Game 1 of this series was a self-contained entity. Nene and Marcin Gortat were great, while D.J. Augustin going 3-15 meant the Bulls had nowhere to turn for offense. There were tactical adjustments to be made. Should the Bulls get more aggressive defending midrange jumpers? How does that impact allowing the corner three pointers Washington […]
The quick version of this game: The Bulls got down big, hung on by the hair on their chinny-chin-chin, took the lead and controlled the second half before blowing another lead. Washington called a very poor final play, ending with Joakim Noah and Jimmy Butler defending a Bradley Beal fadeaway. Chicago’s inability to score had […]
As noted in yesterday’s post, Nene was a destructive force in Game 1, but seeing as the Bulls contained John Wall and his trio of perimeter shooters rather well, defense is not where the game was lost. They faltered down the stretch on the offensive end of the floor. For Chicago to even the series, […]
Chicago’s 102-93 loss at home to the Wizards in Game 1 wasn’t demoralizing so much because they lost a close game (the Bulls get in so many of them it’s hard to get worked up over just one of them) but because they had it. Leading by about a dozen over the first half of the […]
It wasn’t always pretty, or comfortable, but the Bulls got the job done tonight. With D.J. Augustin away from the team to be with his wife and new baby boy (not that he’s reading this, but congratulations to the Augustin family), the Bulls had some surprise contributors step up and fill the scoring void left […]
If the prior two meetings between these teams are any indication, expect a close game tonight. They probably aren’t any indication, as Orlando’s tanking and the Bulls will likely be mad after the way they played yesterday, but either way, the first time they played back in December, Luol Deng missed a potential game-tying layup in […]
In more ways than one, the Bulls were very hard to watch tonight. First, they simply didn’t play very well. They had 16 turnovers, shot under 40% overall, and missed some important shots, both from three and from the line. Then, on top of that, they got rather frustrated, with Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson […]
Since Miami thumped Indiana and looked primed to claim the #1 seed in the East, they laid an egg in Atlanta and Indiana held on to beat OKC. That means the Pacers only need to win in Orlando to take back homecourt for good, and they may not even need that, as Miami could see […]
When I started writing these a few months ago (though the Melo to Chicago talk feels like it started years ago), the Bulls were headed nowhere. Sure, they’d climbed back to the .500 range, but the Luol Deng trade was still fresh and with Derrick Rose’s injury having torpedoed their title chances, getting a jump […]
The Bulls gave a performance tonight that was anything one could want and more. With both teams on a back-to-back, Chicago put their imprint on the game early, despite being the road team, and delivered a haymaker right off the bat, and in the process extended their league-best winning streak to five. They were absolutely […]
