Chicago Bulls: Takeaways From Game 1 Win Over Boston Celtics

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Apr 16, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Jimmy Butler (21) goes to the basket past Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) and center KellyOlynyk (41) during the third quarter in game one of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Boston Celtics 106-102 in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. Here are a few takeaways from this contest.

The Chicago Bulls weren’t given much of a chance at beating the Boston Celtics coming into this playoff series and rightfully so.

After all, the Bulls finished the season with an underwhelming 41-41 record. They were maddeningly inconsistent, which meant that the team, nor its fan base, knew which group of players were going to show up for each game.

On top of that, this Celtics squad doesn’t feel that they are getting their due respect for finishing as the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

"“Nobody gives us our due,” Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas told ESPN. “We’re the No. 1 seed, and then they say we’re one of the worst No. 1 seeds. If anybody else was the No. 1 seed, it’d be like, ‘They might get to the Finals.’ It’s always something, but we try not to worry about that stuff and just try to take care of business on the court.”"

But in spite of the Celtics perceived lack of respect from the outside world, along with all of the so-called expert predictions — including TNT Sports analyst Charles Barkley — who stated that the Bulls had no chance of winning Game 1 — the Bulls held on to beat the Celtics 106-102 to take the opening game of this best-of-seven series.

Here is a look at the main takeaways from Chicago’s not-so-surprising victory.

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