Still no real clue about which free agent(s) the Bulls will target this summer.
There’s always a certain amount of ambiguity surrounding a team after it is eliminated from the NBA playoffs. But the Bulls are one big question mark. The only players under contract for next season are Derrick Rose, James Johnson, Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng and Taj Gibson. Of course, there’s a sense that either Hinrich or Deng would be offered up readily in a sign-and-trade scenario. And Vinny has been one of the walking dead for months, although we won’t know for sure until this weekend or early next week.
What is the future of this team?
This season — and to an even greater extent these playoffs — proved that Rose and Noah provide a great foundation on which to build. Of course, the season and playoffs also proved the Bulls are another All-Star away from being something other than the scrappy team that sneaks into the playoffs and fights valiantly before their annual early exit.
We’re supposed to trust in management’s plan…even if we aren’t 100 percent certain what that plan is.
Jerry Reinsdorf is sitting on a big pile of cash. How will he spend it? I doubt LeBron James will come to Chicago. My two cent pscyhoanalysis is that LeBron wants to be bigger than Michael Jordan by the time his career is over, and that might be impossible if he comes to the Windy City, where he would be playing in Jordan’s shadow from the get go. If he leaves Cleveland, it’s most likely he’ll go to New York, right? James loves the Big Apple, and he would be the city’s greatest basketball player before suiting up for a single game.
Everything Dwyane Wade has been saying seems to indicate he’s not leaving Miami any time soon. Chris Bosh is still in play, and he would fill Chicago’s biggest need…a reliable frontcourt scorer. The biggest obstacle to Bosh will be the other teams throwing cash his way. Miami has more cap space available than the Bulls, and they have a former NBA Finals MVP, not to mention beautful weather 12 months a year.
I was critical of Joe Johnson’s performance in Game 5 of the Bucks-Hawks series, but to be honest, my reluctance toward Joe has more to do with the fact that he’s a volume shooter who’s numbers feel to reliant on big minutes and plenty of touches. I’m not sure he’s the ideal player to pair with Rose. I know, I know. The same could be said of D-Wade, but Wade is a superstar and Johnson.
No, I’m not excited about David Lee. I can’t shake the feeling that somebody is going to overpay for Lee this summer and that somebody will be very disappointed over the next four to five seasons.
Carlos Boozer? Word has it he wants to stay in Utah. Amar’e Stoudemire? It’s starting to look like the Phoenix Suns might break the bank to keep him.
Every possibility has a dark side. The folks in the front office have left the team and the fans dangling for the last season or two or three or four…and there’s no clear path to change. There are vague, blurry possibilities. We can only hope the Bulls don’t go the way of the Detroit Pistons — who spent over $90 million for Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva last summer — because that would be catastrophic.
As far as coaches go, my pick would be Jeff Van Gundy. I’m not sure that would be a poplular pick among most Bulls fans, but his teams always play tough defense and execute a disciplined (if unspectacular) offense. But as I said above, it’s not clear whether the Bulls will need a new coach. (That seems like a joke, right? I feel like management is dragging its feet on a decision that has already been made…but what do I know?
The 2009-10 Atlanta Hawks won 53 games. That was the third-best regular season record in the Eastern Conference and Atlanta’s best finish since the 1993-94 campaign. All-Star Joe Johnson (21.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 4.9 APG, 1.1 SPG) was a big reason for the Hawks’ success.
Johnson ranked 10th in Minutes Per Game (38.0), 11th in Points Per Game, tied (with Derrick Rose) for 13th in points (1,619), 19th in Usage Percentage (26.3) and 19th in Offensive Win Shares (6.0). According to 82games.com, Joe also ranked 8th in Clutch Scoring (39.5 Points Per 48 Minutes of Clutch Time).
Johnson is a hot-shooting (at times) two guard. The Bulls need a hot-shooting two guard. And if they can’t get Dwayne Wade or Chris Bosh, Johnson is probably among their Plans C, D, E, etc.
However, Joe’s performance last night in Atlanta’s 91-87 home lossto the Milwauke Bucks wasn’t pretty.
His line was bad enough on its own — only 13 points on 6-for-16 shooting (0-for-3 on from downtown), one measely trip to the line, a game-worst 4 turnovers and his first foul out of the season.
But let’s talk about foul number six.
The Hawks were still up 82-81 when Kurt Thomas — only the oldest, creakiest player in the game — suckered Joe Cool into a charge. Maybe Atlanta still would have lost even with Johnson on the floor…or maybe not. But spending the last two-plus minutes of “Winning Time” without their best player sure didn’t help matters.
Said Johnson: “It was a terrible loss. It was embarrassing.”
He’s not wrong. The Hawks shouldn’t just be better than the Bucks, they should be muchbetter. After all, Milwaukee is playing without Andrew Bogut. By the numbers, Bogus is the Bucks’ best player.
Home games against inferior opponents…there’s no better time for a star player to step up. However, Johnson did not. That’s a concern. If Joe demands a max or close-to-the-max contract this offseason, well, I’m not sure that would be the best use of the Bulls’ money. Johnson is an All-Star, but not a superstar.
Most people thought Vinny Del Negro would be fired immediately after the Bulls were eliminated from the playoffs. Well, it turns out we’re going to have to wait a few more days to find out anything.
According to Melissa Isaacson of ESPNChicago.com: “The Chicago Bulls will not make an announcement on the fate of head coach Vinny Del Negro at least until the weekend, general manager Gar Forman said following the Bulls’ first-round series-ending loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. The team will have player exit meetings Wednesday and organizational meetings for the next couple of days. No decision will be made until those meetings are concluded and Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf returns from out of town this weekend, Forman said.”
So, either: 1) Vinny might actually have a shot at returning next season, or 2) the front office wants to make it look like Vinny has a shot at returning next season. My gut tells me it’s more 2 than 1, but who knows?
Maybe the delay is due in part to the fact that Derrick Rose has been very vocal in his support of Del Negro. Here’s what Derrick had to say immediately after the team’s first round elimination:
“We both came in as rookies. It would be devastating. But it’s not up to me, it’s up to the front office. They’re the ones that drafted me, so I guess I’m behind them. It would be unusual, especially since it’s our second time [in the playoffs]. But the league changes constantly. I guess that’s how it is in the NBA. It’s tough to coach up here.
“That’s a guy, when we both came in, he let me have my freedom. He still coached me. He let me make my mistakes. We watched film together every day. He taught me a lot of offense and defense, what I’m supposed to do. But the decision is not up to me. It’s up to the front office, so I’m just going to let them deal with that.”
Regardless of how management feels about Del Negro, that kind of support from the franchise player — I mean, Derrick said Vinny getting canned would be “devastating” — could go a long way. It’s also interesting how Rose said: “They’re the ones that drafted me, so I guess I’m behind them.” He has to guess? It sounds to me like Derrick is more in Vinny’s corner than management’s.
He isn’t the only one. Earlier this season, Charles Barkley gave Del Negro his vote of approval, and even LeBron had some positive things to say after last night’s game: “Vinny and that coaching staff had those guys ready. They have a group of young talent that loves to play the game of basketball and they play hard. There was not one point where they kind of laid down. I’m not trying to make a pitch for Vinny because I know what’s going on — ‘Is Vinny in or is Vinny out?’ That’s not my job, but this team that we played in this series played hard.”
That’s a lot of love coming Del Negro’s way. In the end, it might not make any difference. If management wants him gone, he’s gone. But we won’t know for sure until the weekend.
This is what Dwyane Wade had to say after his Miami Heat were eliminated from the playoffs by the Boston Celtics:
“This will be my last first-round exit for a while, I can tell you that. I’m looking forward to continuing to build, and being with some great players next year, continuing to beef up our roster. I think I put myself in a great situation three years ago, to sign this deal, to make sure my team stayed competitive. We’ve got some work to do, the front office has [work] to do. You just have to see things being done, being accomplished. If we see that, we’ll be talking again.”
That doesn’t sound like someone who’s seriously considering a change of address.
Don't be sad, Derrick. You and the Bulls made Chicago proud.
As far as last stands go, this was pretty impressive.
The Bulls showed up in Cleveland for Game 5 of their first round playoff series against LeBron James and his Cavaliers as a Dead Team Walking led by a Dead Coach Walking. And after the way they got hammered at home in Game 4, I think most people expected a swift and merciless execution.
This was just the latest in a long list of times the 2009-10 Bulls have been left for dead. They were supposed to give up after starting the season 10-17. Or after all the rumors that Vinny Del Negro was about to get fired mid-season. Or after Joakim Noah got injured. Or after the trades that sent John Salmons and Tyrus Thomas out of town in exchange for a handful of expiring contracts. Or after that 10-game losing streak. Or after they squeaked into the playoffs only to get matched up with the best team in the league, which just happens to feature the best player on the planet.
But understand this: These Bulls don’t have “quit” in them.
I can’t quite explain it. Maybe Derrick Rose (game-high 31 points, 6 assists) is even closer to stardom than we thought. Maybe Joakim Noah (8 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, 7 turnovers) has an iron will that transcends mere numbers. Maybe Luol Deng (26 points, 8-for-11 from the line, 6 boards) is tougher than anybody gives him credit for. Maybe the players actually wanted to win this one for Vinny.
Who knows?
All we know for sure is that the Bulls gave the Cavaliers just about everything they could handle in what turned out to be the final game of a surprisingly competitve series. Cleveland was supposed to blow Chicago off the map, metaphorically speaking. This was supposed to be a cruel four-game sweep featuring at least three (if not four) blowouts. Instead, the Bulls pushed it to five games and played well enough to win three of them.
There’s no shame in that.
Honestly, as a fan, it’s hard not to question the officiating at least a little. Shaq was throwing his giant forearm into his defenders and those defenders were getting called for fouls. Early in the fourth quarter, after two consecutive tough calls on Miller, Shaq turned the ball over. Flip Murray sped downcourt, getting bumped and shoved the whole way. No call. Then, with 7:35 to go in the game, Rose hit a shot while being fouled by Shaq…only the continuaton was taken away. The result was a shot clock violation by the Bulls, after which the Cavs went on a run that pushed their one-point lead to nine.
But the Bulls fought back.
Of course, the fourth quarter exposed some of the team’s warts. Such as their lack of size and strength in the frontcourt, hence the 17 fouls between Brad Miller (fouled out), Taj Gibson (fouled out) and Joakim Noah (5 personals). The fact that Shaq was earning touch fouls while bowling into his defender — particularly Miller, who earned 6 fouls in about 9 minutes — didn’t help.
Then there was the foul shooting, where the Bulls ranked in the lower half of the league all season. Missed foul shots cost Chicago a handful of games (at least in part) over the course of the season. Well, they missed four of them during the final quarter, three by Gibson and one by Kirk Hinrich. Those misses make the final two-point margin of defeat kind of sting.
Then too, there is the team’s utter lack of three-point shooting. The Bulls were 2-for-10 from downtown for the game, and they had nowhere to go when they desperately needed a triple on the last few plays.
Speaking of which, the final wart was Del Negro’s playcalling out of timeouts. Chicago’s final two possessions were an exercise in frustration and futility. Not to take anything away from Cleveland’s defense, which was solid, but the Bulls looked like pickup team coming out of their final two timeouts. A bad one. In all fairness, personnel (or lack thereof) certainly limits Vinny’s options, but any team that has Rose should be able to generate a better look than what they got.
No matter.
This season was a success. No, I’m not kidding. And I think By The Horns reader Brad S. put it best after the Bulls lost Game 4:
“How many of us would say that this season was disappointing? Oh sure, there are some things I am disappointed with: Vinny’s playcalling, Taj’s dissappearance in the playoffs, all the injuries leading to swapping draft picks with the Bucks, Salmons returning to form for the Bucks, and finally the lack of respect from management towards Vinny. However, the goal of this season was first and foremost to get under the salary cap enough to sign a free agent. (Check) The secondary goal was to play well enough to get into the playoffs. (Check) On top of that, the core of this team each showed talent and heart, when they could have mailed it in. I, for one, am not in any way disappointed.”
It’s true.
Outside of the Portland Trail Blazers and Washington Wizards, not too many teams experienced as much injury, player turnover and general tumult as the Bulls. And let’s face it, management chose specifically not to invest in this year’s squad in hopes of building a better team through free agency this summer. That’s right: Even the people running the Bulls left them for dead…and I mean from Day 1 of the season.
And so the 2009-10 Chicago Bulls have officially become a footnote in NBA history. It may turn out that they were the first step on LeBron’s path to his first league championship. That may not sound like anything to be proud of, but in the final analysis, this team showed more heart than anybody could have realistically expected from them. They went down fighting against a vastly superior opponent.
They did Chicago proud.
Vinny on his future:
“I don’t even think about that stuff. I enjoy the experience, I enjoy the competitiveness. It’s about the players to me. I’m proud of the guys, I’m proud of the way they stuck together. They played hard and played through adversity.
“I can’t worry about that. I don’t worry about it. I know how hard my staff has worked and what we’ve done here the last two years. How anyone wants to judge that will judge it and we’ll move on. I’ve been too fortunate in my career and my life to worry about those things. Those decisions will be made now moving forward.”
Derrick on Vinny’s future:
“We both came in as rookies. It would be devastating. But it’s not up to me, it’s up to the front office. They’re the ones that drafted me, so I guess I’m behind them.
“It would be unusual, especially since it’s our second time [in the playoffs]. But the league changes constantly. I guess that’s how it is in the NBA. It’s tough to coach up here.”
TrueHoop Network: John Krolik of Cavs the Blog: “Game ball goes to Antawn Jamison. This is why the Cavs got him. He made his threes, he cut to the basket, he carried the Cavs at times, and he made his free throws. When the Cavs needed baskets late, they went to him and he delivered. Great game for Antawn.”
Update! Bonus stats:
The following facts and figures were compiled by Jason Starrett of ESPN Stats and Information:
1. Derrick Rose did all he could to keep the Bulls in the game on Tuesday, scoring a game-high 31 points. However, it was the defense of G Delonte West that allowed the Cavaliers to hold on down the stretch. Against West, Rose scored 6 points on 1-for-8 shooting and committed 2 turnovers. Against everybody else, Derrick went 10-for-19, scored 25 points and didn’t commit a turnover.
2. LeBron James had trouble finding the bottom of the net on Tuesday against the Bulls, but when he did have success, it was usually against F Luol Deng. Against Deng, LeBron drew 7 fouls, went 4-for-6 from the field and scored 14 points. Against everybody else, James drew 2 fouls, shot 1-for-6, had a shot blocked and scored 5 points.
3. James was 2-9 on contested FG attempts and 3-3 on those that were uncontested, including his lone 3-pt FG.
I can only speculate about what the Bulls’ free agent plans are this summer. There’s a pretty good chance that Plans A and B will focus on players like Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, but there are almost certainly Plans C, D, E, etc.
I’m guessing Joe Johnson is among those later letters.
Johnson is a good target. As ESPN’s Marc Stein pointed out: “[The Bulls] should now be able to afford a max-level player such as Chris Bosh or Joe Johnson without being forced to trade away a veteran such as Kirk Hinrich or Luol Deng or rookie James Johnson.”
That won’t matter much if Johnson chooses to stay with the Hawks. Of course, there’s no telling what is going to happen this summer.
Amid speculation that coach Vinny Del Negro could be standing in an unemployment line as early as tomorrow — said Joakim Noah: “How about we just focus on the game tomorrow and see what happens. When the season’s over, you’ll figure it out.” — the Bulls are hobbling into what may be their final game of the 2009-10 season.
Derrick Rose, who hurt his left ankle stepping on Shaq’s foot in Game 4, had an MRI yesterday. Bulls fans can take a huge sigh of relief, because there were no significant findings. Nothing’s certain yet, but my guess is that Rose will play in Game 5. Ditto for Luol Deng, who’s feeling pain in his calf and knee.
It’s been that kind of season.
Said Del Negro: “Obviously, we need both those guys to play at a high level. I think they’ll both be fine and ready to play. But who’s 100 percent at this time of the year? Not many guys.”
Well, LeBron James is about 174 percent. But other than that…
A few years ago, I went to a local court to play pickup basketball with a group of friends. In our first (and what turned out to be our only) game, we got matched up against a team composed of skinny high schoolers. Admittedly, we went into the contest assuming an easy victory. After all, we were older, stronger and generally more talented than that squad of young upstarts.
As it turned out, they took it to us and eked out a two-point victory (in most pickup games, you have to win by two). There were so many people waiting to play, we never got back onto the court. The loss made me and my friends so angry, we returned the next week for a rematch. Now properly motivated, we overwhelmed those kids with our size and strength, running them off the court and leaving no doubt who the better team was.
That story popped into my head while I was watching Game 4, because that’s what it looked like: A battle of men against boys.
Going into this series, the Cavaliers could probably be accused of taking the Bulls lightly. Heck, everybody was. And why not? The best team in the league versus the worst team to make the playoffs. Of course, doing so was to underestimate the resolve of a Chicago team that had many, many chances to give up over the course of the regular season. But they never did, and they brought that never-say-die spirit into the postseason.
Sometimes something as simple as a win can awaken a sleeping giant. And I’m not talking about LeBron James. Sure, he had his fifth career postseason triple-double – 37 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists — but he’s been an uncontrollable monster all series. No, I’m talking about the rest of the Cavaliers, who as a group decided it was time to put the hammer down.
And that’s what they did.
Antawn Jamison scored 24 points on 9-for-16 shooting, sometimes making a mocker of Luol Deng’s defense. Mo Williams (19 points, 6-for-10, 3-for-6 from downtown) and Anthony Parker (12 points, 4-for-7, 2-for-3 on threes) were on target from outside. And J.J. Hickson (10 points, 3-for-4 from the field, 4-for-4 from the line) gave Cleveland a boost off the bench.
But even though the Cavs finished the game with an Effective Field Goal Percentage of 60 percent, they didn’t win this one with offense. I know that sounds crazy considering they scored 75 points over the second and third quarters, but in reality they won it with defense. Cleveland upped their intensity on D, using their superior size and roughing up a Bulls team that simply doesn’t have the size to rough them back. The Cavaliers put up a wall around the rim, forcing Chicago to miss 16 of their 30 layup attempts. They also aggressively put hands into the faces of the Bulls’ shooters, who went 19-for-60 from the outside.
Derrick Rose was 3-for-10 from the outside and 9-for-20 on the night. Luol Deng went 1-for-3 on layups and 6-for-15 on jumpers (although, in his semi-defense, the officials were overlooked a few whacks on the wrist by LeBron). Kirk Hinrich — who’s shooting had been so integral in that Game 3 win — didn’t attempt a single layup and finished 3-for-13. Taj Gibson attempted four shots and converted only one of them.
Don’t even get me started about the bench.
And in the middle of this playoff apocalypse was Joakim Noah, playing with do-or-die intensity and refusing to give up. Noah crashed the boards with something akin to bloodlust, finishing with a game-high 20 rebounds, including 7 offensive boards. He earned a team-best eight free throw attempts and made seven of them. He scored 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting, making him perhaps the only Bulls player to register an offensive pulse.
During the third quarter, Jo scored 14 of Chicago’s 24 points. Near the end of the period, he scored on three straight Bulls possessions, hitting a short hook shot and two jumpers from around 15 feet out. In that quarter, Noah sprinted up and down the court like the fate of truth, justice and the American way depended on it. And no matter how tired he was — the dude was huffing and puffing like mad – Joakim never stopped hustling.
Sadly, his efforts weren’t nearly enough.
The Cavaliers are better than the Bulls. Not just a little better. A lot better. So much better it could be considered a mystery why Chicago played them so closely in Game 2 and then stole Game 3. But sometimes you see and smaller, weaker team and hold back a little, whether consciously or unconsciously. Based on the way Cleveland swatted the Bulls down in Game 4, I think it’s safe to say that was the case.
Honestly, I expect more of the same in Game 5. But I’m not disappointed. The Bulls have already surpassed expectations, and I know they’ll come out and try their best. We all knew going in that Chicago was facing a severe talent deficit. In the face of that fact, as a fan, all you want is to see your team try as hard as they can.
And they have. It’s not their fault LeBron is so otherworldly.
Update! TrueHoop Network: John Krolik of Cavs the Blog: “For the love of all that is holy, LeBron. Antawn Jamison all but said LeBron showed up to the arena looking like he wanted to pick up an armored car with his bare hands and use it to tear down the arena after dominating the game and before salting the ground where the arena once stood so that nothing could ever grow there again. I may be exaggerating somewhat, but that’s how LeBron played on Sunday.”
Update! Bonus Stats:
The following information was compiles by Jason Starrett of ESPN Stats & Information:
1. Coming into Sunday, LeBron James had struggled in the Playoffs when shooting from outside the paint. The Cavs star had made only 16 of 36 FG attempted from outside the lane, including 6-for-13 3-pointers. On Sunday, LeBron found his stroke en route to a game-high 37 points. In Game 4, LeBron was 3-for-4 (75 percent) inside the paint, 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) outside the paint, and 6-for-9 on threes.
2. During the first three games of the playoffs, the Bulls had been very efficient in the half-court against the vaunted Cavalier defense. Chicago was unable to maintain that efficiency in Game 4, when they shot 32.9 percent, committed 10 turnovers and scored only 75 points (compared to 43.5, 6 and 83 in Games 1-3).
3. Joakim Noah recorded 21 points and a career-playoff high 20 rebounds on Sunday. It was the first 20/20 recorded in the postseason since Dwight Howard accomplished the feat in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Semifinals last season against the Celtics.
4. Excluding free throws, LeBron James scored all but three of his points in the half-court against the Bulls. Those three points in transition came on his 34-ft heave as time expired in the third quarter.
Update! Reader speak:
The following comment was left by By The Horns reader Nicky C:
“When LeBron hit the half court shot at the end of the third…that was the moment he stuck his hand into the chest of the Bulls and ripped their heart out. You just cannot bounce back from that, and I’m not just talking about that single game.
“I was at the game, and I was foolishly/selfishly hoping for a fantastic LeBron performance AND a Bulls victory. As crushing as the Bulls L was, how can you even be mad at the Bulls? LeBron James is simply unreal. He’s unguardable. It’s scary how many tools/skills he has.
“When Lebron hit that 35-footer, the crowd went silent for a second, then a whoosh of a low ‘whoa…’ moved throughout the crowd. LeBron just stood near midcourt and glared around the stadium. It was a surreal moment. I’m still stupefied by it. On Sunday afternoon, we witnessed.”
Derrick Rose versus LeBron James, one-on-one. Wow.
The Bulls snuck into the NBA playoffs on the final day of the regular season. Given the number of injuries and the amount of drama they went through during that 82-game gulag, that accomplishment was nothing short of amazing. However, their efforts merely earned them the right to face soon-to-be-MVP LeBron James and his league-best Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round.
That seemed like the postseason equivalent of a summary execution.
According to the script, the Bulls were supposed to roll over and die. Like bugs. After all, these playoffs are supposed to be the coronation of King James. That certainly appeared to be the case in Game 2, when the Bulls seemingly played as well as they could possibly play but were almost single-handedly beaten by a hot-shooting LeBron.
After a nearly perfect first half, the Bulls led by 11 points (56-45). With 7:52 left in the third quarter, Chicago pushed that lead to 21 (68-47) on a jumper by Taj Gibson. It was unbelievable. I was ready to pinch myself or slap some cold water in my face to make sure I hadn’t dozed off. But this was way beyond my wildest dreams.
Then the Cavaliers made their run.
Anthony Parker tricked Kirk Hinrich into fouling him on a three-point attempt and hit two of three at the line. LeBron endured 23 seconds of fantastic defense by Luol Deng before drilling a three-pointer as the shot clock expired. Mo Williams hit a free throw (thanks to a technical foul on Taj Gibson), a 21-footer, and then a three-pointer of his own. Then Anderson Varejao hit a couple free throws to cut the lead to single digits.
Suddenly, a blowout turned into a dogfight.
During the fourth quarter, LeBron very nearly took over the game. He scored 13 of his game-high 39 points and dished out 5 of his game-best 8 assists. At one point, James blew by Hinrich — who was face-guarding him for some crazy reason — for a dunk and a foul…which happened to be Noah’s fifth. Without Joakim in the game, the Cavaliers started to feast on the offensive boards like a pack of hungry jackals.
It seemed like there was no way the Bulls could hold them off.
But they did. Somehow or other, they did. Mind you, the final half minute nearly gave me an ulcer. Seriously, I’ll probably die five years earlier than I should have because of this game. The Bulls were leading 104-96 when Williams knocked down another triple. The Cavs were forced to foul Hinrich, who inexplicably bricked both free throws, which was especially stunning considering how hot his shooting was (see below). At the other end, Williams missed a three, but Cleveland came away with the offensive rebound, after which LeBron hit a three.
Now the Bulls led 104-102 with 10 seconds left.
The Cavaliers fouled Derrick Rose, who missed his first free throw and hit the second.
Now the Bulls led 105-103.
After a Cleveland timeout, some fantastic Bulls defense forced a pass to Varejao, the Cavs’ worst foul shooter. Deng immediately fouled him. Andy made the first but missed the second. Brad Miller came away with the rebound — thanks in part to a critical no-call on Noah (see below) — and was fouled. Brad put in both freebies.
Now the Bulls led 107-103 with six seconds left.
After a timeout, Williams hit a gut-check three-pointer. Oh, man.
Now the Bulls led 107-106 with three seconds left.
The Cavaliers fouled Deng, who hit his first free throw but (of course) missed his second. Count ‘em: Four missed free throws by the Bulls down the stretch. All I can say is, thank God for Pepto-Bismol.
Now the Bulls led 108-106. Fortunately, the Cavs had no timeouts left. Even more fortunately, Anthony Parker rebounded Luol’s missed foul shot and had no time to find Lebron. Parker’s 42-foot fling was off the mark.
As Johnny “Red” Kerr might have said: Bulls win! Bulls win!
What a game.
Let’s make a list of the Chicago players who stepped up, shall we? First off, there was Derrick Rose, who scored a team-high 31 points (13-for-26) to go along with a team-best 7 assists. D-Rose made several tough shots — actually, they all seemed like tough shots — including at least three of his patented one-handed push shots. Derrick was beyond huge.
To me, his biggest play happened with 2:46 left in fourth quarter. The Cavaliers had been trapping Rose on pick and rolls for most of the second half, and then they sicced LeBron on him. Mind you, James is perhaps the most amazing physical specimen in NBA history. Nobody — not even Michael Jordan — has had his combination of explosive speed and sheer muscular power. But with the game on the line, even the mighty LeBron couldn’t stay in front of Rose, who slid past the presumed MVP and pulled up for a midrange jumper that put the Bulls up 98-92.
And let’s not forget about Captain Kirk, who netted 27 points by going 9-for-12 from the field and 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. There’s no way the Bulls would have won this game without Hinrich. He was absolutely indispensible. It’s always this way with Kirk, isn’t it? He’ll be quiet for a few games and everybody gets down on him, but he never stops playing, never quits competing.
Then there was Noah, who was limited to 33 minutes due to foul trouble but still finished with a game-high 15 rebounds to go along with 10 points, 5 assists, 2 blocks and a steal. And if the NBA gave out hockey assists — that is, passes that lead to an assist — Jo would have had several of those as well. Speaking of invisible stats, Noah also knocked the ball away from LeBron with just under a minute left in the fourth. Deng was credited with the steal, but it was Joakim’s active hands that made the play.
It’s also worth noting that the Bulls did their best work with Noah in the game. Hence his game-high plus-minus score of +13. The next best was Rose at +6. Lebron was +5.
I should also give some props to Deng, who scored 20 (9-for-16), two of which came on a very difficult reverse layup after he had gone behind his back to beat LeBron off the dribble. And even though James scored 39, Deng made him work hard for many of those points. Standing up to the best player on the planet is never an easy or enviable task, but Luol did it.
In fact, with 1:17 left and the Bulls lead down to 102-92, LeBron drove hard at Deng, drew a whistle, and banked in a short jumper. Unfortunately for James, that tweet he earned was an offensive foul.
Said ‘Bron: ”I saw him backpedaling. Me as a driver, I’m watching the defender’s feet. I’m seeing if he’s stationed or is still moving. To me, I felt like he was still backpedaling, and as soon as I saw him backpedaling, that’s when I decided to take off. They called a charge. I haven’t seen the replay, but I know exactly what I’ve seen on the court with the defender right in front of me.”
It was a tough call, no question. But James put his head down and drove his shoulder right into Deng. That kind of move is perfectly legal for NFL running backs. Not so much for NBA players. It doesn’t matter that Luol was still moving. You can’t run over somebody.
Said Noah: “I think one of the refs was about to call a block and then he looked at the other ref because he wasn’t sure, and the other ref — thank God — called a charge. That was a huge play for us. I’m really happy that play went our way. I think I’m kind of biased, but to me, I thought it was a charge the whole time.”
At this point — after this crazy win — who am I to question Joakim Noah? Or the hearts of the Chicago Bulls. They’re giving the best team in the league everything they could ask for.
I hope all the free-agents-to-be are watching.
Joakim Noah, quote machine: Noah committed some silly fouls. This included, as Tony C. pointed out, “a dazzlingly stupid late foul on a LeBron dunk” in the fourth quarter when he already had four fouls. And Jo knew it.
Said Noah: “Stupid, stupid fouls.”
Of course, as Tony C. also pointed out: “VDN should not have allowed Noah to play several defensive sets guarding Lebron at the top of the key: that was a foul waiting to happen.”
Deng versus the King:
Here’s Luol’s sweet, sweet move on LeBron:
Noah versus the King:
Here’s that critical no-call on Joakim:
…Dwyane Wade wants to stay in Miami. But apparently there are a few clubs that might be able to lure him away from the Heat. He’s mum as to which squads those might be, but they exist. As far as we know.
Said Wade: “Its not a huge window at all. It’s a small gap. You have to always keep your book open for your options and look at different things. But no, I’m not that open where I would go anywhere and would want to be almost anywhere. I’m accustomed to a great organization. It’s not many organizations that are of that caliber, not saying any names.”
However, as Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald pointed out, the Bulls are putting on a nice audition for free agents. Despite injuries, internal strife, what appears to be a lame duck coaching situation and the fact that management let Ben Goron leave and then sent John Salmons to Milwaukee, Chicago has been surprisingly competitive in their first two games against the Cavaliers, who just happen to be the best team in the league.
Regarding when he might make his final decision, Wade said: “I don’t think it would be that soon (first week in July). It’s kind of soon. Do I think it will be a long, drawn-out process? I have no idea, because I’ve never been in this situation. I don’t know what to expect. I know what I like. I don’t know what I would want yet.”
By the way, Byron Scott wouldn’t hang up on the Bulls if they called him about a coaching job this summer. Whew. That’s a relief.
