Tip-off: Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. ET
Line: Boston -7.5, Total: 203

A re-energized Celtics team is back on its home court for Game 5 against the Bulls.

After suffering two embarrassing losses at home to open their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series against the energized Chicago Bulls, the No. 1 seed Boston Celtics recouped their home-court advantage by taking Game 3 and Game 4 in Chicago. Most recently, they won 104-95 in Game 4 on Sunday night to cover a -1.5 spread. They took control with a 12-point lead at the end of the first quarter, and after they went down two in the third quarter they went on a run to regain a nine-point lead by the end of the period. While they were brutally outrebounded early in the series, the Celtics only had two fewer boards than Chicago in Game 4 (44-42). Now, the two teams prepare for a pivotal Game 5 in Boston on Wednesday night. Over the last five seasons, games involving a team that has won five or six of their last seven and playing no more than their fifth game in 14 days (BOS) are 70-31 Under against totals between 200 and 209.5. The Bulls are 34-17 Under against the total this season when playing teams attempting no more than 24 free throws per game (BOS). After dominating Game 1 and Game 2, Chicago PG Rajon Rondo sat out Games 3 and 4 with a hand injury. There is word that he may try to play on Wednesday. Boston SF Jaylen Brown is questionable to play with an illness.

Rondo (11.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 10.0 APG, 3.5 SPG in playoffs) looked like the player that he was several years ago in Boston when playing in the first two games of this series. He terrorized the Celtics on defense, reading their actions from two passes away and disrupting their motion, often ending up with a steal. He also became a handful on offense, driving and dishing to open spot-up shooters and, critically, shooting 55% on two-point shots. Without him in the lineup, the Bulls have struggled to find a point guard on their offense that can come close to his defensive prowess or create offensive mismatches. At this point, their best (non-Rondo) bet would seem to be PG Isaiah Canaan, who scored 13 points in Game 4, his first of the series. It’s curious that he hadn’t played sooner, as he is one of few players on this Chicago roster who could be considered a remotely dynamic offensive player. PG Jerian Grant (3.0 PPG in playoffs) was simply not getting the job done. The Bulls delegated a lot of ball-handling duties to SF Jimmy Butler (24.8 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.8 SPG, 1.0 BPG in playoffs) and SG Dwyane Wade (15.5 PPG, 4.0 BPG, 3.3 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.8 BPG in playoffs) as a result. It’s not a natural role for either of them, although Butler got 23 free throws to score 33 points in Game 4, and added nine assists as well. C Robin Lopez (13.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG in playoffs) has cooled down some after looking like Shaq in the series’ first two games.

The entire Celtics team looked out of sorts after the death of the sister of PG Isaiah Thomas (25.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.0 SPG in playoffs) a day before the playoffs began, none more so than Thomas himself, understandably. For whatever reason, he looked more like himself in Game 4, scoring 33 points on 10-of-21 shooting despite going only 1-of-9 from three. He carried himself with the swagger that came to define his world-beating regular season, and seemed locked in for the rest of the series in his postgame press conference. The biggest boost the Celtics got in Game 4 was from SF Gerald Green (9.0 PPG in playoffs), as he scored 16 of his 18 points before three full minutes had come off the clock in the second quarter. Brad Stevens’ decision to start him in the last two games has opened things up for an often-stagnant Boston offense. A starting lineup that includes Thomas, Green, C Al Horford (14.8 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 5.8 APG, 1.5 SPG in playoffs), SF Jae Crowder (13.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.0 SPG in playoffs) and SG Avery Bradley (12.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.8 SPG in playoffs) is one that has five capable three-point shooters. Crowder and Thomas are only shooting 27.3% and 25% from deep in this series, respectively, so they may be due for a rebound. Bradley managed only eight points in Game 4, but Horford had a complete offensive game with 15 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. PG Marcus Smart (8.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.3 SPG, 1.0 BPG) posted a very Marcus Smart-like line off the bench with five points, nine rebounds and six assists.