In the first playoff game, the Bulls looked resigned to the fact that they are over-matched in this series. They weren't terrible, but not exactly inspired either.
However, they were ready to steal the second game if the Cavs left them an opening. Very low turnovers, decent shooting, working hard on defense and for rebounds -- an all around solid effort by the Bulls. Unfortunately, the Cavs were just red-hot that night, particularly James. If Cleveland shoots as well as they did in game two for the rest of the playoffs, then the championship is clearly theirs -- no one is going to stop them.
LeBron already has the MVP trophy waiting for him, and a performance like in game two will make the voting unanimous. He doesn't shoot like that all the time though, so we'll see how far Cleveland gets if he cools off.
Most likely, the Bulls have 2-4 games left in their season. If they play them as well as their last game, then they can exit with a positive atmosphere, regardless of the outcome.
BTW, on the subject of Noah's big mouth, getting both Boston and Cleveland fans angry at him, well, that's just how he is. He's playing well on the court, so I'm not going to thump him about it. And how can you make an argument against someone who says that Cleveland isn't a good vacation destination? As a side note, I think Garnett's suspension is a bit harsh. He's just an emotional guy and those elbow jabs didn't look all that dangerous to me.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Battling Bulls
Just had to steal that title from the Sun Times front page story about the scuffle between Del Negro and Paxson. But before I get into that, let's check in on the Bulls playoff battle. As I wrote last time, Bosh's injury left the playoff door wide open for the Bulls to limp through, and limp they are. After beating their wretched-looking competition, the Raptors, and getting playoff destiny in their own hands, they then tried their utmost to toss it away with a woeful double-overtime loss to the lowly Nets. That loss meant that the Bulls lost a season series (2-1) against one of the worst teams in basketball history. Fortunately, Toronto also lost, so the Bulls were still a half game ahead.
With Toronto owning the head-to-head tiebreaker and having two easy games left on their schedule, that meant that the Bulls would basically have to win their last two games to get into the playoffs. First up for them was Boston at home and the Bulls backcourt suddenly exploded offensively. Rose had 39 and Heinrich had 30, both season highs! No other Bulls scored in double figures, but they didn't need to! The Bulls stepped up big time amidst a mega-distraction and now only need to beat Charlotte tonight to make the 8th spot.
OK, now for the good stuff. Yahoo (stealing from the Sun Times reporter) said that Paxson tried to pick a fight with Del Negro after the Phoenix game over Vinny's extending Noah's minutes beyond his orders. Another source said that Del Negro wasn't so passive as the Yahoo story suggested and that the two had almost comes to blows before. My take on this is that we need to let these two duke it out! Charles Barkley picked Vinny over Paxson (although he first stated that neither one could fight) and I'm not going to argue with Charles. Maybe it is just wishful thinking because I'd love to see someone punch Paxson in the face.
Seriously though, if this is enough to tear Reinsdorf away from watching baseball games long enough to make a front office change, I'd say it is a blessing in disguise. Both Paxson and Forman need to go! How many years of ineptitude can the Bulls fans stand? (We're not talking about Cubs fans here.) As for Vinny, he's had two years and done about as well as one would expect given the team's talent. Obviously if they lose tonight, or even if they win and Reinsdorf once again sides with Pax, Vinny is going to get fired as soon as the season ends. While he isn't the greatest coach in the world, he almost certainly doesn't deserve that.
Interestingly, the word is that Vinny tried to get permission from Paxson (and remember that this is post scuffle) to extend Noah's minutes during that awful Nets overtime game. Paxson gave the OK, but Vinny didn't get the message until it was too late. That certainly must have angered both of them.
First up is Charlotte away though. A lot may hinge on whether Larry Brown wants to rest his guys before the playoffs or not. The Bobcats have somewhat surprisingly locked up the 7th spot and cannot move up, only because they would lose a tie-breaker with the Bucks, who are a game in front. There's no doubt the networks would much prefer the Bulls over a Bosh-less Toronto. Let the conspiracies begin!
With Toronto owning the head-to-head tiebreaker and having two easy games left on their schedule, that meant that the Bulls would basically have to win their last two games to get into the playoffs. First up for them was Boston at home and the Bulls backcourt suddenly exploded offensively. Rose had 39 and Heinrich had 30, both season highs! No other Bulls scored in double figures, but they didn't need to! The Bulls stepped up big time amidst a mega-distraction and now only need to beat Charlotte tonight to make the 8th spot.
OK, now for the good stuff. Yahoo (stealing from the Sun Times reporter) said that Paxson tried to pick a fight with Del Negro after the Phoenix game over Vinny's extending Noah's minutes beyond his orders. Another source said that Del Negro wasn't so passive as the Yahoo story suggested and that the two had almost comes to blows before. My take on this is that we need to let these two duke it out! Charles Barkley picked Vinny over Paxson (although he first stated that neither one could fight) and I'm not going to argue with Charles. Maybe it is just wishful thinking because I'd love to see someone punch Paxson in the face.
Seriously though, if this is enough to tear Reinsdorf away from watching baseball games long enough to make a front office change, I'd say it is a blessing in disguise. Both Paxson and Forman need to go! How many years of ineptitude can the Bulls fans stand? (We're not talking about Cubs fans here.) As for Vinny, he's had two years and done about as well as one would expect given the team's talent. Obviously if they lose tonight, or even if they win and Reinsdorf once again sides with Pax, Vinny is going to get fired as soon as the season ends. While he isn't the greatest coach in the world, he almost certainly doesn't deserve that.
Interestingly, the word is that Vinny tried to get permission from Paxson (and remember that this is post scuffle) to extend Noah's minutes during that awful Nets overtime game. Paxson gave the OK, but Vinny didn't get the message until it was too late. That certainly must have angered both of them.
First up is Charlotte away though. A lot may hinge on whether Larry Brown wants to rest his guys before the playoffs or not. The Bobcats have somewhat surprisingly locked up the 7th spot and cannot move up, only because they would lose a tie-breaker with the Bucks, who are a game in front. There's no doubt the networks would much prefer the Bulls over a Bosh-less Toronto. Let the conspiracies begin!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
The Playoff Push
When a team is borderline playoffs, do you hope they miss out and get into the draft lottery, or do you cheer for the inevitable first round exit? I used to favor the lottery, but in the Bulls' case you clearly have to hope for the playoffs. First, because the Bulls generally haven't drafted well, and second because the playoff experience is important to developing a winning team.
And, on a night when John Salmons rubbed 26 points in the noses of Bulls management for trading him to the Bucks, clinching a playoff spot for them, and ex-Bulls coach Scott Skiles, the Bulls got a huge break in their playoff hunt. Toronto, who is currently a game ahead of the Bulls for the last playoff spot, lost Chris Bosh to a broken facial bone. It is unclear how long he'll be out but there are only five games left for them. What makes this scenario even more interesting is that Bosh is one of the main targets for the Bulls in next summer's free agent signings, so it's a double competition between the Bulls and the Raptors.
The fact that the Bulls lost an important game at home to a Milwaukee team who was missing Andrew Bogut to injury proves that they clearly don't actually deserve to make the playoffs. They are a leaderless team. Their best player, Rose, is notoriously reticent. Their highest paid player, Deng, is continually slammed for his lack of leadership ability, most stingingly by former Duke alumni and ex-Bull Jay Williams: "I've never really seen Lu lead. I didn't see him lead when he was in college, and I haven't really seen him lead as a pro. I always see him kind of fitting in, following the flow." Yep, that's Luol in a nutshell, sleepily "following the flow" and getting out of the way of any stiff competition. And when was the last time you saw a team waive one of their captains, as the Bulls did this year to Lindsey Hunter?
Their only hope is to import skilled leadership through free agency while continuing to develop their young core talents: Rose, Noah, and Gibson, and that means a playoff stint, even with the inevitable defeat. On the one hand it looks like the Bulls have gone backwards this year, since they easily made the playoffs last year and gave Boston a great fight. However, they are better poised financially to pick up free agents, Rose and Noah have another year under their belts, and we have Taj instead of Tyrus. So, I think they could wind up in a potentially better position, provided they finish strong and avoid the bitter disappointment of missing the playoffs when the door is wide open for them to crawl in.
And, on a night when John Salmons rubbed 26 points in the noses of Bulls management for trading him to the Bucks, clinching a playoff spot for them, and ex-Bulls coach Scott Skiles, the Bulls got a huge break in their playoff hunt. Toronto, who is currently a game ahead of the Bulls for the last playoff spot, lost Chris Bosh to a broken facial bone. It is unclear how long he'll be out but there are only five games left for them. What makes this scenario even more interesting is that Bosh is one of the main targets for the Bulls in next summer's free agent signings, so it's a double competition between the Bulls and the Raptors.
The fact that the Bulls lost an important game at home to a Milwaukee team who was missing Andrew Bogut to injury proves that they clearly don't actually deserve to make the playoffs. They are a leaderless team. Their best player, Rose, is notoriously reticent. Their highest paid player, Deng, is continually slammed for his lack of leadership ability, most stingingly by former Duke alumni and ex-Bull Jay Williams: "I've never really seen Lu lead. I didn't see him lead when he was in college, and I haven't really seen him lead as a pro. I always see him kind of fitting in, following the flow." Yep, that's Luol in a nutshell, sleepily "following the flow" and getting out of the way of any stiff competition. And when was the last time you saw a team waive one of their captains, as the Bulls did this year to Lindsey Hunter?
Their only hope is to import skilled leadership through free agency while continuing to develop their young core talents: Rose, Noah, and Gibson, and that means a playoff stint, even with the inevitable defeat. On the one hand it looks like the Bulls have gone backwards this year, since they easily made the playoffs last year and gave Boston a great fight. However, they are better poised financially to pick up free agents, Rose and Noah have another year under their belts, and we have Taj instead of Tyrus. So, I think they could wind up in a potentially better position, provided they finish strong and avoid the bitter disappointment of missing the playoffs when the door is wide open for them to crawl in.
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