The Chicago Bulls look to get to .500 on the year as they take on the new-look Boston Celtics on Monday night. 

Chicago struggled with the Celtics last season, losing the season series 2-1. The final Bulls-Celtics matchup in 2025-26 was a particularly tough 124-105 drubbing, in which the Celtics shot 40% on a whopping 45 attempts. 

Boston is taking 40.5 3-point attempts per game through two games this season, continuing their perimeter-oriented offense lovingly referred to as "Mazzulla-ball," due to head coach Joe Mazzulla's preference for the team to be extremely aggressive in hunting for open 3-pointers. The big difference with the 2026-27 Celtics is the fact that Jayson Tatum's running mate, Jaylen Brown, was swapped out for the aging-yet-still-effective Paul George. 

George dropped in a surprising 38 points in his Celtics debut, and then followed that up with a 17-7-2 stat line in a win over the Detroit Pistons. 

Although George is 36 years old, he is still one of the more versatile two-way wings in the league when he is at 100% health-wise. George — along with Tatum — will provide the Bulls' wing duo of Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis with their biggest challenge yet. 

Wilson is coming off of the best game of his young career, dropping 30 points, 14 rebounds and three steals + blocks over 38 minutes against the Wizards. He also shot 9-of-11 from the free throw line, showing that he is capable of being efficient from the charity stripe. 

It will be intriguing to see if a Chicago club without a ton of depth at center can contend with a Boston squad that added Mitchell Robinson this offseason to help provide much-needed rebounding and rim protection, despite a limited role.

Here's everything you need to know ahead of the Bulls taking on the Celtics on Monday night:

Chicago Bulls (1-2) at Boston Celtics (1-1)

Location: TD Garden | Boston, Mass.

Tipoff: Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. CT

TV: Chicago Sports Network (Announcers: Adam Amin, Bill Wennington)

Radio: 104.3 FM The Score (Announcers: Chuck Swirsky, Scott Williams)

Betting Line (FanDuel): Celtics -12.5

Moneyline: Celtics -750, Bulls +530

Over/Under: 232.5

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Nic Claxton: Out (Left Hamstring Strain)

Noa Essengue: Available (Right Head Contusion)

Patrick Williams: Out (Groin Tightness)

G Devin Carter: Out (Illness)