Boston Celtics: 3 standouts in historical stampeding of the Bulls

The Boston Celtics extended their winning streak to five games with a 56-point victory over the Chicago Bulls Saturday night.

Jumping out to a 17-0 lead from tip off, the Boston Celtics were locked in against the Chicago Bulls Saturday night, extending their current winning streak to five games with a 133-77 victory.

Not only did the Celtics tie an NBA recorded with the 56-point stampede, they handed the Bulls their worst loss in franchise history collapsing any hope the team had of turning things around this season after the firing of former head coach Fred Hoiberg.

With collective efforts both on offense and defense, the start of the game really wasn’t about the Bulls.  With Daniel Theis inserted in the starting lineup with both Al Horford and Aron Baynes sitting out, the Celtics came into the game focused.  Marcus Morris and Jayson Tatum were hitting their shots and Marcus Smart led the defensive pressure in forcing the Bulls to make a complete lineup substitution.

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Although this was a game the Boston Celtics should’ve won even without Horford and Baynes, it was an impressive victory.  The fact that the team came out gunning against a weaker component and then put their foot on their throat late in the game means this team has found its stride collectively.

A lot of things went right in this game because the Celtics made them go right.

Following the game, head coach Brad Stevens complimented the team’s consistency.

"“I thought our guys were really locked in,” Stevens said, via Celtics.com.  “We played really hard all the way through and probably played them on the right night coming off a long, hard win (against Oklahoma City Friday night), where they clearly had to expend a lot of energy.  It was just one of those nights that we needed to come out and play that way.  I thought our guys stayed consistent through all 48 (minutes).”"

Whenever a team wins a game by 56 points, there are many good performances.  While everyone made contributions, here are three players who set the tone for the historical, lop-sided victory.

Jayson Tatum

Chicago Bulls second-year man Lauri Markkanen was a player to watch in this game, but the Boston Celtics won second-year man came out the gate on fire.

Jayson Tatum was a major part of the team’s 17-0 outburst to start the game.  Along with Marcus Morris, Tatum was simply on fire.  The 20-year-old displayed all of his scoring range with seven quick points.

In total, he scored 18 points and was an impressive 4-of-4 from behind the three-point stripe.  He added just three rebounds and had two assists, but his proficiency offensively was an example of just why there was so much hype surrounding him coming into this season.

Tatum previously admitted that same hype may have contributed to the team’s early season struggles, but it is obvious now that the team has gotten that out of their heads and are playing much better basketball.

With a string of solid games offensively, it appears Jayson Tatum has settled into a role and is just playing the game within the team concept and not doing much of the one-on-one stuff he was doing at the start of the season.

Terry Rozier

The one player left that the team needed to get going was Terry Rozier.  Saturday night in Chicago, that “Scary” Terry persona arose from the dead to deliver his most productive scoring night this season.

Rozier contributed 15 points off the bench, along with eight rebounds and two assists.  In total, he has looked good the last few games and it is no coincidence that the team has been winning.

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1071582687972847616

While the fourth-year point guard wasn’t on the floor when the team ran off to a big lead, he was a major part in sustaining it and that is huge for the Celtics second unit.  In this game, it seemed like every time the Bulls were inching closer to making it a game, Rozier would hit a three-point shot.

In all, it was an encouraging performance from a player rumored to be frustrated with his lack of minutes.  He certainly made the most of them Saturday night and had a message for everyone who were criticizing the team when they were struggling.

"“I mean, obviously it’s been very good for us, winning our last couple games, so we want to keep it going,” Rozier said following the game.  “And everybody can shut up, because everybody can be very annoying when we’re losing.  Very annoying.”"

In fairness to the critics and fans, it was frustrating to see the team struggle to a 10-10 record the first 20 games of the season.  More frustrating was how the team was not showing total effort in some of those losses.  Terry Rozier was one of the main players guilty of that.  It is good to see how he has responded now that a fire has been lit under him.

Daniel Theis

No Al Horford, no Aron Baynes, no Robert Williams, no problem.

Boston Celtics second-year man Daniel Theis entered the game as basically the team’s only big and came through in a major way.  Not only did he hold his own defensively, Theis poured in a career-high 22 points in Saturday night’s win.

In fact, he looked very much like Horford in his ability to defend and make shots offensively.  Part of that production were dunks, but Daniel Theis showed off his range by going 2-of-4 from behind the stripe.

With is 10 rebounds and five assists, Theis really inserted some energy into the lineup on a night in which they really needed a big contribution.  It also showcased what German big man can do when he gets extensive minutes.

In all, this is exactly why the team’s depth is their strong point.  On a night in which they had no Al Horford and quiet nights from both Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, other players stepped up to power the team to a big win.

It also says a lot when any given player can step up and lead the team in scoring on any given night.  Watch out for the Boston Celtics.