Game Preview - Maine vs. Windy City - Jan. 24, 2024

Game details:      

Matchup: Maine Celtics (5-5) vs. Windy City Bulls (2-8)   

Location: Portland Expo; Portland, Maine     

Tipoff: 7:00 PM EST      

Streaming: NBC Sports Boston, ESPN+ 

Coming off a close win over the team with the best record in the entire G League, the Maine Celtics are back at home for a midweek matchup with the Windy City Bulls. 

The Celtics and Bulls met twice near the end of last season, splitting the two-game set at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Tonight marks the first meeting of the season between Maine and the last-place Bulls. 

Breaking down the Bulls: 

Though Windy City comes into this one with the worst record in the Eastern Conference, they do boast the #9 offense in the G League. Things do get a bit tougher on the other end for the Bulls, where they rank #28 in defense and allow the fourth-highest opponent shooting percentage in the league – teams shoot 49.2% from the field against the Bulls on average. If the Celtics get hot, it could snowball quickly. 

Windy City’s top-10 offense is built on its high offensive rebounding rate and methodical pace of play, relying heavily on pick-and-roll in the halfcourt. Per Synergy Sports, the Bulls rank in the 94^th percentile in P&R frequency while scoring 0.78 points per possession on those opportunities. Windy City has multiple interior scorers in the frontcourt and quality playmakers in the backcourt and uses them to its advantage. 

Adama Sanogo is the standout among that group of interior scorers, putting up 23 points and 11.1 rebounds per game, leading the team in both categories. Sanogo and Chris Silva are the only players in the G League with at least five games played averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds at this point in the season, and Sanogo does it on 64.2% shooting with 1.6 blocks on the side. The rookie out of Connecticut is following up a national championship victory last spring with a solid start to his pro career. 

Former Maine Celtics Chris Clemons and Scottie Lindsey fill in as contributors for the Bulls. After spending last season playing with former Celtic Tacko Fall in the Chinese Basketball Association, Clemons joined Windy City at the start of 2023-24 and is averaging 15.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists in the regular season. Lindsey began the season with Long Island after signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Brooklyn Nets but has since joined Windy City, posting 6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in five appearances with the Bulls. 

Keys to the game: 

Keep building the momentum: The Celtics are coming off a big win over previously 10-1 Sioux Falls last time out and are surely looking to keep it rolling against the 2-8 Bulls. JD Davison, Drew Peterson, DJ Steward, and many others had strong performances last weekend and have been known to show up for big games in the past. 

Welcome to Maine, Jordan Bowden: The Celtics added Jordan Bowden to the active roster yesterday. A former Long Island Net the past three seasons, Bowden spent the early portion of the 2023-24 season in France before coming back to the G League. The 6-foot-5 veteran Tennessee product averaged 17.3 points in 2022-23 for the Nets, adding another potent scorer to head coach Blaine Mueller’s lineup.