Chicago at Boston

The Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls have locked horns in an exciting series. Tonight, the teams return to Boston tied at two games apiece, and are ready to tip-off a pivotal game five at the Garden tonight. There is a major problem for the Bulls, who will likely be without the services of Ben Gordon, who tweaked a hamstring in game four. That will be a serious blow for the Bulls even if he suits up and plays. The explosiveness and effectiveness is surely going to be diminished. Gordon did not miss a game this season, but is the Bulls go-to guy in the playoffs as he has netted 24.5 points per game. Those points won't be easy to replace, and neither will his minutes. The Bulls rely on just seven players for the most part, and Gordon’s absence would reduce them to six. There is a precursor to the Bulls without Gordon who missed 10 games a year ago. The Bulls struggled on offense scoring just 90.8 ppg and had games of 77, 67, and 77 in his absence. I look for Boston to come away with a convincing home win here.