2011 ECF: (1) Bulls vs. (2) Heat

[George7]

Eight teams have been able to overcome a 3-1 deficit and win the series.

Time for the 9th team then!

[Stress Fracture]

That LeBron shot was just of pure luck.

Let's go Bulls!

[Sauru]

bulls had a chance but rose blew it, several times actually. they will not come back to win this thing which sucks cause i really wanted to see a mavs/bulls finals

[Jeffx]

Easier said than done with LeBron covering him, though.

The Heat did to the Bulls what the Bulls did to the Lakers in '91(by putting Pippen on Magic). Rose vs. Lebron won't work, Thibodeau. You gotta get some ball movement going.

[NovU]

Was awesome to see Mike Miller finally making an impact. He outplayed entire Bulls bench, making difference on both end.

And surprised how well Bosh played in this series. He was Noah and Boozer's bitch during the regular season.

[George7]

Well the bulls are not a worse team(and less of a fighter) from Miami and that's why some optimism remains in me. I'm pretty confident for a win in game 5 and at least a really hard fight in game 6 playing all for all. If a loss comes, then it will be an elimination with pride and no one says bulls got eliminated hands down. But if a win comes, then it will mean Bulls back in the game and with the game 7 on the madhouse, Bulls are going to have the upper hand.

But the most important game is going to be game 6 provided Chicago don't lose another one because of a breakdown in the last quarter.

Thibbs should use all the available options in the next game. Use Butler for once and utilize the experience big sexy has in order to win the battle in the paint. Miami has to be at least a little surprised if not caught off guard in the next game in order to win.

Defensively ,James is pretty much unstoppable as of late even with Lu on him,but if Noah, Gibson and thomas manage to do the obvious and play hard on Bosh and Bogans keeps doing a great job on Wade, Chicago can get the edge there too.

Simpler said than done, but the keys of the game are pretty much those things.

[rise]

Was awesome to see Mike Miller finally making an impact. He outplayed entire Bulls bench, making difference on both end.

And surprised how well Bosh played in this series. He was Noah and Boozer's bitch during the regular season.

He was everybody's bitch during the regular season. It's great to see him and Mike Miller play well in these playoffs.

There were some crazy plays yesterday.

[Lean]

Seems that the Bulls are done. Not that I'm counting them out but their defense in Game 1 won them that game.

[Sauru]

i need to disagree george, the bulls are infact a worse team. who cares if they had a better regular season record i think the nba proves on a yearly basis what thats really worth

[Jeffx]

i need to disagree george, the bulls are infact a worse team. who cares if they had a better regular season record i think the nba proves on a yearly basis what thats really worth

I think Miami would have had a better regular season record if Haslem and Miller were healthy the entire seson.

[benji]

They definitely would have had a better record if Spoelstra hadn't dicked around with Arroyo, Ilgauskas, Juwan Howard and co. all year long. (And then Bibby once they got him.)

He finally figured it out in this series and the last two games only eight players have played, yet nobody but LeBron has logged more than 43 minutes in them, and they started going with that Anthony-Haslem/Bosh/Miller-Jones/Wade/James lineup. (Something any moron could have and did tell him on random internet message boards months ago was his best lineup.) It's the first time all season that the Heat aren't changing their starting lineup every other game, everyone on the team is getting on the court and Juwan Howard is randomly getting 19 minutes. (Like game five against the Celtics.)

Now if he'd give James Jones half of Bibby's minutes and Eddie House the other half. And if he needs to play a veteran center bring in Dampier instead of, blech, Magloire.

Riley must have told him that if you stop playing everyone but your best players and you have two of the five best players in the league and another top 25 player along with a few at least above average role playing guys you might win some games. Must have given him some game tapes of the Lakers back-to-back titles to watch.

[NovU]

instead of, blech, Magloire.

Is it him being Canadian?

The Bulls were so dominant against the Heat during the regular season yet it has been a different story in the playoffs. Loving it! As for the Bulls fans claiming the Heat aren't really a better team, I sorta agree with them. The games Heat won could have gone either way especially last 2 games. With Rose struggling, they need to adjust on offense to find better shots. As everyone says, the playoffs are all about adjusting and the Heat has been doing a better job in that field. I am thinking the Heat made a good adjustment as the game 1 was a wake up call for them, while the Bulls stuck to the same game plan all the same.

I ask the same question Air Gordie threw before. What do Bulls fans think that needs to be done in order to take this series to game 7?

[benji]

They have to get up early so they can hold serve against the eventual Heat onslaught with their bench defense as long as possible.

If they can get up and get a cushion then they can use their defense to delay the Heat as long as possible. If the game is close throughout then they can't afford to go to their best defensive unit because it can't score as well. If they're up that also means more time that all of the Three are on the court at the same time. If it's close, and especially if they're up, the Heat can get away with giving each guy rest and playing with just two of them. While the Bulls best players have to stay out there and burn out like they did tonight allowing the Heat to whittle away at them until the next run.

It's part of why Gibson didn't get his usual stints on Tuesday because they were afraid to go without Boozer's scoring for too long. Boozer would take a seat, the Heat would go on a 6-0 run or 9-0 run in like a minute and Boozer was back in. Also part of the reason they stuck with Brewer down the stretch.

They need Asik too.

[George7]

I said my opinion as well some posts before about how the Bulls could do.

But the basic thing is to change their game,catch Miami off guard in the beginning,and as benji said,build an early lead. With the cushion ,the home crowd and the motivation Chicago can overcome the huge lack of experience(which was the main difference maker in the series,I don't think that anyone can disagree with that. The breakdowns at crucial moments when they're suffocated by the opposite D are 'cause of the inexperienced squad mainly.Why Lebron,Wade-or even Bosh besides not being that experienced as the other 2- didn't lose their composure in the OT?because they played many times in situations like that) and give them the win.

The killer instinct Miami stars have in crunch time won't going to come to the Bulls player this year. The team needs to achieve it through playing situations like this. Why Bulls lost the series against Boston? Right,big 3 know what to do in Game 7 in order to win it despite the amazing performance by the Bulls in the previous games. Thibbs can pass that instinct to the players,as he knows well about these situations. But it needs more time.Maybe next year. But in this series Bulls need to find the solution in the versatility factor as I said before.

I'm hoping they could do it in the next two games.

P.S. Despite losing 1-3 my opinion about the series is that we have seen great matches. Two teams fighting for the victory in the most of the game, a crashing victory by the Bulls on Game 1,a game which went in OT and many great stuff. And still,no Heat victory was as dominating as the Bulls' in game 1. I rely on that to see a better face from Chicago...

[NovU]

That's some fun stuff there, benji. Should be a dillema between defense and offense. Now without Asik in Game 5, I am guessing there will be more offense for the Bulls.

P.S. Despite losing 1-3 my opinion about the series is that we have seen great matches. Two teams fighting for the victory in the most of the game, a crashing victory by the Bulls on Game 1,a game which went in OT and many great stuff. And still,no Heat victory was as dominating as the Bulls' in game 1. I rely on that to see a better face from Chicago...

True that. Game 1 was quite one sided. The rest were pretty tight, a few possessions in each game might have changed outcome.

But most of experience stuff under situations which you pointed out, are overrated imo. The Heat trios are just better players that can create or get to the line under any situations. On the other hand, the Bulls are more of a complete team, relying on depth and having no bad players on every position. They need ball movement and everybody's contribution as opposed to Heat's trio heavily deciding the fate.

[Cartar]

They need Asik too.

Unfortunately impossible

[Martti.]

The Bulls are a better team, but the Heat has better players.

[atlwarrior]

Hopefully the Bulls can take one at home tonight. One game at a time. The only thing that's been just as scary as Dirk's offense is LeBron's defense. He's making it very difficult for D-Rose to get the shots he want.

[Jeffx]

ask the same question Air Gordie threw before. What do Bulls fans think that needs to be done in order to take this series to game 7?

I'm not a Bulls fan, but I can tell you, they need better ball movement. Like Kenny Smith said, it's easier to play defense when you have one guy dribbling and dribbling, trying to get open for a shot. You have to throw the defense off, move that ball around, get easy baskets.

[Stress Fracture]

They need Asik too.

Unfortunately impossible

Noah has been playing for 40+ minutes. It really hurts a lot. Can't Kurt Thomas relieve Joakim?

[Jeffx]

Now I'm reading that many Bulls fans want Dwight Howard. They shouldn't even entertain that thought. Unlike the NBA I watched growing up, today's league is centered around wing players - 2s & 3s who can take mfers off the dribble and create their own shot. That's what Chicago had with Jordan and Pippen(with Longley at center), and it's what they lack now. Folks clamoring for Howard aren't paying attention. Did they not watch Orlando's performance - they have the weaknesses the Bulls do.

[Andrew]

Bulls have committed some bad turnovers and once again missed a few easy ones in the paint but they've got the lead...for now. Still hoping they can at least send this one to Miami for a Game 6.

[Loupeitak]

What the hell is wrong with D-Wade? He's having a very bad game

[Axel The Great]

Huge three by Brewer. And Kurt Thomas pulling a Udonis Haslem.

EDIT: Looks like I have jinxing powers.

[Loupeitak]

Daaaamn 4 point play chance by wade!
EDIT: JESUS SHIT! James and Wade have gone CRAZY! And it's tied!
This is an AMAZING game! Miami up by 2 with less than a minute left! LeBron is completely mad right now. This looks just like the Mavs vs Thunder series! Incredible playoffs!
(I just keep editing this xD) Ouch... That missed FT by Rose is gonna cost them...