The Chicago Bulls may want to put on some sunglasses before they run out onto the floor in Boston.

The TD Garden court is a bright green on Friday, symbolizing the beginning of the 2026-27 NBA Cup for both teams. While the In-Season Tournament had its skeptics at first – and still does, to an extent – the event has become a relatively successful staple in the league's calendar.

Always starting shortly after the regular season tips off, the games have led to heightened intensity. Do they genuinely feel as competitive as the postseason? Of course not, but it can give a young team like the Bulls a taste of what to expect.

This is particularly true if Chicago were lucky enough to advance to the knockout round. Now, the franchise has yet to accomplish that since the tournament's inception, but they were dealt a relatively manageable Group C. Along with the Celtics, they will compete against the Hornets, Wizards, and Hawks for a chance to move on. It could be worse!

Nevertheless, starting things off in Boston is scary. It was only a couple of days ago that the Celtics crushed the Bulls, 134-99. They shot nearly 50.0 percent from the field and drained 21 shots from behind the arc. The Bulls also turned the ball over 24 times and were beaten at their own game in the fastbreak department, 17-8.

To be sure, one loss isn't going to take the Bulls out of the NBA Cup altogether, but there is one very important tournament component that we shouldn't forget about.

Celtics Could Run It Up on the Bulls ...

With the NBA Cup Group Stage featuring round-robin play, it's not uncommon for the standings to end in a tie. This is why the league has put together some clear-cut tiebreaker rules, which most notably include tracking point differential.

Over the last several seasons, we have seen coaches take this very seriously. Even though it may still be a regular season game, teams with solid leads have traditionally kept their top players in an effort to run up the score. It's hard to imagine the uber-competitive Joe Mazzulla would handle things any differently.

With that in mind ... can you imagine how ugly things could get for the Bulls on Friday night? Boston just beat Chicago by 35 points, and that was while showing mercy. Both Jayson Tatum and Paul George played well under 30 minutes of action. In fact, not a single starter even surpassed 28 minutes of play.

Look, it's possible the Bulls come out and play considerably better, especially after a nice outing against the Knicks. But this experienced and talented Boston team has even more of an incentive to pummel the Bulls this time out. Especially if the team ends up down Jalen Smith, Bulls fans may want to brace for impact.

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