Media Doesn’t Know It, But Series Far From Over After Game 2 Between Bulls & Heat
Flickr Photo via Keith Allison
Feast your eyes on this gem by Adrian Wojnarowski from Yahoo! Sports. By the way, he describes Wednesday’s Game 2 between the Bulls and the Miami Heat, you’d think the series was over, LeBron James is Michael Jordan, and Pat Riley got his revenge on the Bulls for the 1990s.
Wait, what? This is a seven game series, correct? And it is tied 1-1, right? In fact, the Bulls are off to a much better start than they were against Atlanta, in which they lost Game 1 in Chicago, but went on to win the series in six games.
Woj went on to spend a good chunk of his article praising LeBron James for his performance in Game 2, and rightfully so. James killed the Bulls, especially in the latter half of the fourth quarter, when the Bulls could hit nothing, and he couldn’t miss. It was a clutch as we have ever seen him in the postseason.
But Michael Jordan he is not, as Woj went on to mention No. 23 several times. One solid performance in the clutch when you’ve been around as long as LeBron James has doesn’t earn you a comparison to the greatest basketball player the world has ever seen.
Sure, the way he performed late was similar to Jordan. But for a guy who has never had that MJ killer instinct, it’s just stepping up at the right time. Not to take anything away from James or his play in Game 2, but any Jordan comparisons went out the window when he decided to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.
But that’s not even my real bone to pick with Woj’s, who I’ve always admired as a columnist, article. The real issue here is the idea of Pat Riley getting ‘revenge’ on the Bulls, not only for the way Jordan killed his teams in the 90s, but the fact that Riley was forced to share NBA Executive of the Year with Bulls general manager, Gar Forman.
First of all, winning one game to even a best-of-seven series doesn’t classify any sort of revenge for or on the Bulls. Second, how exactly is Riley so much more deserving of Exec of the Year than Gar?
Sure, Riley brought together three of the top, and the two best, free agents from this summer, but how much did he actually do in bringing in his Big Three, aside from maybe crunching some numbers? We know Wade did the recruiting, and it’s pretty easy to decide to live in Miami over Cleveland if you just look at the setting itself, and not at the ‘sports town’ aspect of it. Beyond the Big Three, who do the Heat have? Mike Bibby, who left his prime in Sacramento years ago?
Gar Forman, along with John Paxson, worked diligently to put a quality team together. Say what you want about him missing out on top tier free agents, most of their minds were made up before the free agent period even began. Aside from throwing too much money at Carlos Boozer, Gar put together a team of role players and character guys to create a defensive monster. Let’s not forget the hiring of the NBA’s Coach of the Year, Tom Thiobdeau, who led this group to 62 wins, far more than anyone expected.
Are the Bulls a better team than the Heat? Overall, from top to bottom, yes. Will they beat the Heat in these Eastern Conference finals? That remains to be seen. What we can chalk Woj’s column, and the opinion of much of the mainstream media (looking at you ESPN) is the fact that they’re simply caught up in the moment of each individual game. The media loves to get excited.
After Game 1, the Heat were doomed and the Bulls were going to go on to sweep them. After Game 2, apparently LeBron becomes Jordan and Riley gets the last laugh. Why can’t we all just sit back and enjoy the series that has been destined to go seven games since it started?
Bulls Don’t Stand a Chance Against Miami Heat? Not So Fast..
Flickr Photo via Keith Allison
If you’ve read any headlines since the Miami Heat knocked off the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night, then you know virtually no one else stands a chance in this postseason. Not the Dallas Mavericks, who swept the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, and surely not the Oklahoma City Thunder or Memphis Grizzlies.
Of course, the Bulls were just a stepping stone for the Heat, as well, given their troubles in getting past the Atlanta Hawks in six games. After all, the Heat beat the Celtics in five, and have been proclaimed unbeatable.
Well, there is a reason they play the games. Yes, it was impressive to see LeBron James and Dwayne Wade lighting it up together against the Celtics, but who did they really beat? A banged up, old Boston team, which had a point guard playing with one arm, in Rajon Rondo, and a frontcourt that included an aging Kevin Garnett and a should-have-retired-years-ago Shaquille O’Neal, who made less of an impact on this series than Brian Scalabrine did for the Bulls.
Not to discount the Heat, though. Obviously they’re a top tier team, given that potent backcourt. James and Wade are both all-NBA talents, which certainly showed against the C’s. Sure, they lack depth and a strong frontcourt, but they are still as deadly and explosive as any team remaining in these playoffs.
But to completely dismiss this series as over, as some have already done (looking at you Skip Bayless) could be considered nothing short of absurd. Yes, the Heat have great players, but the Bulls have proven this season that they have the all-around talent to keep up with anyone in the league.
At this point, dismissing the Bulls is irresponsible. They actually match up against the Heat much better than one might realize, even if many have already tossed the Bulls aside as an easy opponent for Miami.
In fact, the Bulls hold an advantage over the Heat, which could end up shaping this series. That advantage lies in the both the frontcourt of the Bulls, and their depth.
There is certainly no shortage of talent down low for the Bulls. After a few tough games in the playoffs, Carlos Boozer found his stride in Thursday’s Game 6 against the Hawks, along with the fact that he plays next to one of the most intense, and a top notch guy on the boards, in Joakim Noah.
Beyond those two, the hat still goes deeper. Taj Gibson has shown that he can stick with anyone in the league and is proving to be a key cog in the Bulls machine. There’s also Omer Asik, who is a beast on the boards and a solid backup for Noah, as well as the veteran big man Kurt Thomas, who is fresh after seeing little time to this point in the postseason.
What do the Heat have down low? Chris Bosh. Now Bosh has had a good postseason, but he was also playing against a Celtics frontcourt that looked very sorry in their series in the past week or so. Joel Anthony certainly isn’t in a league with Boozer or Noah, meaning whichever one Bosh does match up with, will have an extremely favorable matchup in this series.
Of course, there’s still that outlandish advantage the Heat have in the backcourt. Yes, the Bulls have the league MVP in Derrick Rose, but Miami boasts two of the game’s best players in Wade and James. Wade will most likely guard Rose, but luckily for the Bulls, Rose can keep himself fresh on the defensive side of things, with Keith Bogans expected to match up with Wade with the Bulls on D. There’s also the matter of that Luol Deng guy, who is a pretty great defender, matching up against James.
Say what you want about the Bulls not blowing teams out in the playoffs or not looking overly impressive. The fact is, that this team is sound from top to bottom, and has as much depth and defensive skill as any team in the league. They’re not built to blow teams out, and whether they come out on the winning or losing side of this series, each game should prove to be a close one.
On paper, you see the names of Wade and James and assume the Heat have an outstanding advantage over the Bulls in this series. But Chicago is the better overall team, with a better frontcourt and more depth, meaning this is going to be an extremely close, and nerve-racking series for Bulls fans, no matter the result.
The Chicago Bulls come back to the top of the NBA in 2010
As a dedicated Bulls fan, I’ve sat around and waited for the windy city gang to be a relevant team in the NBA since 1998. Finally, the Bulls are back in the nation’s eye as a contender, finally; had to say it one more time.
The Bulls have went through bad trades, bad drafts and a list of coaches longer than the brattiest little kid’s Christmas wish novels…they have developed from lists.
Finally, one last time, they have made some moves and decisions to prove Chicago has a winning mindset instead of simply only being an organization in the NBA.
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Dunks of 2010…which is the best?
Everyone has to love the dunk…it’s one of the most stylish and dominant feats in all of sports. 2010 saw a lot of tremendous dunks around the league from all sorts of players including: Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Andres Iguodala, Rudy Gay, Vince Carter and of course Derrick Rose.
Check out this video of all the best dunks in 2010.
If I had to pick one, it would be Rose’s alley-opp dunk but James does have four or five dunks in this video that could all take the cake.
What Do You think?
Bulls under the radar and look good heading into easy schedule
The Chicago Bulls have won 11 of their last 13 games to help their cause of being an elite team in the Eastern Conference. Chicago is currently third in the conference and have a commanding seven game lead in the central division.
Derrick Rose is playing at an MVP level, Carlos Boozer is at an all-star level and if he didn’t tear ligaments in his thumb Joakim Noah would be an all-star also.
With everything on the up and up in Chicago, it’s only going to look better as eight of the next ten games are against teams under .500.
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