Bulls back in Boston, ready to renew Celtics rivalry

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BOSTONIts only fitting that Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, a native of nearby Connecticut, spent his 55th birthday Thursday in Boston, a place where, from his days as a college assistant at Harvard to winning an NBA championship with the Celtics, hes experienced many pivotal moments during his long career.

Friday, however, its back to business, as Thibodeaus Bulls, after an off day following Wednesdays overtime win in Toronto, will take on the Celtics, his former employer.

Although Boston is coming off a disappointing loss to a hapless Hornets teamfeaturing rookie guard Austin Rivers, the son of Celtics head coach Doc Rivers, in their first meeting between father and sonthe Celtics were coming off a six-game winning streak before that defeat. In the 2013 calendar year, the Bulls and Celtics, buoyed by the Jan. 2 return of defensive specialist Avery Bradley from injury in their first game of the new year, have identical 6-2 records.

Theyve been playing good lately. I havent seen them play, but Ive seen a couple of stat lines. Scoring a lot more points at home. I think getting guard Avery Bradley back has kind of infused them a little bit. Theyre playing with a lot more energy, a lot more up-tempo. Him and Rondo in the backcourt can D up and be a little bit of a nuisance, so weve got to be ready for them, Carlos Boozer observed. Theyre a very good team. They still have great championship tendencies. They do everything the right way. They play tough D, they try to rebound, they pass the ball. Theyre a very good basketball team, so they pose a big challenge for us. We look forward to playing them.

For teammate Joakim Noah, playing in Boston also has a special meaning, as his coming-out party as an NBA player occurred in the playoffs during his second season, when the Bulls and Celtics staged an epic, seven-game first-round battle, with Thibodeau on the opposing sidelines for the then-defending champions.

Its always fun, a great place to play basketball. They have tough fans and its a great basketball environment, especially with the history we have with them, with the series fromfour, five years ago? Thats five years ago? Expletive, Im getting old, Noah said. That series was special. Even though we lost, it was my first playoff series and just playing in those overtimes, those hostile environments, playing in games like that are the games that hopefully I can show my grandkids. Even though we lost, I love those games because I feel like they gave me a shot, they gave me confidence to take my game to another level.

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