Case of the Mondays: Celtics Off to Slow Start in First Round Against Bulls

by Ricky Dimon - 4/17/2017

It has been a tough week in the life of Boston Celtics' guard Isaiah Thomas. Early Saturday morning, his 22-year-old sister was killed in a car crash in their home state of Washington. One day later, Thomas played in Game 1 of Boston's first-round playoff series against the Chicago Bulls and the Celtics suffered an upset loss at home. One other road team-the Utah Jazz-won a playoff opener this past weekend, but it may have come at a price.

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Boston Celtics . Playing with a heavy heart on Sunday, Thomas did not disappoint. He scored 33 points on 10-of-18 shooting and also contributed six assists, five rebounds, and a steal. It was not enough, however, as Boston fell to Chicago 106-102. The Celtics were out-rebounded by a horrendous 53 to 36 margin and watched five different Bulls score in double-figures-including 19 points off the bench from power forward Bobby Portis. The Celtics are -6 home favorites in Game 2 on Tuesday.

Rudy Gobert . If Gobert does not return for Utah's first-round series against the Clippers, he will play a total of 17 seconds. That's how long he lasted in Game 1 this past Saturday before leaving with a left-knee injury (hyperextension and bone bruise). Gobert (14.0 ppg, 12.8 rpg) banged knees with Los Angeles forward Luc Mbah a Moute on the first possession of the game and had to be helped off the floor. On the bright side for the Jazz, they ended up taking the opener 97-95 when veteran Joe Johnson hit a shot at the buzzer. Utah is a still a +125 underdog to win the series.

Chicago Blackhawks . The Blackhawks have won three of the last seven Stanley Cups. Things are not looking good in their effort to bat .500 and win four in the span of eight seasons. Despite playing the first two games of its opening-round series at home, Chicago trails Nashville 2-0 following losses last Thursday and Saturday. The 'Hawks have not scored a single goal through two contests, getting blanked 1-0 in Game 1 and 5-0 in Game 2. "That was frustration to a different level," head coach Joel Quenneville said after Saturday's setback. "That wasn't fun to watch. I think you can look at it, we dug ourselves a tremendous hole across the board. Not too many positives come out of tonight's game." The Blackhawks were the second favorites to win it all heading into the playoffs. Now they are +310 just to advance out of the first round and +1400 to lift the cup.

Toronto Blue Jays . Toronto reached the playoffs at 89-73 last season, won the American League wild-card game over Baltimore, and swept Texas before succumbing to Cleveland in the ALCS. The Blue Jays are not playing like the 2016 version of themselves in the early stages of this year. They are 2-10, owners of the worst record in Major League Baseball (only one other team, the Cardinals (3), have fewer than four wins). An 11-4 setback against the Orioles on Sunday dropped the Jays to 1-8 in their last nine outings. They have scored only 34 total runs this season, the fewest in the majors. The Blue Jays are +2000 to win the American League.

Luke Donald . Donald now has five top-two finishes at Harbour Town Golf Links. Unfortunately for the veteran Englishman, none of those finishes has been top one. Donald came close again this past week at the RBC Heritage, where he was runner-up to Wesley Bryan by one stroke. Graham DeLaet, who led by three shots going into the final round, opened the door by shooting a 73-but Donald could not quite walk through it. The former world No. 1 drove his ball out of bounds on the second hole and ended up double-bogeying that par five. He recovered with a stretch of five birdies in 10 holes to tie for first on the leaderboard only to see Bryan make a late charge. "Obviously, it's a place I feel comfortable and I like, and I've had a lot of success," Donald commented. "I've got to just keep pounding away. And hopefully I'll get there." Dustin Johnson is a +700 favorite to win the U.S. Open-the season's second major-in June.

Chelsea . With six matches to go in the English Premier League season, Chelsea has left the title very much up in the air. The Blues are still the obvious favorites with a four-point lead ahead of second-place Tottenham Hotspur, but they have done nothing to seal the deal of late. Following the Spurs' 4-0 rout of FC Bournemouth this past Saturday, Chelsea lost at Ma nchester United 2-0 on Sunday. Marcus Rashford gave the home team a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute and the Red Devils added an insurance goal two minutes into the second half before coasting to victory. The Blues are just 2-2 in their last four Premier League outings, while Tottenham is 7-0 in its last seven and has outscored opponents 22-4 during this hot streak. Chelsea and Tottenham actually play each other this weekend, but it comes in an FA Cup semifinal and has no bearing on the EPL standings. The Blues are -600 to win the Premier League title.

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