Bulls Set To Face Atlanta Hawks In Eastern Conference Semi-Finals
Chicago Tribune Photo
After quickly dispatching of the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2011 NBA playoffs, the Bulls could only sit and wait while it was determined whether they’d play the Atlanta Hawks or Orlando Magic in this year’s Eastern Conference semis. While it comes as somewhat of a surprise, the Bulls are sure to have their hands full with the Hawks club that, for the most part, cruised by the Magic in the first round.
Many fans would have preferred the Bulls meet the Magic in Round 2, and understandably so. The Magic have Dwight Howard, but beyond him, the Bulls would hold the advantage at pretty much every position. The Hawks, on the other hand, are sure to cause some match up problems for these Bulls heading into the second round.
Let’s look at the breakdown.
Point Guard
Is this even a debate? While it seems almost futile to note that Derrick Rose is miles better than former Bull Kirk Hinrich on the offensive end. But where Hinrich could give Rose a slight run for his money is on the defensive side. However, it should be noted that Hinrich isn’t even completely healthy right now, and if he’s not, the Hawks may have lost their best shot at defending the NBA MVP-favorite.
After hurting his ankle in Game 4 against the Pacers, Rose didn’t look too slowed in the Game 5, racking up over 20 points again. A matchup with the Hawks should prove much more favorable for Rose and the Bulls offense. While a better overall team than that pesky Indiana squad, the Hawks are not nearly the physical team that the Pacers are, making life much easier for Chicago, especially Rose.
Shooting Guard
Again, futile. With Keith Bogans starting at the two-guard spot, virtually every team in the NBA is going to have an advantage over the Bulls at that spot. Bogans was awful in the first four games of the series for the Bulls against Indy, and played easily his best game in Game 5, when the Bulls ousted the Pacers from the postseason. He scored on five of his seven shots from beyond the arc, finishing with 15 points for the game.
Bogans, who did get a vote for Defensive Player of the Year, will have his hands full trying to guard the Hawks at the two, in former Phoenix Sun Joe Johnson. While he has a slight tendency to disappear, Johnson is electric at shooting guard for this Hawks team, surpassing the 20-point mark four times in the series with Orlando. Bogans, with a combination of Ronnie Brewer and occasionally Kyle Korver, are going to need their ‘A’ game on defense to slow down Atlanta’s best scoring option.
Small Forward
Luol Deng might just be the most underrated player in basketball. He brings it at both ends of the court, providing secondary scoring for the Bulls, while also quietly serving as one of the top defensive players at the three in the game. He struggled in two of the five games against Indy and their stout defense, but has been steady all year for this Bulls team.
He’ll be matching up with Josh Smith at small forward, a guy who shot just 3-14 in the clinching game for Atlanta on Thursday. He averaged a touch over 16 points and nine boards in the regular season, but will be matching up against the more consistent player in Deng. In the end, Deng’s consistency and shutdown defense give him the advantage over the explosive Smith.
Power Forward
Aside from the obvious advantage at shooting guard, power forward might be the only other clear advantage that Atlanta has over the Bulls. Carlos Boozer was flat out terrible in the opening series against the Pacers. He was constantly in foul trouble, couldn’t hold onto the ball, and now reports of a turf toe injury have surfaced, leaving Boozer’s status for Game 1 up in the air. Could Taj Gibson end up being an upgrade?
ATL certainly boasts the talent down low to make Chicago’s life very difficult. Al Horford quieted down Orlando’s Howard, which was a major part of the reason they were able to steal that series in a ‘quick’ six games. If Boozer can’t even get near his decent Game 2 performance (17 points, 12 rebounds) and continues to struggle, it’s going to be very difficult for not only the Bulls to compete with Horford, but for Boozer to find favor again with the Chicago fans.
Center
With the re-emergence of Joakim Noah in the second half of the Pacers series, this is almost as much of a landslide as point guard is. Noah regained that fire that has made him such a favorite in the Windy City, especially with his Game 4 performance, in which he notched 21 points and snatched 14 boards. If that same intensity shows up for Noah down low, it’s going to be very difficult for either of Atlanta’s centers, consisting of Jason Collins and Zaza Pachulia, to manage any sort of presence on the boards.
Bench
This one’s actually closer than you might think. The Bulls boast one of the top benches in the league, with guys like Korver, Brewer, Gibson, and Omer Asik, but the Hawks aren’t too far behind. Jamal Crawford is one of the best guys in the game coming off the bench, and Marvin Williams isn’t too shabby either. There’s little doubt that this series will be thrilling, even when the starters aren’t in.
The stage is set for a couple of the East’s top teams to play to a thrilling series. However, if Hinrich isn’t at full strength, Derrick Rose could run rampant over this Atlanta team. But on the flip side, Boozer is going to have to improve dramatically if the Bulls hope to have an easier time with Atlanta than they did with the Pacers in Round 1.
Prediction: Bulls in 6.
Another sign Chicago is a threat in the Eastern Conference: winning record on annual west coast road trip
There have been many reasons to believe the Chicago Bulls are a real contender in the Eastern Conference this season including individual talent such as Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, new coach Tom Thibodeau with a defense emphasis and off-season pickups such as the $80 million man, Carlos Boozer.
Saturday, Chicago answered the hype once again early in the season, by leaving their “circus trip” on the west coast with a 4-3 record. The first winning record on the annual road trip since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were the kings of the court in 1998.
The pieces of talent and solid coaching are coming together to have the Bulls answer the hype, even though Boozer hasn’t played a game and won’t until Wednesday or Friday.
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Annual West Coast Road Trip
The Chicago Bulls will try to prove they’re a legitimate team in the Eastern Conference as they begin their annual mid-November west coast road trip Tuesday.
Each year the Bulls begin their season facing some of the east’s worst teams and a few best, then get thrown to the wolves in the Western Conference for a long stay of at least seven or eight games. This year the Bulls play seven teams in 11 days beginning with the Houston Rockets Tuesday and ending with the Sacramento Kings Nov. 27.
Five of the seven teams the Bulls will face are top eight teams in the Western Conference.
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Chicago gets above .500 to help me stay above .500
Wednesday’s 4-6 showing on NBA game picks had to get better somehow and it did with the Chicago Bulls dominating the Golden State Warriors to help confirm an above .500 record for Thursday.
Luol Deng led the way with a double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds, as all five starters scored in double-digits and had at least one steal and block. In general, the Bulls bone stomped the Warriors in every aspect of the game.
In other games around the NBA on Thursday, the Boston Celtics manhandled the Miami Heat once again. The final score was 112-107, but it only became close in the late minutes with a Heat run, but other than that, the Celtics owned the Heat from the time the ball was jumped. Boston’s Ray Allen scored 35 points including his gift to hit seven three-pointers , while Rajon Rondo dished out 16 assists as he continues to lead the league in assists per game with 14.9.
Boston’s record doesn’t matter, but the Heat who put together a superstar threesome in Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh fell to 5-4 to have all my co-workers, Facebook pals and other bloggers laughing at Miami.
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Maybe Deng should stay in Chicago
After the first two or three games of the season, I was ready to ship Luol Deng to the Philadelphia 76ers for Andre Iguodala whether the potential for the three-way trade for Denver Nugget Carmelo Anthony was an option or not.
Deng was zombie-like on the court producing minimal with body language asking “what should I do” ?
In the last three to four games he has been playing as if he wants to be part of this team by producing big numbers and coming to the court with some energy letting Bulls fans know he still knows how to play basketball. For a week, I thought he forgot.
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