After watching the game over its pretty clear that Thibs and the Bulls are going with a "OMG THERE IS LEBRON OR WADE! GET EM!"(forget Bosh, let him score) strategy and it worked to a tee. The Bulls are allowed to do this for a few reasons.

1.Most the Bulls bigs can switch on picks. This a giant advantage in basketball when your bigs can switch picks with out a whole lot of worry.
2.The Bulls play help defense on a string. Meaning that the Bulls roatate and move with out much communication. They are one with in each other.
3.Active. Having hands up on shots, hands on the ball, ball pressure. All this adds up over the course of a game. We saw this in Game 1 as the game went on it wore on the Miami Heat.

Pictures

Here Wade comes off a curl and Bulls show Anthony no respect leaving him for the dump off. Deng is still glued to Lebron and Bosh and left for his jumper. Wade is met by 3 Bulls. He opts for the drop off to Anthony where Noah makes a quick rotation for a block that goes out of bounds. This is just one example of how the Bulls have many Luxuries because of Noah's skill set.

Here you can see Noah step back into the lane and help Deng deny the Ball to Lebron. I saw this many times when the Heat tried find him on the post. The Ball was swung to Bosh.... VICTORY! The little things like that add up and is a big factor into winning basketball games. Limiting touches of the best player on the court.

Wade is covered by Boozer,Bogans and Noah is thinking about coming. Rose has to stay with Anthony and let Bibby go. The Bulls are willing to let the Heat's other players win the game which is a great way to play since they are pretty much terrible. Wade passes it to Bibby who does score but the Bulls will live with it and force Wade not to find any rhythm.

WOW... Lebron took one dribble to the lane and the Bulls go "GET EM!!". Four Bulls to Lebron and Rose lets Chalmers wonder around the 3pt line with out much worry. Lebron tries to drop it off to Bosh but the ball is tipped out of bounds. Thibs is selling out on Lebron and the % works in the Bulls favor.

Here are one of the many defensive 3 sec calls that Boozer has received this post season. They make Bulls fans wanna put their head in a microwave. Once again you can see all the over help the Bulls are giving Lebron. Boozer is thinking the right idea but before Lebron even got below the FT line Boozer was in the paint giving help to Bosh who has now moved. This defensive 3 sec call was a bit fast but the right call.

Here you can See Asik leave Jamaal with out giving much of a care(can't blame him..dude can barley walk). The Bulls over load again on Lebron. CJ loses defensive awareness and lets Jamaal slip under the Hoop. Lebron is a great passer and finds Jamaal under the hoop where he struggles to dunk it as he misses his first attempt but does find the score on the second try. If I had to guess the Jamaal Magloire experiment is over.

At the end of the first Wade tries to go one on five and fails. Brewer was very active(like we talked about at the top) and got his hand on the ball many times. Noah has to worry about no one as he comes up to help. Deng is ready to come to as Wade tries to get a grip on the Ball. The Ball slips out of bounds and it goes back to the Heat. Plays like these frustrate Wade all game.

On the next play the Bulls have the clock on their side as they trap Wade in the corner and leave Miller. This just smart basketball as Wade has to adjust to just get the shot off. The Shot is wide right and the end of the first. I think Wade is beyond frustrated at this point as the Bulls are doubling and tripling his every move.

You can see here where Lebron finds the ball in the post and is met by three Bulls. Noah is gonna let Anthony wonder away every time. Taj's man Bosh(not pictured) doesn't help Lebron much as he stands and watches out of range for shot at the top of the three point line. Lebron has to throw it out to Bibby which is a win every time for the Bulls. Where Rose covers Bibby.

Once again Asik gives little care about Jamaal has he helps Brewer box in Wade. Taj is fronting Bosh so Wade has no choice other then to swing the ball to James Jones. Like I have said before its the small little things like this that no one notices that win basketball games. Limiting touches and players shots.

On this play Lebron comes up and Noah just waits for Lebron leaving Bosh alone(again). Once Lebron drives he sticks his big mitts on the ball knocking it away. Noah dives and saves the Ball and the Bulls are off and running. Noah shows again what makes him so special on the defensive end. Lebron makes the mistake of forcing the issue. He forgets that Noah isn't Jermaine O'Neal and he gotta respect his help.

So whats it all mean?
This just a few plays from the first half. The pictures shows what 48 mins of this can do to your offense. How it might throw a wrench in your plans. While it did help that the Bulls offense was also hitting. But this kind of defense should be the standard all series. The thing that the Bulls have be aware of is the Big three's adjustments. They are smart players and seeing this stuff all the time will cause them to figure parts of it out over a 7 game series but the Bulls are so good at it that I think this could be a major reason the Bulls can win this series.

Now this isn't defensive but all..... TAJ GIBSON OWNING YOUR SOUL!
Taj getting ready to get out his pogo stick.

Magloire give Taj a little boost!

OHHHHHHHH! Watson with the best seat in the house.

THAT JUST HAPPENED DE...YANE.... WADE.


OH MY GOD THE TAJZILLA IS LOOSE ON MIAMI! 

Derrick Rose is the MVP. It was really no surprise. I mean the dude took a team which many thought would finish behind The Magic(LOL) and gave them the best record in the NBA. Thats something you don't see often in the NBA. Surprises are far and few in the league. Its easy to say the Bulls and Derrick surprised the NBA and took it by storm.



You gotta love how Derrick is a real dude. Like the idiots I hang out with. He doesn't drag along leeches that suck on his wallet. He cares for his family and by looking at him you wouldn't know he was well off. He plays for the People and not him self. His team loves him and we love how he plays. Way to go Derrick.

More DRose Youtubes love.

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.

Well I made a giant error on the Celtic preview/PP rant. I said the Bulls haven't beaten the Celtics. I have no clue how that even happened. During the game it hit me like a ton of bricks... OH YEAH WE BEAT THESE FOOLS ALREADY... too late to edit.. oh well. I didn't have much creditability anyway. I mean there is poo in my banner. On to the game.

The Bulls wanted this one and The Celtics put up the white flag at some point in the 3rd. I do think this is the year the Celtics don't make it to the ECF. This turn it on and off Bullshit doesn't work when everyone is 35. Hell the Bulls can barley do it and there young as hell. I see Miami beating them in the 2nd round. Also add in the Perkins factor.

The highlight of the night was Rose making Rondo his bitch time and time again. The Rose vs Rondo fights from the last two years had me raising my voice to my friends and than would turn into full out wrestling match in the living room. Even as a rookie Rose was leaps and bounds better player to me. I saw Rondo as someone who did a lot because he had Ray on one wing, PP on the other and KG on the block. That opens truck like lanes for you. Not to mention my jumper is better than his(no really it is). I think if you stick Rondo on the Kings hes gonna be a pretty avg PG and not a All Star. You stick Rose on the Kings and they make a Playoff push for the 8th seed. My idiot friends are too dense to see this.


Rose did whatever he wanted. When you can score 30pts on 16 shots you got game. Not mention highlights. Has Kobe ever scored 30 on 16 shots? Its like Rose has become self aware this year. "oh I am the man"... Yes you are the man Derrick. He had the Cs on roller skates all night.



Boozer I think played his best defense since becoming a Bull. Even recorded a block! He was very active. Thibs had to be proud. He still struggles with bigger PF like KG but did his work on Green and Baby bitch. Speaking of which, Kurt big sexy Thomas won that mind game. Big baby is a bitch and Kurt took him out of the game.

Keith did a awesome job on Ray and hit his two three balls. What else could you want? Deng had another good game. He means a lot to this team and I would take him any day over PP right now. Noah did pretty good for not being 100%. He still has a way to go but will get there.

The Good
-Rondo cleans Roses Adizero on the street
-Boozer playing defense
-Deng is worth the money(haters from 2007)
-Thomas wins mind war
-Holding Ray Allen to 3-11(won't happen often)

The Bad
-UC seemed tame? Maybe not? I wasnt there.
-Korver chucking a bit.
-Watson only 8 mins
-Boozers hands
-Noah still hurting

The Ugly
-Omer's hands
-Celtic shooting
-O'neal 0 rebounds... what a joke.

The Players

Noah: His ankle still a huge issue. Wouldnt mind if he say vs the Magic.
Boozer: Played the best D of his Bulls career. Was solid on the block.
Deng: Better than PP imo. Out played his lazy ass on both ends.
Bogans: Stuck to Ray like glue. Hit two threes ..all is well.
Rose: Epic.

The Bench Mob

Korver: Chucked a bit but hit a three.
Thomas: Made Big bitch his bitch.
Watson: Did well for 8mins
Asik: Has awful hands. Gets too excited and rushes himself. May see limited playoff action.
Gibson: Awesome again. Just knows his role and plays it to a tee.
Brewer: Tip dunk and all energy.
Butler: We have a sighting folks! 3 ball!

The Bulls and the Celtics will go at it tonight at the UC. I really feel like this is a must win for a team with a 3+ game lead.

Why?

Simple we haven't beat them this year. This will go the same for the Knicks. I know at the end of the year you wanna rest some people but isn't the time. I know the team knows this. For a while now the Bulls have played some pretty crappy ball but have found ways to win. This is something that can jump start them for the playoffs. Get their motor humming again.

The Bulls really haven't played with much of en edge since the Kings and Hawk beat downs. The UC should be a buzz tonight and so should the team. I expect a sense of urgency from the Bulls tonight. They know the message must be sent. We are better than you now. We are younger. We will kill you in the playoffs. Than again it goes back to the same questioned I posed yesterday. Are the Bulls killers? Do they want stomp your fingers when your hanging off the cliff ? I think we find that out soon enough.

I know Derrick will bring it tonight. Just gotta wonder if Deng and the gang can show up. Deng was great vs Miami so I think we can count him in. The Celtic bench is the one bench that can hang with the Bulls so don't expect the Bulls bench to trump this teams tomorrow. Lets hope they do but the Celtic bench has proved to hold its own.

This game should be great and I hope we pull it out and send a message. Lets hope Noah can channel some of his old self. Even when he dinged up.

As for Paul Pierces facial hair. Its like he cuts parts of his goat off and paste patches on the side of his cheeks.  Like Dude, we know you cant grow a facial hair. Stop trying. Maybe my hate for PP runs deep and now I'm just picking on him. I just can't stand his lazy style of play. I have no idea how he makes shots. He gets zero lift on anything he does yet it goes in. He also looks like he hasn't lifted a weight in his life. Oh and this is the clincher.

You can even tell that Tony Allen is like "come on dude".

Theres nothing more to really say. That was a pathetic moment.  The reason why non NBA fans say the league is full of pussies.

The last few weeks the Bulls fans have been spewing hate towards Carlos Boozer. I don't think its fair and I think your bat shit crazy if you think this team can even make it to a Conf Final without him on the floor. We knew when we signed him that he was gonna miss some games(that last sprain I won't blame on him. Kwame enjoy the NBDL). We knew his defense was suspect.

He took the lead as the most frustrating Bulls player to watch.

I'm losing faith in both Boozer and Noah. It's becoming obvious they don't fit each other well.

 How about a ballsy GM that after winning a championship trades Noah AND Boozer for Dwight Howard.

I swear we could be 76-0 and people would still find ways to dump on Boozer. Hell even the crazy trade talks have come out of the wood works. I will trade you Boozer, a Snuggie and a Shawn Kemp autograph for Howard and J-Rich(just so we can solve our SG issue too).

The whole Taj is better thing is pretty off. Sure Taj is a great defender and is nice around the hoop but his jumper isn't money by any means. He can't do anything for us in the post. We throw the ball to Booz and tell him to go get us 2 points and he does a lot of the time. You can't replace that.

His defense is pretty bad but I think the ankle is making it worse. Ever tried moving lateral on a bad ankle? Its pretty tough. I am not saying he is a good defender because hes not but hes not as bad as the last few games.
I think he will be in better form come playoff time. People just need to get off his back. He gives you something the Bulls have lacked for about 10 years and now you wanna throw him to the curb? And we have the best record in the East? Hello? God knows I have heard enough yelling during the games from him but he can yell all he wants as long as he rebs and scores. Don't give up on him yet. Be happy we have that dude on the block. Support the Boozer.

Clever girl....

I could only catch the 4th since I had a mens league game at 7:30(damn you team jimmy johns!). What I saw in the forth wasn't pretty. I was pretty surprised that the issue was our defense. Raptors who have won a whooping 16 games shoot a blistering 58% and put up a 118 pts. The Bulls putting up 113 should have been enough. More than enough. I can't even name the Raptors starting line up! ahhhh Vince and T-Mac? I have no freakin clue! Thats how bad this team is. I expected some bumps with Noah back but nothing the Bulls couldn't play through with the Raptors. I was very wrong.

James Johnson had his super bowl and he treated it as such. He had every reason to have his best game and he did. From my 4thQ view I saw a lot of terrible defense. Out of time outs the Bulls were owned by the X and Os the Raps coach came up with. A curl play sticks out in my mind when the Bulls just didn't talk on the curl pick and DeRozan got to the hoop with ease. I didn't get a chance to re watch the play due to watching the game on my computer but at that point in the game with it tied its pretty much laying an egg so to speak.

I don't wanna throw Booz under the bus but he had two terrible defensive plays that cost the Bulls big. Both times not keeping his feet. One on a pump fake that cost them two free throws and Amir Johnson took Boozer to house on a up and under that left Booz shaking his head. He needs to improve on that end of the court and I think he will. Tibs will demand it going forward.

Derrick did play well and did everything he could do dodge a awful lost. In the end the Bulls defense was just too terrible to pull it out. Noah only had 5 points but did grab 16 REBS which shows how no matter how out of shape he maybe he will always bring effort every night. I really think the Bulls can use this to beat the Heat(not saying they will). They wanna get this taste out of their mouth. They wanna prove it to be a off night. This game with the Heat will be tough. It was tough last time out with only Wade and Bosh(who didnt play a lot of the game). I hope this is a good kick in the butt and we come out like gangbusters... whatever that means.

Random Note
-LIVE BLOG DURING HEAT GAME. Goes up at 7:45est. Right here on the main page.