After coming off the best season since the late 90's it appeared that first round series versus the Indiana Pacers would be a breeze, but that team came to play and managed to give
this crew a run for their money. After the first round up hill BATTLE against the ironically name Pacers came the athletic Atlanta Hawks. I say athletic because the team that plays in the 'highlight house' sure hasn't given the fans anything other than periodic moments throughout the season to cheer for. Nonetheless, the Atlantic Hawks clearly showcased what the Bulls lack, a complete team. Derrick Rose has without a doubt been the heart, engine, and force to make this team go, but it's become more clear throughout the series that if he's not playing top notch basket
ball EVERYONE else has to be at their best. The Hawks brought in a double team around our patented "pick and Rose" technique hedging Rose up high forcing him to either pass the ball to a teammate or reset and attempt to make a highlight move. As the season progressed it was evident that this was the strategy to
slow down this Rosercoaster when he's got momentum towards the basket. Although they were able to slow him down they were unable to stop him allowing us to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Miami Heat have overtaken the Boston Celtics as my least favorite team in the NBA. I've always enjoyed watching Dwayne Wade (Chicago native), but I cannot stand LeBron James. Chris Bosh...eh not really a hater, but he looks like a velociraptor. As the playoffs went on and it became apparent that we were going to be taking on this newly built team I felt we were ready for them. The regular season record showed that we had beat them all three times we played them and when it came to late game situations we were able to persevere. Would that same type of performance come from this team in the playoffs or would the newly dubbed big three show that they are the new recking ball in the league.
Game one of the series was by far the best that the 2010-2011 Chicago Bulls have played as a team all season. Our defense was strong and we outplayed the Heat on all cylinders at the United Center. Even Carlos Boozer had a great game, which throughout the playoffs has been more lost then any type of respect the public had for Arnold Schwarzenegger. Game 2 & 3 the Heat responded strongly and made the united Bulls appear weak and flawed. Whether it was the half court defense getting broken down like an Oreo in Milk or their defense putting up a better stand then the Wall of China this Bulls team has looked severely over matched and it is heartbreaking to watch.
Currently, Game 4 is on and the game has gone into overtime in Miami. The Bulls are making careless passes, shooting too many three pointers, playing poor defense, and overall not making plays. Luol Deng has played phenomenal defense on LeBron James all game and D Rose has had a couple great dunks, but as we've seen in these playoffs the Bulls just aren't into these games like they have been. I do question a lot of the lineups Thibodeau has had in during crucial moments throughout the game. For instance, having Kyle Korver or Watson in the game during a time that calls for more defense than a second shooting option. While I'm sure he has his reasons for each situation this series has been unbearable to watch because of these 'Miami fans.'
For a team with two of the biggest names in basketball their fans are down right embarrassing. They show up to the games late because its 'South Beach casual' and I am more than willing to bet that more than half the people that fill that stadium couldn't tell you what place the Heat finished in the regular season or how long Udonis Haslem has been on the team. In my closing thoughts, I really need the Bulls to at least push this series to a game 7. They have it in them, but for some reason they just haven't put a full game together since game 1. Get it together guys and show what the city of Chicago is made of.
Quick Note: Somebody asked in regards to LeBron's great game, "What can't he get!?"
My response, "A college education."
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