Bulls 2012

[Dan Michler]

Last night was certainly entertaining.  Its nice to essentially beat the Heat twice this year without Derrick, while they've been at full strength.  It should give us confidence, but at the same time we'd be kidding ourselves if we think we're going to do anything in the playoffs without Derrick playing at least somewhere near full strength. 

That being said, its pretty obvious what Miami is still missing.  They have zero inside presence.  LeBron is their best big-man inside, and he plays small forward.  Asik, Noah, and Taj are just too big for Miami to deal with on the glass.  I said the same thing last year though, and the Bulls went down in 5, so who knows.  If those 3 guys play well and dominate the offensive boards like they do in the regular season, it'll be extremely tough for Miami to beat the Bulls 4 times.

I don't put too much stock into the Heat's 13-10 record since the break.  The Celtics played .500 ball for the last 40 games of 2009 and Celtics fans were jumping off bridges, and then once the playoffs started they put it all together and made a run to the Finals.

Last night pretty much wraps up home-court advantage.  7 games left, time to get guys healthy for the playoffs now.  Hopefully Thibodeau starts giving Deng some extra rest.  Rose has 2 weeks to get his legs and his game back.

[Dan Michler]

Playoff seeds in the East are locked (assuming the Knicks hand Charlotte their 22nd straight loss tonight).

Playoff predictions:

Bulls over Sixers 4-2:  I would rather play the Knicks to be honest.  The Sixers destroyed us once earlier in the season and I think they have some confidence in their ability to beat the Bulls.  They have the 3rd best point differential in the league.  I expect this to be a battle and if it turns out Rose isn't anywhere near healthy, the Bulls could be heading for a 1st round exit.  That being said, I'm banking on our front court with Noah, Taj, and Asik all having a big playoff run and carrying us through.

Heat over Knicks  4-0:  The Knicks suck and the Heat are well rested.
Pacers over Magic: 4-0:  If the Pacers don't win this one, someone is getting fired.
Celtics over Hawks 4-1:  I don't like Atlanta's chances with no Al Horford.  Celtics roll.

2nd rd.

Bulls over Celtics  4-2:  If Rose is healthy, he will own Rondo.  The energy of the Bulls frontcourt will win out over the experience of the Celtics frontcourt.  Obviously its all about the health of Derrick Rose though.

Pacers over Heat 4-3:  I'm expecting an absolute battle in this matchup.  Don't be surprised if the Pacers pull off an upset.  The Heat have not impressed in the 2nd half of the season and simply don't beat good teams on the road.  Miami destroyed Indiana in their first 2 matchups this season.  Then Indiana took them to OT @MIA in Rd 3, and in Rd 4 Indiana killed them.  I know everybody is expecting Bulls/Heat, but I won't be shocked if it ends up being Pacers/Celtics.

Bulls over Pacers 4-3:  Obviously I'm picking Chicago.  There is some tension between these 2 teams after last year's physical playoff matchup and then Indiana loudly celebrating a regular season victory on the Bulls homecourt this season.  I think it would be a battle.

This shortened season has rewarded depth above all else.  The playoffs allow more time for rest, but with all the injuries and fatigue that are already out there I still think depth will be more of a factor than usual.  The Bulls are clearly the deepest team in the East, you can't argue against that.  The 2nd line with Watson/Korver/Brewer/Taj/Asik is better than alot of team's starting lineups this season.  Hopefully this takes us to the Finals.  OKC is going to be awfully tough in the West.  They have both the depth of the Bulls and the elite talent in the starting lineup.

[CEValkyrie]

I'm hoping the 2nd series goes to a game 7. I picked up 4 tickets to that game.

[pdga#7648]

Rose is done for the year. ACL or MCL TEAR

[Dan Michler]

I'm still a little bit stunned and depressed over what happened, but I'm excited for the game tonight.  I'm holding out some hope for the Bulls to somehow pull off something unexpected over the next month.

1 comparison for the Bulls current situation:   The 1994 Bulls.  We lost MJ in the off-season and were still title contenders (Hue Hollins phantom call on Pippen cost us a trip to the East Finals).

I think Noah said it best, the margin for error is alot smaller now.  We can still win, but where we could afford a couple guys having off-games before, now we can't.  Gotta cut down the turnovers, dominate the glass, and shoot a high % from 3pt.  We do those 3 things and anything is still possible.

Its not like the Sixers, Hawks, or Celtics are setting the world on fire.  We can beat those teams.  The Heat?  Probably not, but miracles do happen.  They still have to get by the Pacers who I haven't counted out.  And what if LeBron or Wade sustains an injury like D.Rose?  Then all bets are off.  Thats why they play the games.

[pdga#7648]

Dan, I always know where your heart is, but even though I am on your side this time, I have to disagree. we don't stand a chance in hell of beating the Heat now. 1 game? sure, they did it in the regular season without D-Rose, but not a 7 game series. I hope I am wrong, but realistically don't see it happening.
On a side note though, I hope the Thunder make it to the Finals and beat the Heat, making the Big 3 0-2 in the Finals!  

[Dan Michler]

Feels good to get a W last night.  I really just don't want the season to be over already regardless of the fact we have about a 0.001% chance of winning the title.  I think Boozer deserves alot of credit for the way he's played this series.  Our guards have just had a terrible series.  I know they can shoot better than this.  We need to look to drive and kick a little more often instead of turning the ball over or getting a shot blocked once we get inside.  We went to the line 11 times last night.  Thats ridiculous.  We also had 11 shots get blocked.  Time to quit forcing up wild shots in the paint and start looking for an open man. 

Hopefully Noah and Taj can both be on the floor for Game 6 Thursday.  We need all hands on deck for this one.  If we can somehow pull it off, its Game 7 at the UC Saturday night.

[Dan Michler]

Felt like I got punched in the gut last night.  The way the last 2 seasons have ended have been tough to stomach as a sports fan.  Maybe next year...

[Dan Michler]

It'll be interesting to see what moves the Bulls make this summer.  As a fan, I'd like to see what this squad could do given another chance.

Looking at what we have on paper, I see 2 starter-caliber 7' centers in Noah/Asik that play great inside defense and don't score a ton.  We also have Taj who would certainly start for a lot of teams and also plays a similar role as Noah/Asik.  I could see the Bulls trying to move Noah and his $11M/year contract to clear the way for Asik to play starter's minutes, with Taj still providing depth in the front court.

Perhaps if we move 1 of these frontcourt pieces, we can bring in a real scorer (not Rip Hamilton) to complement Rose in the backcourt.  Obviously we could use a little more offense, especially for the first half of next season when Rose will be rehabbing his knee.  Korver/Brewer/Watson all have team options for next year, so who knows if we'll see any of those guys in Bulls uniforms next season.

[Dan Michler]

I already thought the Heat were in trouble going into the playoffs, but without Chris Bosh they just went from a severely undersized frontcourt to basically no frontcourt.  They are in real trouble against the Pacers who have plenty of size and now have homecourt advantage in a best of 5.  The East is wide open right now.  I have no clue how anybody is going to get past OKC at this point.

[Dan Michler]

D Wade 2-13 shooting 5 pts 1 assist.  I love it.  Heat 18-15 on the road this year.