PLAYOFF Game Thread: Bulls vs. Heat Game 2
The sentiment for the Heat before this game is that they're going to bring more effort tonight. I enjoyed the response to that from Palm Beach Post Columnist Greg Stoda.
"How willing are we to get our hands dirty?" Heat coach Pat Riley asked Monday in advance of tonight's Game 2 in Chicago.
C'mon now. There's more to Chicago than big-shoulders determination. Riley, deep down, understands it when he gets beyond talking about Miami's self-destructive "sense of entitlement" as reigning champion.
The Bulls, Riley said, "know what it takes to beat us, and they do it."
If some of the explanation shows up in so-called hustle numbers - transition points, second-chance points, turnover points - well, the Heat hasn't been good at any of that stuff all season. Maybe it's just a matter of Chicago being able to exploit those Miami deficiencies.
Wade may think they played with 'regular season effort', but I prefer to believe they had all the effort they needed, they're just old, slow, and hobbled. If the Bulls continue to play quicker than them I like the Bulls to take game two.
The Heat will have to do more than just try harder, they will make some adjustments. Perhaps get more size on Luol Deng (and expect some borderline-dirty help defense too) while still looking for ways to trap Gordon. Hope that Wade can get closer to the rim so it not only gets him easier looks but allows the Heat's role players for open shots of their own. And Shaq needs to stay on the court and stay effective enough to where the Bulls finally give in and double-team him. But a lot of it is hoping that Gordon/Deng/Hinrich play themselves out of the game. If they were great every night they'd be better players than they are. There's no better time than now to take that leap in consistency, but I would be lying if I said I didn't think Deng or Gordon had a shit game in them for this series.
But in terms of that 'energy' shlock, this is the playoffs, all that should be consistent across the board by now. It's who's executing, who gets a little luck, and who's imposing their offensive style that will win. The Bulls shouldn't rely on the vagueries of block/charge calls to get the upper hand, they'll keep the pace they way they like it (and again, that's not just fast breaks, but in half-court play as well) by being quicker.
For some reason I see a big game for Ben Gordon tonight, and a punch-in-the-mouth-then-run-and-hide victory. I'm guessing that's just wishful thinking, because any close-and-late game gives the advantage to the Heat, so I'd like to avoid that whole scenario altogether in a way that didn't happen in Game One.
No tickets to this one, so I'll be checking in throughout the game. But likely only if the Bulls play well. If they don't I'll be too busy fuming and/or weeping, and I don't want to shake the confidence of the readership by displaying that!
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I am very
I hope the bench plays like they did on Sunday. That is a must for the Bulls to win.
GO BULLS!!!
no must-wins!
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 6:40 PM CDT up reply actions
Hah!
I was about to say it is much more of a must-win for the Heat. But I would put it at about a 90%-must for them.
gah
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 6:46 PM CDT up reply actions
i really hope the Bulls win tonight
Must/Win -- Go Bulls!
No. The Bulls must play the game.
To win, you must play.
I remember
Bullshit counter
looks like shaq's crying is gonna get him his way
bullshit counter 2
and miami alreayd looks a step slow
didnt post it because i forgot
for being up 6
first timeout
Only worry so far is the Bulls aren't being careful when running, Kirk with a TO trying to push the ball to Wallace, which would have wound up poorly even if Wallace got the ball. But that happens when you run, so I'll take the frightening moments sometimes.
First call on Wallace looked like BS...but he got an offensive foul for the elbow so my tinfoil conspiracy hat goes away for now.
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 7:17 PM CDT reply actions
thought so too
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 7:24 PM CDT up reply actions
second timeout
Hinrich with the three off the OReb on the previous posession, and Jason Williams looked completely disinterested in stopping it.
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 7:23 PM CDT reply actions
everyones hyping this post up
who's hyping?
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 7:25 PM CDT up reply actions
really can't wait
nice touch pass kirk
it feel so weird
and since when has Jerome willaims been an "NBA Legend"
Kirk's doing a great job on Wade
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 7:29 PM CDT reply actions
I really hate
by daaaabulls on Apr 24, 2007 7:29 PM CDT reply actions
BULLSHIT 6
"HACK!" ~marv albert
the "hack" by hinrich?
Thomas scared the crap outta me there
counter 7
the last two
by daaaabulls on Apr 24, 2007 7:32 PM CDT reply actions
Noc dumbass play counter
that was a silly idea stepping in though with Wallace right there.
baseline official was ready to make charge call though...
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 7:32 PM CDT reply actions
FUCK YOU POSEY!
as the crowd chants noc-i-on-i
NOCH!
matt noch nation accepts your apology!
chapu?
by daaaabulls on Apr 24, 2007 7:36 PM CDT up reply actions
Old nickname
Chapulin Colorado!
(They did it on the Simpsons, too. Bumblebee Man?)
I REALLY LOVE THE ARGENTINE
by daaaabulls on Apr 24, 2007 7:35 PM CDT reply actions
Thabo has super long arms by the way
alonzo morning likes heartland
he likes heartland
wow that might have been over the line?
by daaaabulls on Apr 24, 2007 7:37 PM CDT up reply actions
thats why he was speaking on behalf of it
Matt
just did
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 7:39 PM CDT up reply actions
1st quarter thoughts
Noc hitting two threes was huge, and Tyrus has made an impact yet again: assist to Wallace (he's getting better at making the right pass all the time), and a steal.
Gordon playing well with Thabo and manning the point, driving the lane and kicking it out to Noc for his first three.
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 7:38 PM CDT reply actions
yikes
Luckily he made two 3-pointers before I could get upset with that, haha.
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 7:40 PM CDT reply actions
headbands?
by daaaabulls on Apr 24, 2007 7:41 PM CDT reply actions
thabo doesnt look nearly as solid this game
anyone see the nice NYT article on thabo today...it seems like every media outlet did their thabo story within the poast 24 hour
nice ball movement but he ehat
i guess
by daaaabulls on Apr 24, 2007 7:47 PM CDT reply actions
what the boobs
what the balls....
first timeout
Noc isn't going to get flop calls when he's the primary defender on Wade. Granted he was screwed matching up in transition, but he could at least unglue his hands from his side and give Wade a foul he feels.
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 7:48 PM CDT reply actions
second timeout
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 7:53 PM CDT reply actions
for 3K we can rbign 15 kids to the berto center
we just need to set a brutal
i dont like this lineup
nba live move by gordon
god posey looks like hes a thug...
thankgod for that block foul....that was clearly a charge
Skiles HATES leads
That means you have to help Duhon's tiny-ass self when guarding Wade, leaving Posey open for a couple threes. They also get a healthy dose of rebounds with the Noc man at the 4.
There is no reason to put Duhon on Wade. Skiles thought with a 9 point lead and 4 minutes into the half he could take the risk and it backfired.
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 8:01 PM CDT reply actions
im not sure id be promoting less cupholders
i dont care about HP or Engine size but dammit i need 12 cupholders
once again
I was scared of Kapono
if barklet thinks thats a charge
tnt could go on the street
that little surge by miami before the half is
timely shots may have saved us there
Why? because Duhon KILLED them. The Heat scored like crazy when he entered the game. And to cap it, when Skiles puts in Thabo to take wade for the final posession, the heat attack duhon anyway with Kapono shooting over him.
That lineup was a disaster defensively, holy crap.
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 8:12 PM CDT reply actions
someone needs
by daaaabulls on Apr 24, 2007 8:14 PM CDT reply actions
Duhon...
by Rick S on Apr 24, 2007 8:14 PM CDT reply actions
Overall halftime thoughts
Besides that they played another great half. TNT is full of shit when saying it was a Miami tempo...Bulls were playing quick and getting plenty of easy shots.
Difference today is that the 3-pointers are going in. Unfortunately they're not getting to the line as much as they did in game one, so that's why this margin isn't lopsided.
Man, I CAN'T BELIEVE DUHON WAS IN SO LONG!
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 8:19 PM CDT reply actions
Duhon
especially
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 8:23 PM CDT up reply actions
I wish we had
Play hard the second half Bulls!
nice start
i like that
I like how Hinrich is playing thus far
he does
by fundamentallysound on Apr 24, 2007 8:32 PM CDT up reply actions
haha I saw that too
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 8:36 PM CDT up reply actions
loved to shut up this B.S. comment
what tempo, the speed at which they came out of the tunnel? wtf.
Bulls are soooo open. Kerr was right that Miami's transition defense has been better tonight. But being faster doesn't just manifest itself in the open court, the Bulls are just quicker off the ball and when they come off screens they're open
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 8:35 PM CDT reply actions
i really
by daaaabulls on Apr 24, 2007 8:36 PM CDT up reply actions
I love how Ray Allen is a big liar
i know miami wants to play at a slow pace
hooray
And how about the job PJ is doing today? I think Eddie Rush derailed PJ in game one ;-p
This lead needs to get 45 before Duhon can come in.
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 8:39 PM CDT reply actions
You're really giving it to
He deserves it
by ChrisRobin on Apr 24, 2007 10:38 PM CDT up reply actions
suck it posey. flagrant? come on...
cmon Noc
by fundamentallysound on Apr 24, 2007 8:45 PM CDT reply actions
i'd harp on the flagrant
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 8:46 PM CDT reply actions
i wish they showed a replay of that
skiles is pissed at NOCH
Wow, Skiles was pissed at Noc
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 8:46 PM CDT reply actions
wow...po-z
Can we just
There was a comment on that from a diary
It still makes me think of him as the biggest tool ever, though.
fuck kirk
on the postive side i love it that the crowd chants stuff....as close to a college athmosphere as the NBA will get...
fuck its DUH
Chanting crowds are so much fun
Last night I was in a little f#$% the Yankees chant at the Devil Rays vs Yankees game. D-rays FTW
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 8:48 PM CDT reply actions
sub PJ in for Duh
woah
by fundamentallysound on Apr 24, 2007 8:53 PM CDT reply actions
wow
by fundamentallysound on Apr 24, 2007 8:55 PM CDT reply actions
amazing play
he's been blazing Nocioni
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 8:57 PM CDT up reply actions
yeesh, bad play by Gordon
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 8:56 PM CDT reply actions
what the poopy balls
Is Toine in the last year of his contract or somet
i hate to harp on DUH
Duhon
by Sambossanova on Apr 24, 2007 10:34 PM CDT up reply actions
Dude
well,
(sarcasm)
Haha
If it weren't for them, this Bulls team would cease to be a basketball organization.
to compare
Almost as ridiculous as this topic in general,
despite that buzzer-beating three
Managed to survive another Duhon appearance, and that was helped by Riley taking Wade out for a bit.
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 8:59 PM CDT reply actions
Sorry, brain fart on the name
Lesson #2 - in a time out, ask your star player what he thinks the team should do.
the midget lineup
by fundamentallysound on Apr 24, 2007 9:01 PM CDT reply actions
3 guard lineup
by Sambossanova on Apr 24, 2007 10:35 PM CDT up reply actions
FUCK! SKILES!
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 9:02 PM CDT reply actions
question for KC Johnson to ask Skiles
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 9:03 PM CDT up reply actions
wow
by fundamentallysound on Apr 24, 2007 9:06 PM CDT reply actions
WHAT!
how is that a foul on kirk?
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 9:07 PM CDT reply actions
dick piss this sucks
3 guards
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 9:08 PM CDT reply actions
steve kerr
by daaaabulls on Apr 24, 2007 9:09 PM CDT reply actions
i think its javie that looks like the dbag
lose the 3 guard lineup
by fundamentallysound on Apr 24, 2007 9:10 PM CDT reply actions
Oy! Come on numbskulls!
the sweet irony
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 9:14 PM CDT up reply actions
Deng with 6 straight jumpers
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 9:13 PM CDT reply actions
oh, and
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 9:16 PM CDT up reply actions
thank god for thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaabo
poz is flopping worse than waterworld
and an idea....IF, IF IF IF, the series comes to a game 5....we need to get the entire UC to boo poz whenever he gets the ball....it will be amazing to see and hear on tv......im shaking thinking about it
ha
Luckily if you have luol shooting jumpers you don't need an offense
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 9:21 PM CDT up reply actions
Thank god we traded for Pau
big quibble with the rotation
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 9:23 PM CDT reply actions
That shot cracked me up
run up the score!
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 9:26 PM CDT reply actions
that would imply Francis cares about
by fundamentallysound on Apr 24, 2007 9:26 PM CDT up reply actions
always time for a poz sucks chant
jesus
by fundamentallysound on Apr 24, 2007 9:27 PM CDT reply actions
I love Tyrus
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 9:28 PM CDT reply actions
just wanna point out
while we're patting ourselves on the back
Blowout didn't happen as early as I thought it might, but I put that squarely on Skiles and his binkie Duhon :-D
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 9:33 PM CDT up reply actions
congrats everyone!!
by daaaabulls on Apr 24, 2007 9:31 PM CDT reply actions
Shhhh
i want a sweep
that analogy
if the series does come back to Chicago
thats good too
cedric ceballos??
by daaaabulls on Apr 24, 2007 9:40 PM CDT reply actions
does this mean
by daaaabulls on Apr 24, 2007 9:42 PM CDT up reply actions
am i understanding you properly:
by Freethefro on Apr 24, 2007 11:06 PM CDT up reply actions
Yeah...
I guess we know why the Heat can't guard Deng--their head coach doesn't think the Bulls run plays for him!
I thought it was a decent comparison
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 11:18 PM CDT up reply actions
turn the ball over 7 times
anyone think after this preformance that converse will drop wade and elevate kirk
DWade
by Freethefro on Apr 24, 2007 11:03 PM CDT up reply actions
riles is right about that
Hmm
"The Bulls shouldn't be able to wear their black shoes, we can see them as well."
Haha
haha
noch may have had the loudest 10 points in basketball history
If game 1 was a regular season effort...
Riley called out Wade in the media, and the little gimp stunk up the place. Who are they gonna turn to? Walker and his 3s, which barely graze the padding on the backboard? Kapono had his moment and got them close, too bad the law of averages prevails. What was it, 7 minutes, 0 points in the fourth. This bunch of scrubs, gimps, and washups taints "defending champions." What a stale joke. Get off the court.
by vlad001 on Apr 24, 2007 9:51 PM CDT reply actions
Has anyone else tried clicking
It leads me to the Baltimore Orioles homepage.
Sweet.
What a great win
Lame stuff from a hall of fame coach. Thank you David Aldridge for calling out Kenny&Charles for their dissing on Deng at the trade deadline.
by jai on Apr 24, 2007 10:01 PM CDT reply actions
live from the uc
Here are my observations;
Great great crowd. Hope it came across on tv. I am hoarse. Even better than game one
Bwalls defense was awesome, in my opinion. Great performance. Great steals and defense. Earned his big paycheck.
Luol was awesome in the fourth. He is seemingly coming of age.
Gordon had another monster game.
Only thing that concerned me was the three guard lineup in the 4th for extended minutes. Too much du.
Sorry for punctuation. Hard to type on bberry.
Crowd started "we want dee-troit" chant in 4th. Too early for that. Remember the Wiz! Gotta steal one in Miami. Close out in game five.
Crowd was amazing
by vlad001 on Apr 24, 2007 10:09 PM CDT up reply actions
The crowd did come across great
jim gray said sucks
noch and tyrus
Stupid Walker face ruins the whole damn picture
by NittanyBull on Apr 24, 2007 10:09 PM CDT up reply actions
I think...
by corey williams corey benjamin on Apr 24, 2007 10:34 PM CDT up reply actions
If you don't like Walkers face
SI has one of just TT and Noc
beating Matt to game flow
Grabowski -8
Gra-Dukie -3
by Paxson Jackson @ Blog a Bull on Apr 24, 2007 10:09 PM CDT reply actions
as interesting as these are
sheesh, nobody says it's a definitive answer
Raw +/- isn't perfect. For one thing Duhon's disaster of a 2nd quarter was masked by the Bulls making shots on offense.
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 10:17 PM CDT up reply actions
I don't usually worry to much about
Do you think Brown should have played
by NittanyBull on Apr 24, 2007 10:16 PM CDT up reply actions
Brown was fantastic
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 10:18 PM CDT up reply actions
Shades of A.D.
by Paxson Jackson @ Blog a Bull on Apr 24, 2007 10:21 PM CDT up reply actions
Brown
I am probably one of the few who would opt for more playing time for PJ brown instead of tyrus thomas increased minutes. TT should get 10-15 do his energy thing and block a shot dunk cameo. Brown is a veteran and has played in the playoffs. Tyrus is not very dependable and can make big time mistakes that cause momentum to change (shit like turning the ball over).
by Sambossanova on Apr 24, 2007 10:53 PM CDT up reply actions
PJ has his good games
(I think I've been fairer to him than most here, who want 'old man winter' gone while still whining that nobody on the team is tall.)
I thought Tyrus especially should've been in to help out PJ in the 4th when Skiles was resting Wallace. Instead he went with 3 guards, blech. If PJ plays like he did tonight and there's no reason to put in Tyrus for heavy, then that works for me.
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 11:24 PM CDT up reply actions
I was yelling to my friend at the bar...
PJ was okay... but Duhon needed out and Thomas needed in.
But then again, they did win by 18, right? So... if it works.
negative comments
It really hurts his game to ahve to play with 4-5 fouls every game during the fourth quarter. Sefolasha guarded wade pretty poorly today, he was always a step too slow (even with wades bad knee). If Wade was %100 percent im not sure the bulls would be up 2-0.
Lastly, if the heat could shoot open threes the game wouldnt have been such a blowout. Williams, Posey and walker have been awful with the open threes. Kapono is their only good shooter.
I think we're just better than they are.
So long as we play intellegently and hit a reasonable number of our jumpers, we're better.
Period.
by 1958ChiTown on Apr 24, 2007 11:03 PM CDT up reply actions
Just got back from the UC . . .
That being said, this was a complete dismantling. Deng did not play well for the first three quarters, but he was unstoppable in the 4th. As Matt said, PJ Brown was very good tonight, and Ben Wallace had a fell of a game. Anyone only looking at the box score wouldn't realize it (he only had 6 boards), but he did as good a job on Shaq as is humanly possible. He must have stripped the ball from Shaq at least 5 or 6 times tonight.
Here is the craziest thing. In 18 minutes,
by 1958ChiTown on Apr 24, 2007 11:10 PM CDT up reply actions
I was also surprised
by your friendly BullsBlogger on Apr 24, 2007 11:20 PM CDT up reply actions
when mar and steve
Couple thoughts
I predicted Bulls in 5 at the start, and that's looking even more accurate now than it did earlier. Feeling darn good about the remainder of this series. I'd be surprised if the Bulls can't snag one in South Beach. The Heat just don't have the horses. Wade'll win them one game, though.
by corey williams corey benjamin on Apr 24, 2007 11:15 PM CDT reply actions
Hahah... I'm such a tool.
2nd time: #3 overall and Al Horford which I think they'll surely trade for something better.
3rd time: #1 overall and Greg Oden. An Eastern Concerence Finals run (or NBA Finals for that) alongside a Greg Oden selection sends... well, I can just be quiet now.

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