Celtics vs. Bulls News Boston Celtics

No. 2 Boston Celtics (62-20) vs. No. 7 Chicago Bulls (41-41) The season series: Celtics won, 2-1. The stars: Boston swingman Paul Pierce (20.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.6 apg) has had to take an even bigger leadership role with fellow star Kevin Garnett injured. Bulls point guard Derrick Rose (16.8 ppg, 6.3 apg) is just a rookie, but he's already the team's go-to guy in the clutch.

The telling stat: The two teams played only three times during the regular season with the home team winning each time. Also, the Celtics lost to the Bulls the only time they played with Garnett out with injury. The scoop: Early in the year it looked like the Celtics were going to once again be the best team in Basketball. But the defending champs started showing some chinks in their armor even before Garnett left the game against the Jazz on Feb. 19 with a knee injury. Now, with word that Garnett may not play in the playoffs at all, the Celtics appear vulnerable to an upset ? perhaps even in the first round. Thanks to Boston dominating the Lakers in Game 6 to win the NBA Finals last year, it's easy to forget how much the Celtics struggled just to get out of the first round. The upstart Hawks won all three games in Atlanta, forcing the Celtics to go seven games in the opening round. Another slow start like that this year, and it could mean an early exit for Doc Rivers' club. The Bulls, meanwhile, have been coming on of late. They were eight games under .500 as late as March 13 and rallied to finish the season 41-41 despite a home loss to Toronto in the series finale. Rose may still be technically a rookie, but he has a full NBA regular season under his belt. Shooting guard Ben Gordon (20.7 ppg) is a prolific scorer, while the Bulls bolstered their inside game midseason with the acquisitions of John Salmons (18.3 ppg) and Brad Miller (11.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg). This could actually be one of the best series in the opening round. The prediction: Celtics in seven. E-mail: lojo@desnews.com East Conf. first round Saturday at Boston, 10:30 a.m. Monday at Boston, 5 p.m. Thursday Boston at Chicago, 6 p.m. April 26 at Chicago, 11 a.m. April 28 at Boston, TBA* April 30 at Chicago, TBA* May 2 at Boston, TBA* *if necessary