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Tough spot, but hoping the Bulls channel the ghosts of the 1995 Rockets.
Official Chicago Bulls Offseason Thread
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by antbanks81,
- Start date
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I'm with him.
everysingletime
formerly amel223
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For us to win 3 games in a row we have to start knocking down shots.
The Heat is more offensively talented and play defense just as well as us.
If the Heat was any other Eastern conference team - the magic, the celtics, right now I think we would be going to the finals and we'd go on to win it.
I'm not scared of Dallas - I think great defense trumps great offense every time.
But yea - we just straight up have to start knocking down shots and be consistent a whole game. We keep getting scoring droughts that kill us.
I think that's what it's been coming down to. Both teams are playing hard, physical, tight d but the Heat go through scoring droughts less than the Bulls.
That and we choked and made some mistakes down the stretch that we have to clean up. I still don't know what Joakim was thinking when he was inbounding the ball and Rose came to the ball but he went away from Rose and threw it - nowhere?
Not pinnin it just on Noah, Rose came up with turnovers himself too and he missed two go ahead jumpers.
If we clean up those turnovers, hit some shots, who knows what we can do.
But this is the Heat's series to lose.
The Heat is more offensively talented and play defense just as well as us.
If the Heat was any other Eastern conference team - the magic, the celtics, right now I think we would be going to the finals and we'd go on to win it.
I'm not scared of Dallas - I think great defense trumps great offense every time.
But yea - we just straight up have to start knocking down shots and be consistent a whole game. We keep getting scoring droughts that kill us.
I think that's what it's been coming down to. Both teams are playing hard, physical, tight d but the Heat go through scoring droughts less than the Bulls.
That and we choked and made some mistakes down the stretch that we have to clean up. I still don't know what Joakim was thinking when he was inbounding the ball and Rose came to the ball but he went away from Rose and threw it - nowhere?
Not pinnin it just on Noah, Rose came up with turnovers himself too and he missed two go ahead jumpers.
If we clean up those turnovers, hit some shots, who knows what we can do.
But this is the Heat's series to lose.
arstyle27
Supporter
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I expect us to win today, and then the big game will be on Sunday........cliche' as all hell, but one game at a time.
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Game 6 is on saturday if bulls win which they will, that I am wishing for.
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Today is our one last hoo-rah....I expect us to win tonight
Here's to the hope we go on a three game win streak
Here's to the hope we go on a three game win streak
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The definition of insanity, as they say, is doing the same thing and expecting different results.
So for Chicago, losers of three straight against the Heat, it seems incumbent to try doing a few things differently as it faces elimination Thursday night.
I should start by pointing out that the Bulls aren't that far off the scent. They were one shot away from stealing Game 4 and regaining home-court advantage, and we should also remember that they blew away Miami in the long-forgotten Game 1. Heading into the overtime period in Game 4, this series was even in total points scored -- they can play with these guys.
And in the big picture, Chicago's season is going to go down as a rousing success regardless of what happens tonight. While everybody was fond of their talent, nobody expected this team to jell so quickly into such a suffocating defensive force. With all the key players in their 20s, the Bulls are going to be in the title-contending mix for the foreseeable future.
Nonetheless, falling in five games to Miami would be something of a disappointment -- Chicago had the best record in the league and beat the Heat in all three meetings in the regular season.
The Bulls will have to replicate that feat over the next three games in order to advance, and while two of those games are in the friendly confines of the United Center, they still have work to do.
Here are a few places they can start:
[h3]Get LeBron off of Derrick Rose[/h3]
The one thing that stood out about the end of Game 4 is that Derrick Rose can't score on LeBron James. The Bulls tried running Rose at James without the benefit of a screen and it failed miserably; in six tries with James guarding him, Rose shot 0-for-5 with a turnover and was unable to create space for an easy look.
In addition to the volumes this sequence spoke about 2010-11 MVP award voting, it had the more practical short-term consequence of annihilating the Bulls' offense. With Rose unable to either create or draw help, Chicago had no reliable way of scoring on the Heat in the half-court. In a related story, the game went off the rails for them right around the time LeBron picked up Rose.
For Chicago, obviously, this can't happen again. I understand why the Bulls didn't want to use a screener for Rose, because it was just allowing the Heat to blitz him with an extra defender and force the ball out of his hands. But that's not bad basketball for Chicago if its weak-side players can take advantage. Rose iso-ing against James, on the other hand, is horrible basketball from any perspective.
The takeaway is that the Bulls must use screens to either force a switch (getting James off of Rose) or force a trap to generate a 4-on-3 situation on the weak side.
Even in those 4-on-3 situations, Miami has escaped trouble for much of the series because the Bulls have been matching up big against them and using less talented offensive players, which takes us to my second point ...
[h3]Use small lineups[/h3]
I'm not saying to roll 48 minutes like this, but for 20-25 minutes I think it makes a lot of sense for Chicago; to date they've hardly done it at all.
With my favorite awkward, defensive-minded Turkish rookie, Omer Asik, out for the season with a leg fracture (and while we're at it, how, exactly, was he cleared to play Game 4?), Chicago faces two choices with its frontcourt rotation. The Bulls can muddle along with Kurt Thomas as the backup 5, or pick up the pace and put more scoring on the floor by playing Luol Deng at the 4 and making more use of Kyle Korver and C.J. Watson.
Given that Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau says he wants to play at a faster pace during virtually every interview, it's amazing he hasn't gone to this look more often -- Chicago stayed big for the entirety of Game 4.
This would have several potential benefits. First, it would make it easier to find a scoring mismatch. If LeBron is guarding Rose, that means somebody fairly unfit for the job is guarding Deng. The Heat are either giving up size (with Dwyane Wade) or quickness (with Mike Miller or Chris Bosh) against Deng in this arrangement. Additionally, it would make it harder for Miami to put a decent chaser on Korver as he's going through Chicago's myriad screens.
Using this arrangement would also likely create a Watson-Rose arrangement in the backcourt at times. That could help Chicago to mix things up -- running plays with Rose off the ball, for instance, or even a guard-to-guard pick-and-roll.
But Korver is the one who would see the biggest spike in playing time. Speaking of which ...
[h3]Stick with Korver[/h3]
I know it's painful for Bulls fans to watch Korver go through this shooting slump -- he's 2-of-9 on 3s in the three losses and 4-of-19 over the past seven games, and overall he's just 17-of-55 from the floor in the last two rounds -- but this is where the numbers guys can be helpful. All the evidence in the world says that these misses, unfortunate as they are, are essentially random events, and that Korver is just as likely to make his next 3-point try as he was in mid-March.
Given that he's a 41.5 percent marksman on the season and at 41.1 percent for his career, I like his chances. And this is the way for the Bulls to beat Miami: It's no accident that Chicago's only win came when they shot 10-of-21 on 3s. The Heat defended the 3-point shot well percentage-wise in the regular season, but gave up an above-average number of attempts. If Chicago can get the right players shooting these shots (that is, Korver, Watson and Keith Bogans), they can hurt Miami from distance.
This is also where playing small comes in. The Bulls have struggled to find good defensive matchups for Korver, and that (along with the cold shooting) is why he played only 11 minutes in Game 3 and 16 minutes in Game 4. But getting Korver minutes and shots is a lot easier in the small-ball arrangement because it keeps Deng on the floor to guard LeBron James and Ronnie Brewer to check Dwyane Wade.
Of course, they have one other option that we haven't seen too much of ...
[h3]Zone up[/h3]
Game 4 was unusual for the Bulls, because it was the first time that their defense was nearly as problematic as their offense. Miami shot 38 free throws, and after a 16-point first quarter, the Heat rallied to average better than a point per possession -- something rarely accomplished against Chicago's mighty D.
But with the Heat's closing unit, one wonders if the Bulls can utilize more zone -- another trick to hide Korver, yes, but also one that allows them to force James and Wade into the perimeter areas where they struggle.
Normally Chicago's stout man-to-man D requires no gimmicks, but this wrinkle could be very useful if the Heat play the same lineup in crunch time tonight. Miami closed with its "free-agent five" of James, Wade, Bosh, Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller. Of the five, only Miller (36.4 percent) shot even halfway decently on 3s this season and, in his case, thumb injuries have limited his effectiveness from the perimeter. This is an important contrast from some of Miami's other lineups, because the Heat were a good 3-point team overall -- they finished the season seventh in accuracy and 10th in frequency.
But most of that damage was done by James Jones, Mario Chalmers and Mike Bibby. With those three off the floor, opponents can sag into a zone and dare the Heat to make jumpers. Chances are, they won't.
We remember the plays where Miami defied the odds, as best exhibited by James' leaning, contested 17-footer that iced Game 4*. But over the course of a game, this is a winning play for Chicago. James was 5-of-17 on jumpers from beyond 15 feet in Game 4 and 8-of-24 in the other three games. Wade is 4-for-14 in the series.
(*He totally traveled.)
If Miami makes shots like the ones James made in overtime on Tuesday, the Bulls may have to just tip their hat and say, "Well done." But chances are those jumpers won't find their mark. If the Bulls can force those shots and make some of the adjustments I've noted above, they can extend their season for at least 48 hours
So for Chicago, losers of three straight against the Heat, it seems incumbent to try doing a few things differently as it faces elimination Thursday night.
I should start by pointing out that the Bulls aren't that far off the scent. They were one shot away from stealing Game 4 and regaining home-court advantage, and we should also remember that they blew away Miami in the long-forgotten Game 1. Heading into the overtime period in Game 4, this series was even in total points scored -- they can play with these guys.
And in the big picture, Chicago's season is going to go down as a rousing success regardless of what happens tonight. While everybody was fond of their talent, nobody expected this team to jell so quickly into such a suffocating defensive force. With all the key players in their 20s, the Bulls are going to be in the title-contending mix for the foreseeable future.
Nonetheless, falling in five games to Miami would be something of a disappointment -- Chicago had the best record in the league and beat the Heat in all three meetings in the regular season.
The Bulls will have to replicate that feat over the next three games in order to advance, and while two of those games are in the friendly confines of the United Center, they still have work to do.
Here are a few places they can start:
[h3]Get LeBron off of Derrick Rose[/h3]
The one thing that stood out about the end of Game 4 is that Derrick Rose can't score on LeBron James. The Bulls tried running Rose at James without the benefit of a screen and it failed miserably; in six tries with James guarding him, Rose shot 0-for-5 with a turnover and was unable to create space for an easy look.
In addition to the volumes this sequence spoke about 2010-11 MVP award voting, it had the more practical short-term consequence of annihilating the Bulls' offense. With Rose unable to either create or draw help, Chicago had no reliable way of scoring on the Heat in the half-court. In a related story, the game went off the rails for them right around the time LeBron picked up Rose.
For Chicago, obviously, this can't happen again. I understand why the Bulls didn't want to use a screener for Rose, because it was just allowing the Heat to blitz him with an extra defender and force the ball out of his hands. But that's not bad basketball for Chicago if its weak-side players can take advantage. Rose iso-ing against James, on the other hand, is horrible basketball from any perspective.
The takeaway is that the Bulls must use screens to either force a switch (getting James off of Rose) or force a trap to generate a 4-on-3 situation on the weak side.
Even in those 4-on-3 situations, Miami has escaped trouble for much of the series because the Bulls have been matching up big against them and using less talented offensive players, which takes us to my second point ...
[h3]Use small lineups[/h3]
I'm not saying to roll 48 minutes like this, but for 20-25 minutes I think it makes a lot of sense for Chicago; to date they've hardly done it at all.
With my favorite awkward, defensive-minded Turkish rookie, Omer Asik, out for the season with a leg fracture (and while we're at it, how, exactly, was he cleared to play Game 4?), Chicago faces two choices with its frontcourt rotation. The Bulls can muddle along with Kurt Thomas as the backup 5, or pick up the pace and put more scoring on the floor by playing Luol Deng at the 4 and making more use of Kyle Korver and C.J. Watson.
Given that Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau says he wants to play at a faster pace during virtually every interview, it's amazing he hasn't gone to this look more often -- Chicago stayed big for the entirety of Game 4.
This would have several potential benefits. First, it would make it easier to find a scoring mismatch. If LeBron is guarding Rose, that means somebody fairly unfit for the job is guarding Deng. The Heat are either giving up size (with Dwyane Wade) or quickness (with Mike Miller or Chris Bosh) against Deng in this arrangement. Additionally, it would make it harder for Miami to put a decent chaser on Korver as he's going through Chicago's myriad screens.
Using this arrangement would also likely create a Watson-Rose arrangement in the backcourt at times. That could help Chicago to mix things up -- running plays with Rose off the ball, for instance, or even a guard-to-guard pick-and-roll.
But Korver is the one who would see the biggest spike in playing time. Speaking of which ...
[h3]Stick with Korver[/h3]
I know it's painful for Bulls fans to watch Korver go through this shooting slump -- he's 2-of-9 on 3s in the three losses and 4-of-19 over the past seven games, and overall he's just 17-of-55 from the floor in the last two rounds -- but this is where the numbers guys can be helpful. All the evidence in the world says that these misses, unfortunate as they are, are essentially random events, and that Korver is just as likely to make his next 3-point try as he was in mid-March.
Given that he's a 41.5 percent marksman on the season and at 41.1 percent for his career, I like his chances. And this is the way for the Bulls to beat Miami: It's no accident that Chicago's only win came when they shot 10-of-21 on 3s. The Heat defended the 3-point shot well percentage-wise in the regular season, but gave up an above-average number of attempts. If Chicago can get the right players shooting these shots (that is, Korver, Watson and Keith Bogans), they can hurt Miami from distance.
This is also where playing small comes in. The Bulls have struggled to find good defensive matchups for Korver, and that (along with the cold shooting) is why he played only 11 minutes in Game 3 and 16 minutes in Game 4. But getting Korver minutes and shots is a lot easier in the small-ball arrangement because it keeps Deng on the floor to guard LeBron James and Ronnie Brewer to check Dwyane Wade.
Of course, they have one other option that we haven't seen too much of ...
[h3]Zone up[/h3]
Game 4 was unusual for the Bulls, because it was the first time that their defense was nearly as problematic as their offense. Miami shot 38 free throws, and after a 16-point first quarter, the Heat rallied to average better than a point per possession -- something rarely accomplished against Chicago's mighty D.
But with the Heat's closing unit, one wonders if the Bulls can utilize more zone -- another trick to hide Korver, yes, but also one that allows them to force James and Wade into the perimeter areas where they struggle.
Normally Chicago's stout man-to-man D requires no gimmicks, but this wrinkle could be very useful if the Heat play the same lineup in crunch time tonight. Miami closed with its "free-agent five" of James, Wade, Bosh, Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller. Of the five, only Miller (36.4 percent) shot even halfway decently on 3s this season and, in his case, thumb injuries have limited his effectiveness from the perimeter. This is an important contrast from some of Miami's other lineups, because the Heat were a good 3-point team overall -- they finished the season seventh in accuracy and 10th in frequency.
But most of that damage was done by James Jones, Mario Chalmers and Mike Bibby. With those three off the floor, opponents can sag into a zone and dare the Heat to make jumpers. Chances are, they won't.
We remember the plays where Miami defied the odds, as best exhibited by James' leaning, contested 17-footer that iced Game 4*. But over the course of a game, this is a winning play for Chicago. James was 5-of-17 on jumpers from beyond 15 feet in Game 4 and 8-of-24 in the other three games. Wade is 4-for-14 in the series.
(*He totally traveled.)
If Miami makes shots like the ones James made in overtime on Tuesday, the Bulls may have to just tip their hat and say, "Well done." But chances are those jumpers won't find their mark. If the Bulls can force those shots and make some of the adjustments I've noted above, they can extend their season for at least 48 hours
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I expected that to happen.
We got em next year. We need more shooting options. Dwight would also be cool too.
We got em next year. We need more shooting options. Dwight would also be cool too.
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- Jan 6, 2002
Rose gotta see a psych about the damn late game ft misses. Dude has been a choker on those his whole career but this was a team loss no way we should have loss that game tonight.
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GREAT game Bulls fans,you guys played with soo much heart and did everything to win tonight. You guys will definitely be a force to reckon with in the East if you guys surround Rose with better offensive players. Great series and you guys shouldn't be dissapointed in this season. I'd be damn proud in my team if I were you guys. You guys left it all out on the court
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We played terrible but the refs stole this game from us.
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I guess I got a date with a bottle of goose or 2
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^ naw man up by 12 we gotta finish that.
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- Sep 22, 2009
Great season, best since 97-98
62-20
MVP
Coach of the Year
Exec of the Year
I never would have guessed it would happen in a million years. Like someone said, I think we were a year early in this situation and I see no reason why we won't be a contender for a long time.
Obviously we need a couple upgrades...SG...but we're right there
REALLY, REALLY proud of the Bulls and the effort they gave all season. We were outmatched in this series, but we battled down to the end.
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they did suck... but no reason not to hit any baskets at the end
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how anyone seen carlos boozer??? did he even show up for this series????
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Kurt Thomas and Ronnie Brewer were a nice change of pace. Gibson couldnt do a thing. Noah should have been in the game.
Im not going to rip Boozer a new one. Its hard to get a rhythm when you only take 7 shots.
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Second time I used this gif today...it's all bad man.
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im really at a loss for words, i can't believe this is how it ended.
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Two highest paid players were riding the bench.
I hope Noah decides to put in as much work on his game as Rose did these past few years. Learn to hit a damn jumper and average more than single digits in the ECF. If I'm mad at anyone it's Noah and I can't believe I'm not saying Deng. Deng was great this year.
I repeat my sentiments
Boozer, Noah and 3 1sts for Howard.
VAGPAX won't do it though.
I hope Noah decides to put in as much work on his game as Rose did these past few years. Learn to hit a damn jumper and average more than single digits in the ECF. If I'm mad at anyone it's Noah and I can't believe I'm not saying Deng. Deng was great this year.
I repeat my sentiments
Boozer, Noah and 3 1sts for Howard.
VAGPAX won't do it though.
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- Apr 23, 2001
boozer is a bum, get rid of him should have signed gay or lee
boozer and asik for howard...
boozer and asik for howard...
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I've never been this sad after a Bulls lost
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I have to extend my level of respect to your team Bulls fans. An incredible season led by an incredible basketball player in Rose. Most of yall who know me and the few true Heat fans on NT know that at the end of the day, we're level headed and give you guys all the credit in the world! Helluva series and we had no choice but to play superior basketball against the best team in the NBA. Congrats again on a great season and none of that was taken for granted by us True Heat fans! RESPECT!