously disappointing season. Niko averaged 14 points in March and April, and started shooting with confidence from outside. He hit just 29.9% of his three pointers before the All Star break before catching fire to shoot 41.3% in the second half of the season. Unfortunately, that strong finish to the regular season didn't carry over into Game 1 against Boston. Thankfully, Bobby Portis was there to pick up the slack in his career playoff debut. The #FreeBobbyPortis contingent of Bulls fans rejoiced as he poured in 19 points off the bench. Portis went 3-4 from deep, including an immensely clutch shot to keep the Bulls in front late in the fourth quarter. It was a great performance from a kid who showed no fear in the big moments, even coming up with a big block to keep the Celtics' late comeback at bay. But it's unwise to expect a similarly huge night from Portis, and Mirotic must deliver with double digit points. Given Butler's dominance offensively down the stretch in Game 1, Boston is likely to double the Bulls' best offensive weapon early and often in Game 2. When Butler draws the double, Mirotic needs to step up and hit his shots. Assuming the Celtics' three point shooters hit more of the open looks they missed on Sunday (14-38), the Bulls will need Niko on top of his game to counter that. It won't be easy for Fred, Jimmy and the gang to win their second straight in Boston and come back to Chicago with a 2-0 lead. But if they follow this road map, they'll at least give themselves a chance. Game 2 tips off at 7:00 Central Time.