The Chicago Bulls won a hard fought game by only six points tonight, and while they did pull out the win to take a 2-0 lead in the series, in the process they have revealed that maybe they aren’t the postseason juggernaut most of us thought they were. Conversely, the Indiana Pacers showed the world that though might have the worst record of any team in this years playoffs, they are perhaps only a year or two of growth, or one or two offseason moves from having a contender of their own out in the corn fields.
22 year-old expected MVP Derrick Rose finished with the Bryant-esque stat line of 36 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 steals. He was as awesome to watch as he was last game, aggressively driving the lane and making the circus layups he has become known for. His new found tool, the jump-shot, was absent for the first half and his misses (along with a couple early turnovers from Carlos Boozer) are a large reason that Bulls were playing from behind until halftime. But as the jumper started falling in the third, and the Bulls started moving the ball better and getting open looks, Chicago was able to tip the scales just barely in their favor to win the game in the second half.
D-Rose was not without help like he was last game, however. Carlos Boozer actually decided that stupid fouls were stupid. This revelation meant that he actually got to stay on the court tonight, logging a staggering 42 minutes rather than his pathetic Game 1 showing of only 26 minutes. The increased time translated into increased production (ain’t it funny how that works?), and The Booze finished with a nice little double-double of 17 points and 16 rebounds. Third option Luol Deng chipped in 14 points and 6 rebounds of his own, Noah contributed 10 rebounds despite limited time dues his own foul woes, and Kyle Korver threw another signature dagger.
So why was this game so close? The Bulls turned over the ball 22 times. I’ll let that sink in. That’s amazing. I’m not even mad. To give credit where credit is due, the Pacers did steal the ball 13 times, and showed flashed of a brilliant defense in the works. Other times though, the Bulls left you scratching their heads. Carlos Boozer called for the ball then quit looking for it, looking puzzled as it sailed past him. Kurt Thomas passed the ball to the nice gentleman at the scorer’s table.
But although the Bulls played a haphazard game, the Pacers couldn’t take advantage to score a W. Some of this was due to some bad luck. It should be noted that starting point guard Darren Collison left the game about 2 minutes before the half with a sprained ankle, and towards the end of the telecast, the team was listing him as day to day. His replacement AJ Price performed admirably in his absence, scoring 13 points while going 2-4 from downtown, but he also turned the ball over 5 times. If Collison is unable to go for the remainder of the series, Price will have to keep a handle on the ball to give his team a chance.
The Pacers effort was excellent, scoring their points on crisp ball movement (22 assists on 32 made FG’s) in a valiant effort to thwart the league’s best defense. While Price and Danny Granger (19 pts) were the only two people to score in double digits, everyone else on the team save for Brandon Rush scored 5 or more, and this is one of the only ways to frustrate the Bull’s D, which relies on strong help defense. The one area where Indiana was lacking, however, was on the glass, getting out rebounding 24-37 and allowing an unacceptable 20 offensive rebounds.
This series has now gone 2-2 on producing awesome games, and with the series going to Indiana for Game 3, it will be interesting to see if the Pacers can finally find a way to close the deal on the East’s best regular season team. With precisely no one figuring Frank Vogel’s crew had the slightest chance to even win one game, you have to wonder if they will be able to solve the Bull’s riddle with an electric Indiana crowd behind them at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Key Moment:
After Kyle Korver hit his second dagger three in as many playoff games with roughly 1:05 to go, Indiana came back down the court looking to answer. Roy Hibbert ended up being called on an offensive foul that was, well, questionable. I didn’t think anything Hibbert did warranted a foul, and neither did the telecasting team. Now the difference between good teams and great teams is that great teams don’t get in positions for refs to decide games, but this call, combined with Korver’s shot, took the remaining air out the Pacer’s sails.
What it Means for the Bulls:
The Bulls should feel worse than any team ever to win two straight playoff games. First Rose gets little help when winning Game 1 nearly on his own, and tonight, contributes 6 turnovers to his team’s ridiculous total of 22. Now the Bulls can probably still sneak by the Pacers in five or six games, tops, but rest assured, if you give Miami or Boston 22 turnovers or allow them to load up on Rose, they can and will beat you.
What it Means for the Pacers:
It has got to feel awful to give away two completely winnable games when everyone had written you off before the series started. Any chance of Indiana making a go of this relies very heavily on them looking at this as “we just nearly beat the best team in the conference twice” as opposed to “no matter what we do Rose will murder us in the fourth, and now we are down 2-0.” Whatever happens, people should be scared of this team next season.
No comments:
Post a Comment