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Check out our preview of today's Bulls-Pacers Game 5 Playoff matchup at the United Center. And, for more on the Bulls, please visit Blog-A-Bull
The Bulls finally put together a complete game and the result was an impressive 116-89 blowout of the Indiana Pacers, ending the series 4-1 in what some have termed a "gentleman's sweep" (let them win one). For all the theories out there, at the end of the day the Bulls struggled early in this series because they could not get shots to fall. But when the lid came off, the floodgates opened. The Bulls set a new franchise record with 14 made three-pointers, and shot 45% from distance and 48% overall. It was the type of basketball we've gotten so used to seeing this year: 27 assists on the night, a few appearances from the Bench Mob, and a certain soon-to-be MVP who wasn't going to give the Pacers a moment's breath.
After leading by double-digits for nearly the entire game, Derrick Rose picked up his fourth foul with 9:03 left in the third quarter. The Pacers took advantage and cut the lead to four in less than three minutes, and once again it looked like they just wouldn't go away.
Rose got up, told Thibodeau he wouldn't foul anymore, and his coach put him back in the game. What happened next is what makes him the league's MVP and what I wish every stat-head (who have valid arguments, to be certain) would sit down and watch before they violently shook their heads no: Rose assists to Taj Gibson for two, Rose hits a 3, Rose blocks 7'2" Roy Hibbert's layup, Rose hits another 3, Rose steals the ball from Darren Collison and is fouled at the other end. In 1:56, Rose pushed the Bulls' lead back to 13 and effectively ended the game and the series. It is the kind of thing he has done all season, stopping opponents' runs, extending leads, making the big basket when his team needs it most. Rose collected his fifth foul early in the fourth quarter and his teammates took care of the rest. Rose finished with 25 points, six assists, two rebounds, two steals and two blocks, and his injured ankle that had the city hold its collective breath was never a factor.
I would be remiss not to mention team "glue guy" Luol Deng, who does whatever the team needs to win and really is the wise elder statesman of this young team. Sure, Kurt Thomas is 38 and has seen everything in this league, but Deng is the one who leads out on the court, whose actions speak louder than words, who lays his body on the line night in, night out. Deng scored 26 points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals, and held the always-dangerous Danny Granger to a 7-16 shooting night. Chicago would be lost without Lu, evidenced by the fact that he played 41 minutes while hardly any other Bull played more than 30.
And then there's the Bulls' third-best player, Joakim Noah, who is back to his usual "grimy" self, getting under everyone's skin, scrapping for boards and firing up the crowd like an emcee. Noah is the ultimate Hate-to-play-against him, Love-him-on-your-team guy. With his grandfather watching him play for the first time as a professional, Noah sprinted out of the gates, scoring 10 points, to go with three boards and three assists in the first quarter before sitting with a pair of fouls. I cannot remember the last time I saw him so amped, and while he got T'd up early on for being a bit much even for the refs, his energy was infectious and absolutely got in the head of the Pacers' players. By the fourth quarter, Josh McRoberts snapped and took a wild sissy-punch at Noah earning him an immediate ejection. Even Granger, a consummate professional, came to the Bulls' bench at game's end to share a few choice words with Noah.
The game couldn't have gone better for Chicago, as even the bench mob made a productive appearance, but there is one sore spot that cannot be ignored. Carlos Boozer somehow managed to come up even shorter than he had in the previous four games in this series, finishing with two points, five rebounds and four fouls in 15 minutes (glass half full: no turnovers!). Boozer was simply dreadful in this entire series, and I recommend he stay away from the AM radio band while driving around Chicago the next few days. Credit goes to Thibodeau, who had every opportunity to call out his player publicly but chose instead to protect him, saying that foul trouble kept Boozer from establishing a rhythm. To top it off, reports are emerging that Boozer suffered a turf toe injury at some point during the game, which makes you wonder if he was doing wind sprints in the tunnel during halftime, because there certainly weren't many opportunities out on the floor. Mark my words: if the Bulls are going to go far in these playoffs, they will need Boozer before it is all said and done. It is imperative that his coaches and teammates help find a way to get him off the snide.
It was a much harder series than some might have imagined it would be, but ultimately a great test for this young team as they move on to the second round to face the winner of the Orlando-Atlanta series. Both teams play markedly worse defense (save for Dwight Howard) and may actually prove to be an easier matchup than the Pacers, who had the worst regular season record of any playoff team. Such is the nature of matchups, as the Bulls discovered two years ago when they took the Boston Celtics to Game 7 despite being a far inferior team.
The team gets a day off before returning to practice, and looks to be relatively healthy (barring any new Boozer news) going into the next round. It wasn't perfect, but survive and advance is the name of the game, and these Bulls are on their way to the second round for the first time since the 2006 season, and for the first time ever for core players Rose and Noah.
The Chicago Bulls would rather not play the Indiana Pacers any more this season.
Despite a 3-1 series lead, the Pacers have at the very least chinked the armor of the the NBA's most confident team heading into the playoffs, and at worst, been the team on the floor when the Bulls' franchise player rolled his ankle at the most inopportune time.
Lucky for Carlos Boozer, Derrick Rose's ankle is the story heading into Game 5. What we can tell you is this: Rose had an x-ray and an MRI and both came back negative. After wearing a walking boot the day after Game 4, Rose wore sandals at the Berto Center Monday and reportedly had very little swelling in the ankle. And then there's the fact that Rose, while never seriously injured before in his career, has always bounced back quickly from bumps and bruises even when they looked bad at the time they happened.
Rose will likely take a pain-killing injection before the game and play with some discomfort, but not to the point that it drastically changes what the Bulls try to do. To give the scare of the season a small silver lining, Rose's injury does create a void that his teammates will need to fill. Especially on offense, the Bulls have been somewhat one-dimensional in this series, and that imbalance has led to a lot of Rose-watching.
It would be easy to use Boozer as a scapegoat for the team's offensive struggles this series, but it has been a team-wide malady. Ronnie Brewer's injured thumb has really hurt the Bulls. For all he does on defense as an on-the-ball defender, he's almost as missed on offense where he hunts the baseline as well as anyone. C.J. Watson has regressed somewhat under the spotlight of the playoffs, shooting 33% and averaging 1.5 turnovers in only 7.5 MPG. Taj Gibson is averaging 2.5 points in 15 MPG, well below his season average. This isn't so much to illustrate that these players are at fault, but to show that the team as a whole is struggling. Before we discuss Boozer, remember that as special as Rose is, his assists are down (6.3), his turnovers are up (4.25) and he is 5-29 on three-pointers for the series. Everyone is to blame.
Of course at the forefront of the blame list is everyone's favorite yeller, C-Booz. He has done a great many things to make Bulls' fans tear their hair out, but I hate to say that none of this should be surprising. This is who the man is and to lament his play is to wish for another player altogether. Boozer rebounds, plays terrible defense, and consistently scores (although to be fair he has been awful finishing at the basket in this series). Thing is, If he's not run off of pick and rolls or set up for easy shots, turnovers follow. Fans that expected different from Boozer forget that he had Deron Williams in Utah, arguably the league's best pure point guard after Chris Paul, delivering the ball where Boozer could score easily. Boozer is a finisher, not a playmaker, period. In Chicago's offense, Boozer is often isolated at the elbow or on the baseline, at which point I simply pray he rises up for a jumper. Because when the man is in motion with the ball in his hands, he is a walking turnover. It is up to Tom Thibodeau, Rose, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng to put Boozer in a position to succeed on offense, and the more iso looks he gets the more I think the Bulls don't understand how best to use him.
As it pertains to Game 5, though, a great many things lean in Chicago's favor. First, with Rose less than 100% it is much more likely the Bulls' play a more team-centric game and "get the ball hopping" as Thibodeau likes to say. Second, the United Center will be absolutely bananas, as Chicago's excitement meets its nervousness in a game the Bulls simply need to have. The more rest Rose gets for the next series the better, and no one wants to go back to Conseco Fieldhouse to continue this grindhouse of a series. Finally, and discount this point if you must, having home court advantage means getting the balance of calls from NBA referees. With one of the NBA's best at drawing free throws playing on a bum wheel, it seems likely that the Bulls will be at the line early and often.
It is to the Pacers' credit that the Bulls have not been able to score an early KO in any game of this series. Coach Frank Vogel has schemed well, using bigger guards on Rose and employing traps at times. And his team clearly plays hard for him. Indiana would be mistaken to consider anyone else for its head coaching position.
As it is though, it is time for the Pacers' season to end. If the Bulls can finally hit a few outside shots and keep Roy Hibbert from showing up in two straight games, it should be enough to clinch a series that was much tougher than any prognosticator ever imagined.
Game 5 tips off at 7 p.m. CDT on CSN Chicago with national coverage on TNT.
For in-game updates and stats, follow Zachary Lee on Twitter: @rightfieldsucks
2011 NBA Playoffs, Bulls Vs. Pacers: Chicago Eliminates Indiana With 116-89 Game 5 Win
The Chicago Bulls put together their most complete game of the 2011 NBA Playoffs on Tuesday and beat the Indiana Pacers 116-89 to advance to the second round, where they will face the winner of the Hawks/Magic series. The Pacers hung tough in each of the first four games of this series, but the Bulls did a good job of never opening the door in Game 5. They led from start to finish, and never provided an opportunity for the Pacers to feel very good about their chances.
Herb Gould of the Chicago Sun-Times Derrick Rose was pretty excited about making it to the second round for the first time in his career.
Rose only played 30 minutes because of foul trouble, but still managed to register 25 points and six assists. Even though he wasn't his typical dominating self, Kyle Korver says that Rose played well enough to lift his teammates to a win.
The other key storyline to this game was the emergence of Joakim Noah, who had by far his best game of the series. He scored 14 points and pulled in eight rebounds, but his biggest contribution might have been his four blocks. But our Bulls blog, Blog-a-Bull warns us that while one member of the frontcourt has started showing up, the other is starting to disappear entirely.
Despite their struggles earlier in the series, the Bulls still dispatched the eighth seeded Pacers in just five games. That's not so bad for the top seed in the conference. But they will likely have to play better in the next series against what will surely be a stronger opponent. The Magic/Hawks series is headed for Game 6 on Thursday.
Apr 27 10:10a by Jordan Ruby