2008-2009 Bulls

[Dan Michler]

The Bulls are going to win this series.  Very frustrated after that game last night, but confident we are going to take care of business at home.  The Celtics got every call last night and we took them to the buzzer.  Game 3 will not be so fortunate for Boston.  I say we take them in 6.

[Dan Michler]

Tied up 2-2 after yet another overtime game.  4 total OT periods now in 4 games.  What a series this has been.  Gordon might be down for the series with the hamstring issue.  It'll be up to Hinrich to step in and provide some extra scoring to go with his defensive ability.  I would not count the Bulls out even if Gordon does not return for the series.  Game 5 Tuesday at 6pm in Boston.  If we can somehow leave Boston with a win, we can close this thing out in Chicago in Game 6.  We really need to get off to a good start this time though.  Hopefully Vinnie has them geared up for a high energy 1st quarter.

[StrikerME02]

Tied up 2-2 after yet another overtime game.  4 total OT periods now in 4 games.  What a series this has been.  Gordon might be down for the series with the hamstring issue.  It'll be up to Hinrich to step in and provide some extra scoring to go with his defensive ability.  I would not count the Bulls out even if Gordon does not return for the series.  Game 5 Tuesday at 6pm in Boston.  If we can somehow leave Boston with a win, we can close this thing out in Chicago in Game 6.  We really need to get off to a good start this time though.  Hopefully Vinnie has them geared up for a high energy 1st quarter.

Wow is all I can say about that bulls game the other day. It was one of the best basketball games I have watched in my life. The matchup between Rose and Rondo was sensational. It stinks that Gordon is out, at least it's only a minor day-to-day injury though. Let's finish this thing bulls.

[Dan Michler]

The refs really did a number on the Bulls tonight.  Couldn't hang onto an 11 point 4th quarter lead either.  Another OT loss and we're down 2-3.

Lost every bit of respect for Garnett tonight who felt the need to stand up and scream a bunch of smack at the Bulls bench once the game was decided.  Also, what was up with Rondo jacking Miller in the mouth on that last play?  Flagrant?  Unreal.  The Bulls have been better than this team in 4 of the 5 games.  We need to come out high energy and physical and dominate this Game 6.

[Mike Clark]

The refs really screwed the Bulls last night. Last night is the very reason I hate The NBA. I have accepted the fact that NBA stars are going to get their calls. They do not call moving screens or traveling. Rookies do not get any calls. And all the other crap that goes on in the NBA. But last night was complete bullshit. Rondo draws blood on 2 Bulls players with dirty cheap fouls and neither one was called correctly. The one on Heinrch just before half time should have been either a Technical, Flagrant, or Break Away foul. The one on Miller was down right Flagrant and the Bulls should have gotten to choose who shot the Free Throws, that rule does not exist but it should.

I think the Bulls will win Game 6. There is always NBA Justice, Rondo or Pierce will get into foul trouble early, and the Bulls should be very motivated. Do not discount how badly the NBA wants this series to go to Game 7. This is the best 1st round series this year if not all time.

Garnett and the Celtics are a bunch of punks. They might be worse than the Piston's Bad Boys. Its too bad the Bulls couldn't borrow $12mil to go over the salary cap and pay the luxury tax with NBA money. Which is exactly what the Celtics are doing this season.

[Dan Michler]

Possibly a worse no-call was late in the 4th quarter when Rose got an offensive rebound and went up for an easy lay-in when Perkins desperately came in from behind and just absolutely hacked him without even going for the ball.  No whistle and no bucket for the Bulls!

I love that the Celtics are still complaining in the media today that they aren't getting enough calls out there.  Maybe they should sit down and watch that game on film to realize what actually happened.  I'm still pretty hot about that game.  That was some BS.  And Garnett is out for the rest of the year so I'm not sure why he thinks its okay to open his mouth over there on the bench.  When they get behind he goes and sits in the locker room, but when they are winning he is in the face of the Bulls players.  You're nothing more than a fan for the rest of the year, so sit down and shut the F up.

[jack]

The refs really screwed the Bulls last night.

But the refs didn't screw the Celtics when Ray Allen got called for a ticky-tack foul and was gone with nearly 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter? The Bulls had an 11-point lead with, what, 7 minutes to play? You have to be able to finish in the playoffs, road game or not, bad calls or not. Sorry, this one is on the Bulls players and coaches: Gordon for going 6 for 21 from the field; Rose for having six turnovers, including a crucial one down the stretch, and continually feeding BG the ball in spite of his shooting woes; Miller for being too slow to finish at the rim, missing his free throws, and then not knowing that you have to hit the rim on an intentional missed free throw. If Tyrus Thomas ever wants to stop Big Baby from raining jumpers on his head, that would be cool, too. Kirk and Noah played well, though.

As for the coaches, My Coach Vinny sucks. Everyone in the Garden had to know Pierce was going to take the last shot, but what does My Coach Vinny do? Leave Salmons on an island, only to have The Truth raise up and knock down his third effin' shot in a row from the exact same spot on the floor! Why not take Rose off of Marbury and run him at Pierce? Starbury already showed he was scared to shoot in that situation a possession or two earlier. Vinny blows. Maybe his dad can come back to sit with him on the bench in game 6. In fact, I wouldn't mind if Papa Vinny just took the clipboard and decided to coach the game himself. Could he really do any worse of a job than Junior? Maybe he'll even same a timeout or two.

[Dan Michler]

Obviously the Bulls didn't do everything they could have to win the game.  Thats why no matter who wins, the end of the road is the Cavs.  I agree, how do you let Pierce get that same shot 3 times in a row and why do we only go to Gordon down the stretch when he was clearly having an off-night?

But the officiating was truly terrible and most of the crucial calls down the stretch were going in the Celtics favor.  The Ray Allen foul was actually a double foul on Brad Miller and Ray Allen, so I'm not sure how that was a call in the Bulls favor.  Were they not supposed to call it because Allen had made 5 other stupid fouls?  Either way, Allen has been mostly ineffective in this series anyway, so that didnt' help the Bulls nearly as much as the non-calls that went the Celtics way in the final minutes of the game.

[Mike Clark]

The refs really screwed the Bulls last night.

But the refs didn't screw the Celtics when Ray Allen got called for a ticky-tack foul and was gone with nearly 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter? The Bulls had an 11-point lead with, what, 7 minutes to play? You have to be able to finish in the playoffs, road game or not, bad calls or not. Sorry, this one is on the Bulls players and coaches: Gordon for going 6 for 21 from the field; Rose for having six turnovers, including a crucial one down the stretch, and continually feeding BG the ball in spite of his shooting woes; Miller for being too slow to finish at the rim, missing his free throws, and then not knowing that you have to hit the rim on an intentional missed free throw. If Tyrus Thomas ever wants to stop Big Baby from raining jumpers on his head, that would be cool, too. Kirk and Noah played well, though.

As for the coaches, My Coach Vinny sucks. Everyone in the Garden had to know Pierce was going to take the last shot, but what does My Coach Vinny do? Leave Salmons on an island, only to have The Truth raise up and knock down his third effin' shot in a row from the exact same spot on the floor! Why not take Rose off of Marbury and run him at Pierce? Starbury already showed he was scared to shoot in that situation a possession or two earlier. Vinny blows. Maybe his dad can come back to sit with him on the bench in game 6. In fact, I wouldn't mind if Papa Vinny just took the clipboard and decided to coach the game himself. Could he really do any worse of a job than Junior? Maybe he'll even same a timeout or two.

The foul on Allen was a double foul on Miller and Allen for pushing when Allen was trying to fight through a screen. Is it the refs fault that Allen was trying to fight through a screen. Maybe he shouldn't have pushed Miller when trying to move through the screen. Then only Miller would have gotten the foul for a moving screen. Which was about the only moving screen I have seen called during the series.

Don't you think you are being a little hard on Miller. I want to see you or anyone else get punched in the mouth hard enough to make you bleed and your eyes water and then go make those free throws and lets see how many you make. I know I would have found it pretty hard. Not to mention the fact that Miller was probably still thinking about punching Rondo in the face. Yeah Miller is slow. So every slow guy in the NBA should get punched in the mouth and it just be a regular foul. It doesn't change the fact that Rondo is a dirty player or the fact that it was a flagrant foul and the Bulls should have gotten the ball back. Then lets see if the Bulls could have tied it up or won the game.

If I were Vinny, Aaron Gray would be starting Game 6 and he better get kicked out of the game in the first 2 minutes and Rondo better be laying on the floor bleeding. The refs should have handled the problem during the game.

The bottom line is Brad Miller was going to tie the game with little or no time left on the clock. Rondo can't get to Miller to stop him in time so he punches him in the mouth. The refs after looking at the review 2 times decided it was a regular foul. With a bleeding lip and his eyes still watering Miller is forced to take 2 free throws. This situation is the exact reason the flagrant foul rule was created. Rondo is a dirty player he has proven in more than once in this series. Heck it proved just before halftime. So I am pretty sure he has shown clear intent to foul people with the intention of hurting them and/or not going for the ball. Would the Bulls have scored with 2 secs to tie or win the game? I have no clue. That is the worst part of all this. We will never know. That is how the refs screwed the Bulls.

[jack]

Of course not every slow white guy in the NBA should get punched in the mouth. Their job is to get posterized.  I do, however, think that a quicker more athletic player (Noah or Thomas *gasp* I can't believe I just typed that) would have gotten to the rim and dunked the ball. That looked like a designed play, and I think one of them would have had a better opportunity than Miller to finish.

I just think it's dumb to whine about calls the Bulls didn't get when they let an 11-POINT LEAD slip away with 7 minutes to play. They should have had the game wrapped up in regulation. It's sour grapes for the fans and the media to complain about one play when it wasn't the only play that cost the Bulls the game.

As for Brad Miller and shooting free throws, my opinion is that if he was too injured to shoot them, he shouldn't have gone back into the game. I couldn't remember each part of the free throw rule, so I looked it up. The pertinent part is in bold:

Section II-Shooting of Free Throw
a. The free throw(s) awarded because of a personal foul shall be attempted by the offended player.
EXCEPTIONS:
(1) If the offended player is injured or is ejected from the game and cannot attempt the awarded free throw(s), the opposing coach shall select, from his opponent's bench, the player who will replace the injured player. That player will attempt the free throw(s) and the injured player will not be permitted to re-enter the game. The substitute must remain in the game until the next dead ball. EXCEPTION: Rule 3-Section V-e
(2) If the offended player is injured and unable to attempt the awarded free throw(s) due to any unsportsmanlike act, his coach may designate any eligible member of the squad to attempt the free throw(s). The injured player will be permitted to re-enter the game.
(3) If the offended player is disqualified and unable to attempt the awarded free throw(s), his coach shall designate an eligible substitute from the bench. That substitute will attempt the free throw(s) and cannot be removed until the ball is legally touched by a player on the court.

Granted, it wouldn't have been an ideal situation for Doc to pluck someone off the Bulls' bench to attempt the free throws, but I still would have taken that over sending Miller to the line in that situation. And for crying out loud, SOMEONE (Vinny, I'm looking in your direction) should have reminded him to hit the rim on the second attempt. Even I knew that, and I'm a basketball moron.

[Dan Michler]

Game 7 baby.  I don't have any nerves left for it, but its been a fun series.  Bulls have really grown as a team over the last month and next season should be promising.  I think all the pressure and expectations are with the Celtics for this deciding game in Boston on Saturday.  Noah giving Pierce the facial!!!!!!!!!! and one!   

[StrikerME02]

Either way this series has been a great one. Thr Bull's have the odds against them tonight but if they could pull off an upset in this series that would make this series all the better.