Might as well had a pajama party at the UC. The Bulls were sleep walking.

Game 1 Quick Hits
-Where is the energy?
-Is this pre-season?
-Bulls just wore out?
-Hawks pulled some shots out of their ass.
-Why is Korver on Crawford?
-I have no idea why some blogger took this Hawks team lightly.
-Rose has fell in love with the 3 ball?
-Josh Smith got dunked on by Boozer... Come on Josh.
-United Center is pretty sad sometimes. Pains me to say it.
-The 2008 Bulls would smack this team in the face for the lack of Playoff intensity.
-We are to new and young for this "turn it off and on" shit. That's reserved for the over the hill types out in Laker land or in bean town.

Game 2





Wow what a difference effort makes. Was it pretty? No. But we won. This team still looks nothing like the team I knew during the season. I just wonder if the intense season has caught up to them. Even Rose said in his MVP speech that its been "a long season" which I found interesting. He also did all the USA stuff too so this would make sense. But this is what you play those 82 games for.

I keep thinking back to that 08 team that pushed the Cs in their prime to a game 7 and I don't see the energy or the intense moments that team had. The energy was still better tonight and lets hope they bring it on the road. The Bulls are far from being out of the woods. ATL will be very loud(unlike UC). A true test is ahead of us on Wed.

Roses 
Derrick was alright... I am still not crazy about his shot selection. When Noah bangs out a hard Off Board and you then jack a 3 and miss it short(like 80% of your misses) I have a problem with that. I would like to see a chart of his 3 point attempts by the month. For most the season he shot when open but now he just jacks them with no rhythm or anything. Almost like hes out to prove that he can make them. I really think he needs to let them come to him. If your open let it fly. If your dribbling... Don't. He's just so good going to the hoop you hate to see wasted shots that are not there.

His turnover problem is getting a bit out of hand too. Some of his passes I have no idea what he is seeing. I understand he gets caught in the air at times or a defender just makes a good play but at times he just throwing it into a sea of red Hawk players(or pacers). I almost fell out of my chair when he fell down right before the end of the 3rd and allowed the Teague to get fouled for two FTs.  I know he knows hes being careless. I expect him to get better... I hope.

Yeah I know, that was all pretty negative. He did better getting to the hoop but the Hawks have such long athletic dudes its harder for him to finish. He was still better here then in game 1 in getting to the rack. He still only had 6 Fts which is still low imo. Need to be in the 10ish range. I will say his defense has been out standing for the most part. Blocking shots,Challenging shots and getting his hands in on loose balls.

Smith licking his chops 
When Smith saw Boozer going to the rim he had a block party every time. Boozer got the first blow when he dunked on Smith in Game 1 but in game 2 Smith had four blocks. All on Boozer(at least it seemed like). Like I said in the preview, Boozer needs to use a ton of head fakes and post moves to get open looks around the hoop. He can't go toe to toe with Josh Smith around the rim. Boozer still struggling but at least he rebounds no matter what.

D=Deng or Defense? 
Deng got Johnson most the night(I was surprised he didnt more in game one). He did a great job. Making Joe dribble the air out of the ball for a lot of the night. Deng is long and Johnson can't get those easy looks. He still shot well but didnt get even half the looks he got in game one. Deng was alright on offense. If he can do that the rest of the series the Bulls should win in 6.

Noah vs Horford
I know what to expect out of Jo but he has done an outstanding job on Horford. I expected a bit more scoring out of Horford. I am also not sure if he isn't getting as much looks with the Hawks playing one on one ball so much but Noah has shut him down for the most part. I do think he is a player that plays better at home. He just plays with more energy. Noah better expect that. So far though Noah has won this match up I saw as a draw.

The Good
-Noah at 100% is like "ahhhhhh".
-Deng should be on the all defensive team
-Rose's defense
-Good coaching tonight. Good traps and doubles. Match up changes.
-Better effort and energy

The Bad
-Rose still has bad shot selection.
-Bench Mob still ... Meh
-End of the 3rd
-Teague? Really?

The Ugly
-Josh Smith, What if this dude didnt have a 10 cent brain?
-Korver 1-9... Should have been 0-10
-Rose careless with the ball
-David Rose? Is he sorta like Johnny Kilroy?
-Need to play hard 60% of the time..all the time...wait what?

The Players

Noah: Out standing...Simple as that.
Boozer: Struggling still but I really think is making baby steps.
Deng: Did the Job on Joe Johnson and still was a factor on offense.
Bogans: Got his two 3s=win!
Rose: so-so night. Still maybe effected by ankle.

Bench Mob

Thomas: Needs to play more imo.
Korver: Is now cold. This team is the worst match up for him.
Watson: Was solid. Hit a matching three.
Brewer: Looked a lot better. Really got after it.
Gibson: Not much PT, but got a big dunk.
Asik: Got gooned But ugly face.