Celtics open NBA Cup play against a Bulls team out to bounce back

The Celtics open NBA Cup group play Friday, Oct. 30, at 7:30 p.m. ET at TD Garden against a Chicago Bulls team they beat 134-99 four days ago. Boston is 3-1 and comes in on two days of rest after a 125-124 win over Brooklyn on Tuesday. Chicago is 1-4 after a 133-127 home loss to the Knicks on Wednesday, and it has a reason to want this game back.

The Cup adds weight to a rematch that would otherwise be one more early-season game. Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Charlotte and Washington make up East Group C, and one of them earns a guaranteed spot in the quarterfinals. Group games also count in the regular-season standings. Boston's other group games are at Charlotte on Nov. 6, at Washington on Nov. 24 and home against Atlanta on Nov. 27.

How the first game went

Boston led 66-54 at halftime and outscored Chicago 68-45 after the break. The gap came from shooting and the glass. The Celtics made 21 of 44 threes, 47.7%, and the Bulls made 12 of 44, 27.3%. Boston also won the rebounding 54-40 while both teams committed 24 turnovers. Chicago took 31 free throws to Boston's 29, so the Bulls did not lose at the line. Boston's bench outscored Chicago's 79-33, led by Payton Pritchard's 28 points on seven threes.

That shape matters for tonight. Chicago has been shooting 27.6% from three this season, and its defense has allowed 130.2 points a game. Boston scores 119.8 and gets 45.5 points a game from its bench to Chicago's 36.0.

The starters, one on one

Defensive assignments are not published, so the pairings below come from the play-by-play, which records fouls, blocks and steals between specific players, and from the minutes each pair shared the floor. Those plays show who was involved, not who guarded whom on every possession, so each pairing is a pattern from the game and not a full-game assignment.

Derrick White vs. Norman Powell. They shared 15.1 minutes on Oct. 26. White fouled Powell once and stole the ball from him once, and Powell stole it from White once. Powell scored 20 points in 24 minutes, going 5 of 11 and making 4 of 7 threes and 6 of 7 free throws. White scored 5 points with 6 turnovers in 18 minutes. Powell scored 30 on 10-of-15 shooting against New York on Wednesday, while White had 16 points on 15 shots and 7 assists against Brooklyn. Powell averages 21.6 points. The question is whether White can stay in front of him without fouling.

Jordan Walsh vs. Matas Buzelis. The pair shared 11.6 minutes. Walsh fouled Buzelis on a shot, and Buzelis stole the ball from Walsh. Buzelis scored 11 points and finished minus-27 in 22 minutes, the worst mark of any Chicago starter. Walsh scored 4 points with 3 turnovers. Walsh made 3 of 5 threes in the Brooklyn game and scored 15, and Buzelis scored 17 against New York. Walsh averages 6.0 points and 4.5 rebounds, and Buzelis averages 14.6 points.

Mitchell Robinson vs. Jalen Smith. They shared 13.3 minutes, and Robinson fouled Smith on a shot. Robinson made all 3 of his shots for 7 points and 7 rebounds in 16 minutes. Smith scored 7 points on 2-of-8 shooting with 6 rebounds in 20. Smith bounced back with 17 points and 11 rebounds against New York. Chicago lists him as questionable with a left finger sprain, and Tobe Awaka is also questionable with an ankle injury. Nic Claxton, Chicago's other big man, is out with a hamstring injury.

Paul George vs. Caleb Wilson. They shared 20.6 minutes. George fouled Wilson twice, once on a shot, and Wilson blocked George. George scored 16 points on 14 shots and finished plus-15 in 25 minutes. Wilson, the No. 4 pick, scored 17 on 7-of-15 shooting with 3 turnovers in 32 minutes. George followed with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists against Brooklyn, and Wilson scored 20 on 18 shots against New York.

Jayson Tatum vs. Josh Giddey, and Wilson. Tatum shared 14.2 minutes with Giddey and 17.6 with Wilson, and he saw both. Giddey fouled Tatum on a shot and blocked him once. Wilson drew an offensive foul on Tatum and blocked him once. Tatum scored 23 points in 28 minutes, going 7 of 8 at the line, and finished plus-18. Giddey scored 11 with 4 assists. Tatum then scored 40 against Brooklyn on 20 shots, and Giddey had 11 assists and 8 rebounds against New York. Giddey averages 8.0 assists a game, the same as Tatum.

Does Boston have anything left?

Tatum played 42 minutes against Brooklyn and George played 36, and the game was decided by one point. Robinson finished minus-17 in 25 minutes in that game. Boston has since had two days off, while Chicago has had one, a small edge for a team that played twice in two nights earlier this week.

The Bulls' case is just as clear. Powell scored 30 on Wednesday, Giddey is moving the ball and Wilson, the No. 4 pick, is the player Chicago is building around, and the 35-point margin came mostly from shooting and rebounding. A colder night from three would cut into Boston's margin quickly. The small samples also cut both ways: Boston has played four games and Chicago five, so one night can move any of these averages a lot.

What to watch

• Free throws. Chicago takes 33.6 a game and Boston allows 26.5, so how many fouls White, George and Tatum commit may decide how close this is.
• Three-point shooting. Boston makes 38.6% this season to Chicago's 27.6%, and the gap on Oct. 26 was wider: 47.7% to 27.3%.
• The Smith decision. If he plays, Robinson has a real matchup. If not, Boston's size advantage grows.
• The bench. Boston's reserves score 45.5 a game to Chicago's 36.0, the clearest depth gap on the floor.

Sources: box score and play-by-play data, including NBA.com's Group C preview, ESPN's Cup format explainer and the NBC Sports Boston Cup schedule; team injury listings.