AKA: Game One Roundup links + know your FanPosts/FanShots
Too much to get to for a snappy intro, this game was kind of a big deal*, and had a lot of analysis spawned from it:
- The big game one story was the Bulls size advantage and their ability to dominate the offensive glass. Kevin Arnovitz at the Heat Index goes through each instance of the Bulls getting the board, and looks for the culprit in each. Often it's Bosh, sometimes it's another Heat player, sometimes it's just Joakim Noah being great. Tom Haberstroh notes that the Bulls are the first playoff opponent to be able to thwart the Heat's smaller lineups through rebounding, and doesn't really see many good options in terms of changing personnel. Load O' Bull points out that the seemingly insane decision to play Jamaal Magloire was maybe the best of terrible options, as Magloire at least is still a good defensive rebounder.
- Yet more on offensive rebounding, with great stuff at the mothership from Tom Ziller on the unique awesomeness that is Noah: someone who can crash the offensive glass, yet is always also back in time to anchor the league's best defense. To the StatsCube for more numbers in your face, where several factors are shown to have kept the Heat from running.
- And that's not all there is to Noah, he can also be a point-center able to pick apart the Heat's pick/roll defense. (ht: Load O' Bull)
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Zach Lowe at SI.com focuses on another hero of game one, Taj Gibson, and his ability to disrupt the Heat's small-ball offense. No comment on the part about idiot Bulls fans not thinking Taj was going to be this good. Who were those people?!? (::hugs Tyrus Thomas jersey::)
- M. Haubs at The Painted Area goes even deeper with a look at every instance the Heat were isolated on a Chicago big man. It went pretty horribly for them.
- And I have to close with a just-in-case-you've-still-missed-it (apparently the subject himself hasn't watched), or maybe a see-again-just-because: This, this, and this.
*That includes over 3000 Sunday open thread comments between the start of the telecast and when my recap posted. Simply insane, thanks gang. I appreciate nearly all of them!



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