Eastern Conference Semifinals Game Four, Bulls-Heat: Running on Empty, Not a Station For Miles

Chicago Bulls 65, Miami Heat 88--Heat lead series 3-1

On the heels of another dramatic contest ultimately ending in a loss--albeit much closer than the disaster that was Game Two--the Bulls limped into Game Four needing a win; otherwise, Game Five would likely be nothing more than a prolonged death knell for this 2012-13 season. 

Unfortunately for the Bulls, Miami jumped out to an early 13-4 lead, as the Bulls started off ice cold, going 2-for-13 from the field. Luol Deng was deemed "active" for the game, the latest stretch of what it means for one to be "active." If Deng could be described as "active," in spite of all the news of his post-spinal tap complications, then those of us who are otherwise healthy are superheroes, according to the relativistic continuum of NBA player health designations. 

And yet, despite a first quarter in which the Bulls shot 27% and the Heat shot 59%, they somehow managed to enter the second frame down just 21-15. As we have come to know very well this season, the Bulls have turned the execution of the "awful quarter that ends with being down by only that much" into an art form, insofar as such a thing can be considered art. 

Marco Belinelli was called for his third foul early in the second, meaning that Rip Hamilton would enter the game for the first time since his three-minute showing in Game Six against Brooklyn. Whether he was in the "dog house" or not, it has gotten to the point that Hamilton entering the game is just one more sign of the dire times for the Bulls, personnel-wise. 

Following a nice extra pass from Nate Robinson on the wing, Hamilton hit an open trey from up top, and on the following possession, Taj Gibson went up strong at the basket, completing a traditional three-point play. In short order, the Bulls had cut the lead, which had ballooned to 13, to seven, and the United Center crowd exhibited its first sign of life. 

This ephemeral momentum was quickly snuffed out, as LeBron returned from a brief trip to the bench to send home a theatrical thunderdunk after a Bulls turnover. 

Luckily, the Heat were not particularly careful with the ball, committing eight turnovers with several minutes still remaining in the first half. On the other hand, the Bulls were not able to capitalize, and continued to remain down by 7-12 points. Excluding their 6-for-6 mark from the line, the Bulls had produced just 21 points through 21 minutes of play. A point a minute is good if you're Fielding Yost, but isn't necessarily a sustainable basketball strategy (unless you happen to play in the Big Ten). 

It was not a well-played half for either team, but a poorly played half for the Bulls is a far different concept than the same from the Heat. As such, the Bulls took an 11-point deficit into the second half. Chicago shot just 27%, scoring at a clip of just 0.79 points per possession. 

Eastern Conference Semifinals Game One, Bulls-Heat: Welcome to Miami

Obligatory 

Chicago Bulls 93, Miami Heat 86--Bulls leads series 1-0 (!)

After improbably pulling off a Game Seven victory in Brooklyn Saturday night, the Bulls enter the Eastern Conference Semifinal round playing with house money. With Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng both out again, in addition to Derrick Rose's continued absence, expectations are not exactly what they were the last time these two teams squared off in the playoffs. 

Nonetheless, the Bulls have played the Heat close, even without Derrick Rose, having split four regular season meetings this season. Of course, the playoffs are a different animal, especially with the Heat being well-rested after easily dispatching the Milwaukee Bucks in four, and the Bulls grinding their way through seven trying games against Brooklyn. With this in mind, an enveloping fog of unease pervaded upon the lead-up to Game One, and rightfully so; there are no moral victories in sports, but if the Bulls managed to keep the first game of this series close, then maybe the vague notion of a competitive series could become a reality. 

The Bulls gained possession on the opening tip, but neither squad was able to get on the scoreboard in their respective opening trips on the offensive end, starting a combined 0-for-5 from the field. A nice move to the rim from Noah put the Bulls on the board first, however, at the 10:15 mark. Jimmy Butler extended the lead to 4-0 from the line after drawing a blocking call just outside of the restricted area. 

Neither team was exceptionally sharp in the opening minutes, but given each team's opening round, this was perhaps not unexpected. The Heat continued to misfire from the field, starting the game 0-for-7 from the field as the Bulls built an early 8-2 lead. 

Despite the auspicious start, Nate Robinson began this one 0-for-4 from the field with some questionable feeds to Chicago's big men; this would have to change if the Bulls were going to make this any sort of game. On the bright side, it was a quiet, low usage quarter for Lebron James, who was 1-for-2 from the field for two points well into the first frame. James seemed content to facilitate in the early stages, but Jimmy Butler was also doing his part in forcing that decision-making. 

Norris Cole countered a quintessentially Nate spin move into a banked jumper with a buzzer-beating floater of his own, and the Bulls took a 21-15 lead into the second quarter. 

Game No. 70 Recap, Bulls-Heat: Rasputin Strikes Back

Bulls 101, Heat 97

The Bulls came out firing, jumping out to an 11-2 start in the game's opening minutes, causing an Erik Spoelstra timeout at just the 9:02 mark of the opening quarter. Obviously, the rest of the game would not continue this way, but it was encouraging to see the Bulls come out strong, hitting some shots and getting to loose balls. 

Carlos Boozer was in on the early hot start, helping to extend the lead to 13-2 with an offensive rebound and a solid conversion from about 10-12 feet. Unfortunately, a quick pair of LeBron threes cut the lead down to 13-9. 

However, with some more hard work on the offensive glass, Boozer forced Udonis Haslem into his third foul of the game, just 5:15 into the contest. 

The Bulls were putting on a beautiful display of spacing and ball movement early on in the game, supplemented by some opportunistic defense at the other end. Chicago was shooting very well early and cleaning up some of its misses; although the glass half empty thought would be "this won't continue," again, at least it happened at all.

Deng nailed another trey near the 4:00 minute mark, and the game was starting to remind me of the Bulls' two trips to Madison Square Garden this season. 

Thanks to a pair of absurd Nate Robinson floaters near the end of the quarter, the Bulls entered the second up 32-22 despite 13 first quarter points for LeBron. Then again, the Heat aren't necessarily new to being down early in games as of late, so the Bulls could not afford to ease off even a tiny bit.

Fortunately, they didn't in the second, keeping their double digit lead for most of the quarter. Nate did his decidely Nate thing, and various other Bulls pitched in on the offensive end. Boozer had some trouble finishing around the basket in the first half on a couple of different occasions, but he otherwise had himself a nice half, going 5/10 from the field for 10 points. 

The Bulls outworked and outplayed the Heat in the first half, dishing out 15 assists to Miami's five. A staunch defensive effort on a Chris Bosh shot attempt in the closing seconds of the half sent the two teams into the break, the Bulls up 55-46. Something something end the streak something something. 

In the third, the Heat drew closer, this time down just five, 57-52, less than three minutes in. It felt very close to gut check time for the Bulls, who could have begun to fold once Miami threatened to tie it up.

Nazr Mohammed should come in for praise here, as he hit the Bull's first jumper of the half in addition to picking up an offensive board and a defensive one that drew Haslem's fourth foul. No, starting a 35-year-old Nazr Mohammed will never be ideal, but he has been sneakily effective at times. Like Kurt Thomas of the Knicks, sometimes that old man game is better than you think. 

Despite a highlight reel alley oop from Deng to Butler, dunking over a hapless Bosh, the Bulls went into the final frame up just 69-68.  On the bright side, after 13 points in the first quarter, the Bulls held LeBron to just 11 in the second and third combined. Progress! Also, despite a 1/10 start from the field in the third, it is nice that the Bulls were not only still in the game but up one, no less.

The Bulls would need to continue being physical in the paint and not allowing Miami any easy buckets, whether in transition or the half court. Regardless, entering the fourth in the upper 60s is a win for the Bulls, who simply cannot keep up given the state of the active lineup. 

A 6-0 run by the Bulls, capped by Birdman derping an open dunk and Butler finishing over him at the other end, gave Chicago some breathing room. Still, it was difficult not to hope for the lead to grow a decent bit before the final four of five minutes, as we've seen the Bulls collapse down the stretch due to a lack of playmakers vis-a-vis the opponent.

An aggressive take by Hinrich in transition gave the Bulls a 80-73 lead with six minutes or so to go, a make sandwiched by two Deng treys. It was a somewhat lethargic third quarter, but the Bulls' outside shooting was coming to life at the right time. Now, it was all about getting stops.

LeBron baited Hinrich into driving past him on three consecutive (I believe) possessions, leading to three straight blocks and a lot of consternation. STOP DRIVING KIRK AHHHH. Well, with just over two minutes to go, Kirk drove, found on the wrap around pass at the baseline, who then swished it to give Chicago a 94-85 lead with 2:18 to go.  

A pair of Miami buckets cut the lead to just five with over a minute to go, which might as well not have been a lead at all with LeBron looking to go into heroball mode after the flagrant foul situation with Boozer several minutes earlier.

Big buckets from Boozer and Robinson essentially sealed up the win for the Bulls, sending the Heat into foul mode. 

The Heat entered the United Center and lost tonight for the first time since Feb. 1. It seemed unlikely after the Heat tied it up in the third, but the Bulls continued to fight and scratch and do all the things people scoff at because of irony and Internet sarcasm. 

The Bulls have notched some solid wins against some solid teams this season, but this one, without the service of Noah, Belinelli, Rose and Hamilton, easily comes in as the best victory of the year. Obviously, a Bulls team with all those guys is a completely different squad, and it's difficult to extrapolate based on this game how they'd do at full strength, but...either way, it's hard not to get excited after wins like this.

An excellent performance from Deng, Butler, and, yes, Boozer, powered the Bulls to victory while short-handed against a team on an insanely prolific streak. Who knows how the rest of the season will unfold, but tonight was one of a select few regular season games that will be remembered for years to come.

Game No. 31 Preview, Bulls-Heat: Welcome to Miami

With Michigan's football season having recently ended, it's pretty much going to be all basketball around here (Michigan and Bulls) unless something important and football-related occurs. On that note, there will probably be some "final word" type pieces to officially close the voluminous and complicated legacies of Michigan's senior class...yes, Denard. Obviously.

Chicago Bulls (17-13) @ Miami Heat (22-8)

The Opponent 
Anywho, it's been a few games but here I am again. Since I last talked about the Bulls/wrote a preview piece for the Indiana game that was then cancelled, the Bulls picked up an ugly win against Washington, an ugly loss against Charlotte and what should've been a much more convincing looking win on the box score against Orlando.

The Bulls head to Miami tonight to take on the 22-8 Miami Heat, currently a game ahead of New York and first in the Eastern Conference. This is the first meeting between the two teams this season; during last year's shortened campaign, the Bulls went 2-2 against the Heat.

The Heat come in with a two game winning streak,both, strangely, overtime victories against Orlando and Dallas. So, maybe they'll be all tired out come tipoff tonight? Let's hope so.

In any case, despite the season that Carmelo Anthony is having and Kevin Durant being Kevin Durant, LeBron James still leads the league with a hilarious PER of 30.23. Speaking of LeBron, I read this post on The Basketball Jones and thought it to be mostly true:

It would appear that a little more than nine seasons into his microscopically analyzed professional career, LeBron James has reached a place few great professional athletes, especially in the NBA, ever dream of reaching: Being boring. Kobe Bryant has managed to play twice as long without EVER being boring for an entire month. Even in the few drama-free moments of his pro hoops tenure, the lack of news was newsworthy enough that people never went in ignorance of it. But without a title to chase, a troublesome teammate or coach to battle, or a facet of his game particularly thriving or lacking, there’s just no drama left in LeBron. He’s so boring now that he can’t stop listening to Wiz Khalifa.

 Pretty much. Perhaps I don't have my finger on the pulse of the NBA zeitgeist, but it would seem that, after winning that championship, the concept of LeBron James has been relieved of any sort of controversy. Now, he's just a guy averaging 26.5 ppg, 8.6 rpg and 7.1 apg. Indeed, LeBron is just quietly going about his business practically unnoticed, eviscerating defenses and probably dunking on your face.

Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are doing their things as well, averaging 20.6 and 18.0 ppg, respectively. Offseason addition Ray Allen provides the Heat with a fourth double digit averaging scorer (11.6 ppg) while continuing his ways as a frustratingly automatic 3-point shooter (46%).

The rest of the team also reads as a list of "dudes you already know." Shane Battier is still around filling the Bruce Bowen role (i.e. defense and threes); Battier is shooting a nice 42% from three. Even Rashard Lewis, who was sort of just an overpaid albatross in Orlando in the two years after their run to the NBA Finals, is hitting 47% from three, albeit in fewer minutes than anything he's averaged since right around Y2K. Udonis Haslem is not a high usage guy at all but does what he needs to do for an undersized Miami frontcourt.

Point guards Norris Cole and Mario Chalmers are spark plug sorts that can do some damage on nights when Wade or Bosh aren't on. I should stop talking personnel...this is Miami. You know who they are.

Points of Concern 
Uh, need it be said? The Bulls had trouble with the Heat in the 2011 playoffs because they only had one star (Rose) to Miami's triumvirate. Well, Derrick Rose isn't walking through that door (but hey, Rip Hamilton is).

Playing on the road isn't so much a concern to me because of: a) Miami's moribund at best home crowd and b) the Bulls handled the Knicks at MSG not too long ago. What does worry me is the fact that the Heat can push the tempo with LeBron and Chalmers, and I don't think the Bulls have the athleticism to keep up. As the minutes continue to pile up for guys like Joakim Noah and Luol Deng, you can hear those hinges getting creakier and creakier.

Three-point D is also a worry, as LeBron, Battier, Lewis and Allen all shoot it very well. The Bulls are 6th in the league in 3-point percentage defense, if that is a statistic that means something to you.

Miscellaneous Stats 
This is replacing the "What Needs To Happen" heading because I found that it often just reiterated what was said in the previous section. Anyway:

• Points. The Heat are fourth in the league in points per game, averaging 103.6 per contest. 

• Rebounding. If the Bulls can close the massive talent gap somehow, it's by winning the battle on the board a la Game 1 of the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals against Miami. Given the Heat's lack of traditional frontcourt options, they're second to last in the league in rebounding. They're rebounding just 21.3% of their misses their season (to Chicago's 28.8%). The Bulls are no longer the truly elite rebounding lords that they once were, but they are still good enough to be a serious asset. 

• Deng v. James. Here's the NBA.com player comparison from the 2011-12 season for Luol and LeBron (click to enlarge): 

Useless Prediction Time 
Even in victory, the Bulls have looked a little shaky of late. Unfortunately, it seems that the win in New York didn't really give them that much momentum at all, but maybe I'm being a little too demanding.

This feels odd to even think about writing, but Carlos Boozer will need to bring a performance similar to the season-high 31-point game he had against Orlando on Wednesday if the Bulls have any hope of keeping up. Last year's numbers are naturally not encouraging, as the Heat blocked more shots (obviously) and were +13.3 per 48 minutes as opposed to just +5.9 in last year's four matchups.

I don't know that there's really a matchup on the floor that the Bulls win outright. I like Noah on Bosh, but it's sort of hard to compare the two because their games are so different. This is where the Bulls' bench would have made up the difference in the past, but, alas.

Anyway, LeBron is just too good and the Heat have too much firepower for a Bulls team that seems to be on the verge of being compressed into little disk-like things by the intense gravity of Thibodeau's minute meting SOP. 

Bulls 89, Heat 98.

Shameless Self-Promotion Time

This week in shameless self-promotion:

• I talk about Craig Roh some. He is awesome, but can he consume enough Cottage Inn pizzas between now and September in order to be an effective SDE? Once we get closer to football, the whole "I can't believe that guy is actually a senior" sentiment is going to start hitting me pretty hard re: Roh. 
• I write a mostly aimless piece about Ohio State, detailing: why it's just about time to move on from last year's win, a brief rundown of both sides of the ball for the Buckeyes, and why Urban Meyer=Napoleon Bonaparte. Basically, that post is what happens when you try to form coherent thoughts after midnight. 

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Elsewhere: 

• The Euro Cup proxy eurozone clash between Germany and Greece goes just about as expected. 

• Mark Cuban says things to Skip Bayless that we all wish that we had the opportunity to say. Seriously (HT: BWS). 

• A general note regarding last night's Game 5: as a Bulls fan, I really have no reason to say anything even remotely positive about the Miami Heat. However, if you're still hating on LeBron for leaving Cleveland, The Decision, or any other probably misguided reason (HE'S NOT CLUTCH PAWWWLLLLL), then you have effectively outed yourself as part of the avid and detestable First Take-watching demographic. Good job, you are terrible! Now that LBJ finally got his ring, can we all agree to stop saying stupid things about LeBron James, Internet? As unfortunate as "The Decision" was, LBJ has always struck me as a hard-working and humble guy who simply wants to win and be liked. As terrible as the ending of this Bulls season was, I find myself feeling genuinely happy for LeBron. You can also throw Chris Bosh in the mix here, as I've never really understood why he gets so much flak, facetiously or otherwise. 

• And now we enter the terrifying part of the offseason that is "there is nothing but baseball on." Hang in there, everyone...football will be back before you know it.