As all of my sports-minded friends know, the Bulls lost last Thursday and their season is done. For those that aren't sports-minded, sorry, another sports blog! Yes, it has been 4 days since the loss, but I have worked all weekend and just haven't gotten around to writing this blog yet.
Of course, there is disappointment that the Bulls couldn't get past the Pistons after taking 3 of 4 regular season games from them. That they blew their easy ticket into the Eastern Conference Finals by losing to the Nets on the last day of the regular season, hence setting up the meeting with the Pistons in the 2nd round and allowing Cleveland to be there for a 2nd time in a row. This is all stuff that doesn't put a smile on my face, for sure.
BUT, it is what it is. I last blogged about the Bulls when they were down 0-3. They finished the series with 2 wins. Two very convincing wins. Some may say that it was actually a dip in the Pistons' drive to win (as they are prone to do...see last year's Eastern Conference Finals). They wouldn't be completely wrong, but the Bulls had something to do with it too. Yes, Detroit's defense was not as strong, but the Bulls' offense finally came alive. In the first half of Game 4, they shot 72% and ended the game at 54%. That's not just Detroit getting lazy. Then in Detroit, for Game 5, they were pretty even until late in the 3rd quarter. Gordon and Heinrich again decided to show up and shoot the ball well. The Bulls' defense (which was 4th in the country for opponents field goal percentage) kicked some ass and held Detroit's guards down. Sheed got a few T's. Billups road the pine with some foul trouble. The Bulls had something to do with why the Pistons were not playing their best ball and getting two very necessary wins to preserve some pride in this series.
Right when you thought the Bulls had made it a series and might at least be in the elite number of teams to force a game 7 after being down 0-3 (as they were at home and should play better, right?), they were stymied by the Pistons and by themselves. Terrible shooting throughou the game (the 3-ball was pretty much non-existent even after taking around 30 of them in the game!) and panic at the end did them in. Yeah, the Pistons were on top of their game, but the Bulls kept it within reach the whole game...until panic set in and they couldn't seem to figure out what a decent look at the basket. In the last minute when it was decided, all of a sudden, "oh, I can hit a 3." Yeah, too late!
The Pistons know how to playoff ball...the Bulls don't. They showed their metal by beating the Heat in the first round, but they had been there before. They knew how it felt to be there and to be on the losing end. They hadn't been to Round 2 against a playoff ready team (previously, 4 straight trips to the Eastern Conference Finals). They learned a lot this year...some triumph and some defeat.
But no team in the NBA is as set up to vastly improve on this year as the Bulls for next season. Because of the Curry trade to the Knicks, they get a lottery pick in the draft (not likely to be in the top 3, but at least a chance and no other playoff team has that!). Hopefully a big man can come our way and help out with position and scoring down on the blocks. We have some great trade value...of course, Paxson needs to be smart about who he trades, as to not alter this team's chemistry too much. Inside presence is necessary. PJ Brown kicked some Piston ass in the first half of game 6 with 20 points (and mysteriously rode the pine in the 2nd), but he is Old with a capital O for the NBA. Wallace is great on the boards and D, but can't buy a bucket at the stripe and doesn't know how to create offense on the block. The Bulls need some presence down there to open up the shooting for Gordon and Heinrich on the perimeter.
I finally have some hope for my young Bulls and am back to watching the NBA. Many people knock the thug league, but if you have a team like the Bulls (could possibly say a thug-less team!), you would be watching too. Great ball, the way it should be played.
No comments:
Post a Comment