1. What are your thoughts on the story this week about Noah recruiting Carmelo Anthony?

Peter Owen: Noah’s non-denial of the conversation – via a great teenage girl impression – at least confirms the talks happened. Whether they were talking about it at length with Noah strongly selling the city and the team or if it was a simple passing comment forgotten about minutes later, we’ll never know.

Braedan Ritter: I am all for the Bulls doing everything they can to bring in another scorer for their offense. If that means turning All-Star weekend into a recruiting convention, that’s awesome. With that being said, I don’t really buy it. I’m sure they talked. They probably talked about playing for Thibodeau (with Thibs being connected to the Knicks) but I don’t think it went far beyond that. And despite what some people are saying ‘Melo would fit in with the Bulls.

Caleb Nordgren: I refer you exclusively to the comments Joakim himself made on the subject. Particularly his excellent teenage girl impression.

Trenton Jocz: I think it’s just another indicator of how much Noah is the leader on the team. It’s not often in the NBA that the best player isn’t the main leader, at least on really good teams, but we know that’s not really Derrick Rose’s personality and that there’s a big brother/little brother relationship there. Regardless of what they were actually talking about, it also shows that Noah feels OK talking to Melo. Rivalries are overblown in sports, but I find it much harder to imagine Noah having similar conversations with impending free agents like LeBron or Lance Stephenson.

Avi Saini: If this is true I’m glad to see Noah being proactive and trying to get guys to finally come to Chicago. It doesn’t matter if you’re an NBA player or some average person walking the streets, everyone wants to feel wanted and Noah’s actions could give Melo that feeling. That being said I doubt it helps Chicago’s chances of landing him. As Ken Berger pointed out, Chicago would have to make some big moves and Melo would have to be willing to take a $45 million discount on what should be his last major contract if the two want the marriage even get off the ground. Given both of these requirements it just doesn’t seem likely Noah’s conversation will make a difference.

2. Tony Snell has fallen out of the rotation somewhat lately. Why?

PO: Snell has played well in fits and bursts in a system notoriously unkind to rookies. Jimmy Butler didn’t play often in his rookie year and I suspect Thibodeau’s treatment of Snell continues the decision of trusting his veterans.

BR: Because Tom Thibodeau has set his sights on the next player he wants to run into the ground, so everyone else catches a break? Snell’s totals were all down in February, but his shooting numbers actually improved. My guess is it has to do with Thibs just trusting Dunleavy and Butler more.

CN: I wrote about this a little while ago, but it’s pretty clear at this point that Thibs just doesn’t trust him that much. Thibs is all about being at the right place at the right time all the time on defense and I don’t think Snell is there yet. That said, Snell’s already played almost three times as many minutes as Jimmy Butler did his first season, so that we’re even talking about his falling out of the rotation is something of an achievement.

TJ: Because as we saw with Jimmy Butler before him, Thibs only plays inexperienced players when forced to by injury. It’s his biggest flaw as a coach in my opinion. Snell’s ideal playing time would be about 10-16 minutes, which wouldn’t require more than a role with the second unit. It’s obviously an arbitrary endpoint, but Snell has fallen in that range just four times. For perspective, he has 11 games with at least 34 minutes and 16 games with seven minutes or less. Snell and Jimmer Fredette are useful players in bit roles and I think Thibs would be better served playing the long game and finding them consistent roles to get more comfortable. Of course Thibs doesn’t trust them because he hasn’t put them in position to earn it in the first place. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

AS: Snell thus far has been pretty decent for Chicago, but he’s impacting Chicago’s game negatively by almost every measure. With Snell on the floor the team has a lower field goal percentage, scores 7 fewer points per game, turn the ball over more, get fewer rebounds, and get fewer assists. And that’s just the basic stats. This isn’t to vilify Snell. For a rookie he’s looked good and there are things about his game to like. But that’s just the thing… he’s a rookie. Thibodeau’s system is arguably one of the hardest to learn in the entire league (his former players are on record saying as such) so it’s no shock that Snell isn’t playing out of his mind. He’s just going through his growing pains and he’ll be in the rotation soon enough.

3. What team would the Bulls face in your ideal playoff scenario?

PO: If it were possible, the Knicks. They may well sneak in ahead of the flailing Pistons or slumping Hawks. I expect it to be a rematch of last year’s first round with Brooklyn with a similar result. The worst first round opponent would likely be Washington. The Wizards have played the Bulls very well thanks to two athletic guards whom the Bulls have had no answer for. Also, Nene has played very well against the Bulls frontcourt this season.

BR: Ideally, the Knicks or Sixers. But of the teams that could actually make it…I don’t think any team other than the Heat and Pacers should knock the Bulls out, so I don’t really have an ideal matchup. Brooklyn is probably the biggest threat of the other playoff teams because they have a lot of talent that may be able to figure it out for a seven-game series, but a spare-parts Bulls team knocked Brooklyn out last year and is 2-1 against a more talented (and older) Nets team this season.

CN: In the first round? Probably Atlanta, though that’s looking somewhat unlikely at the moment. I definitely do not want Washington in the first round if at all possible, however. After that, you basically have to face Miami and indiana in some order, so it’s pretty whatever. I think, based on their recent play, you probably want Indiana first, but I’m not sure it matters that much.

TJ: Honestly, I think I’d like them to slide down, face Toronto, and lose in the first round. As fun as last year’s run was, I’d rather not see them lose to Miami again or Indiana, and it would save Jo and Jimmy a lot of wear and tear. As far as I’m concerned, winning a title is the goal, and grinding Jimmy to a pulp with 48 minute nights against Joe Johnson, DeMar DeRozan or Bradley Beal, and then LeBron or Paul George has more costs than benefits. Another miracle run would be fun, but last year will tide me over for the time being.

AS: Any team that sets Chicago up to avoid Miami in the second round. I know Chicago won’t win a title this year but if they’re going to make the playoffs I want them to have as deep a run as possible. And the only way that happens is by avoiding Miami for as long as possible. This isn’t a knock on the Pacers who field a good team, but they don’t have Lebron James.

4. Name the two teams you think will reach the Finals

PO: Can’t pick against Miami when LeBron James is capable of scoring 61 points against good defense. The West truly is wild. Right now I’d go with Oklahoma City though I like how Houston have been playing lately. The Spurs are always a contender and you can pick from Dallas, Portland and of course Los Angeles to put together a run too. A lot could depend on the match-ups.

BR: I’m not betting against the Heat until they give me a reason to, but the Pacers will give them a fight for the East’s spot. On the other side, I think a healthy Thunder squad would have the best shot. Although I’d love to see Tim Duncan and the Spurs make it again for a rematch of last season’s Finals.

CN: Miami and OKC. You could replace OKC with three or four other West teams and I wouldn’t be surprised, but KD and Russ should be the favorites. And Indy’s fallen off recently, but they do always play Miami tough, so they wouldn’t shock me either. But if I have to put money on it, I gotta go with a Heat-Thunder rematch.

TJ: Before the season I picked Bulls/Rockets, which changed to Heat/Rockets once Derrick Rose got hurt, and I’m sticking with that. I like the Rockets because I figured they would need time to gel just like Miami did in Year 1, but that by playoff time they’d be rolling and that’s how it’s shaping up. I’d like to see San Antonio get one more shot, but they’re 0-3 against both Houston and OKC, and they’ve already lost all four home games against them. As for Miami, I thought three grueling series would be too tall a task for a team already worn out by three straight Finals trips. However, now that Indiana is their only obstacle in the East, I think they’ll muster enough to win the title again.

AS: If I’m picking off of performance right now, Miami and Oklahoma City. Durant is playing out of his mind and barring any injuries the team will only get better as Westbrook gets back into groove. With how Indiana’s offense, primarily Paul George, has fallen back to Earth I think Miami just has the edge over the Pacers. If Indiana can get back to playing the offense they did at the beginning of the season, then I think they have everything it takes to knock Miami out in 6 games to get into the finals.

5. Who should win the MVP trophy this season?

PO: I think Kevin Durant will win it thanks to a combination of his stellar play and voter fatigue. That said, I feel like LeBron’s physical dominance will ensure the race comes down to just a few votes. Of course, either player could run off four or five consecutive 40-point nights before the end of the season and streak off into the distance.

BR: LeBron James is the best player in the league, but Kevin Durant has had the best season. That could very well change over the remainder of the year, but Durant has the Thunder on top of the West in a season that Russell Westbrook has missed 30 of their 62 games.

CN: I have no idea. Obviously it’s either KD or LeBron, but I can’t decide. Flip a coin, I guess. It’s hard to go wrong.

TJ: It’s obviously razor-thin between LeBron and Durant, and right now it’s too close to call for me. I’d lean towards LeBron for a couple reasons. The first is that while Durant stepped his game up with Russell Westbrook sidelined, LeBron’s had to do that all season with how Miami is managing Dwyane Wade’s knees. The other reason is when looking at Miami’s roster, it’s clear that OKC is more talented. Considering Ray Allen and Shane Battier aren’t playing near as well, how many really good players do they have? Mario Chalmers or Chris Andersen might be their third best player on nights where Wade sits. If Miami passes Indy for home-court I imagine LeBron becomes a near lock to win yet again.

AS: I think Kevin Durant should win MVP. Lebron has been great but Durant has been every bit as good with a bit more consistency (Lebron has coasted a bit). It can honestly go either way but I also am choosing Durant because I like to be right and I think he’ll get the award mostly because he deserves it and partially because of voter fatigue.

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From Flickr via Keith Allisonago

Since Derrick Rose tore his right medial meniscus against the Portland Trailblazers, the Chicago Bulls’ level of play has been more flat than day old soda left out in the sun. Losses to the Utah Jazz, Cleveland Cavaliers, and New Orleans Pelicans made one of Tom Thibodeau’s catch phrase “have enough to win” seem like a hollow lie. That all changed last night when the Bulls steam rolled through the Miami Heat 107-87.

After a few minutes of the standard back and forth play between the two teams, Chicago began to set the pace for the rest of the game and capitalized in every category they could. As a whole, Chicago outplayed Miami in just about every major category: field goal percentage, free throws made and attempted, three point percentage, rebounding, and assists.

Kirk Hinrich started at point guard once again and, surprisingly, was extremely effective controlling the game tonight. Hinrich moved the ball well around the perimeter and set up his teammates for very easy buckets. Hinrich also contributed by hitting two early three pointers early in the game, a pleasant sight after he went 0-for-8 from beyond the arc against New Orleans.

Carlos Boozer also had a great night and was able to break out of his recent slump to lead the team with 27 points. Boozer managed to create offense through layups, pick and rolls, spot up jump shooting, shooting off of a couple of dribbles, as well as with his back to the hoop. Overall it was a strong night for Boozer, one he can hopefully build off of in the coming games.

Joakim Noah also managed to burst out of the gates in this game after not playing up to par to start the season. Noah took full advantage of Chris “Birdman” Andersen’s absence and dominated paint scoring and rebounding. After the first half Noah had recorded 10 rebounds, one more rebound than the entire Heat squad combined. Noah finished the night with 17 points and 15 rebounds on a super efficient 6-of-9 scoring.

Finally, both Luol Deng and Taj Gibson continued their recent run of stellar play. While Deng wasn’t as effective shooting from the floor tonight, his four three pointers throughout the game spaced the floor to allow the big men to work in the paint with ease. Deng was also able to get to the free throw line enough times to help give Chicago a +8 advantage in free throw attempts for the game as well as put Miami in a little foul trouble. Gibson, like Noah, took full advantage of Miami’s smaller lineup and went to work in the post for a super efficient 8-of-12 shooting.

Despite the fact that Chris Anderson and Dwayne Wade were absent, tonight’s win for the Chicago Bulls can’t be understated. After a several poor showings and losses, many people began writing the Bulls off as nothing more than an Eastern conference playoff team. While it remains true the Bulls likely aren’t going to compete for a title or even the Eastern Conference title, last night’s win has shown that Chicago is still a tough matchup moving forward. All they have to do now is build on their victory.

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I put rivals in quotes, because really, the Bulls haven’t done much to make that rivalry a real thing. Much of that has been bad luck, with injuries killing the Bulls in the playoffs basically every year for the last two years (Asik in 2011, Rose’s ACL in 2012, basically the whole team in 2012), and Derrick Rose’s torn meniscus dashing the Bulls hopes to compete with Miami this year. Nevertheless, calling this a rivalry is a bit misleading as the Bulls have only been able to play relatively even with the Heat in the regular season, only to fall short in the playoffs, bad luck or no. There’s plenty of animosity between the two clubs, though, and the Bulls do tend to bring their best effort when Miami comes to town.

The Bulls ability to even stick close to Miami tonight seems to be in serious doubt. There’s no Derrick Rose, as everyone is well aware, and there’s not even any Mike James, which means (sorry, Caleb) noted train wreck Marquis Teague will be required to see meaningful minutes in this game. Teague was supposed to be developing in the D-League right now, until Mike James’s sprained knee put him on the shelf for at least a week or two. The Bulls will also still be without Jimmy Butler, who generally is very helpful at making the Heat’s superstar wing duo of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade work for their points a little more than usual. With no dynamic ball-handling presences available, the Bulls will likely be swarmed by Miami’s frenetic, helter-skelter defense and on the other end, without Butler to pair with Deng to slow Wade and James, the Bulls figure to be in big trouble.  We’ll get to see how Luol Deng holds up as the first option against one of the league’s very best and most athletic defenses. Hopefully Lu can surprise us, but I’m guessing this one will be pretty ugly. Last I checked the Bulls were 5.5 point underdogs, and I would be shocked if the final score of the game was even half that close. We can hope though!

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Don’t let the score fool you that much. The game started off much like most Bulls games do- Chicago played strong defense, the opponent missed their shots, and Chicago struggled to get much offense of their own going. Things changed quickly. After opening up a 15-8 lead in the first quarter Chicago allowed Miami to grab the lead for good to end the quarter 17-15. The second quarter marked Chicago’s implosion as the Bulls allowed the Heat to take off on a 17-0 to fall to a 21 point deficit at the end of the half. The third quarter was marked heavily by both teams trading blows. Behind the efforts of Jimmy Butler the Bulls managed to string together a run in the middle of the fourth quarter to bring the deficit down to 8 points. However, the run came too late.

The loss was ugly. The defense was lack luster especially around the perimeter and the offense was shaky. However if there is something Bulls fans can take solace in it’s the fact that the Heat only did their damage when both Jimmy Butler and Luol Deng were forced to sit in the second quarter with foul trouble. It’s likely that Tom Thibodeau’s rotations involve having either Jimmy Butler or Luol Deng on the floor at all times which means tonight’s situation will likely be rare for the Bulls. While the game was ugly for Chicago, when either Deng or Butler (or both) were on the floor, the team flowed better. Another fact that the Bulls can take solace in is that the Bulls got the looks they wanted all night but just couldn’t convert. I’m not overly concerned with the team’s offense. It’s the beginning of the season and there is rust, Thibodeau recently switched the team to a new “read and react” offense, and teams just have these bad nights from time to time. The team will come together and the Bulls will perform much better moving forward. The season is still young.

The following are some small player reviews for key players from tonight’s game. Normally I would expand these reviews make this a separate post titled “Game Grades” however they will be included in tonight’s recap.

Joakim Noah- 2 pts, 11 rbs, 2 asts, 2 stls, 2 blks, 2 tos
Noah had a night to forget and probably shouldn’t have played altogether given his recent groin injury. On offense Noah was incredibly shaky. His passing wasn’t as crisp and clean as it normally is and he couldn’t get any rhythm on offense. On several occasions Noah botched several scoring opportunities and managed his only points of the day on a fast break dunk. Defensively Noah seemed a half step slower than he normally was and allowed some players, like Bosh, to drive on him. Finally, he didn’t seem like he was as energetic rebounding as he normally is. On both offensive and defensive rebounds Noah seemed to be outworked by his Miami counterparts. Whatever the reason was, Noah was out of rhythm tonight.

Carlos Boozer- 31 pts, 7 rbs, 2 asts, 1 stl, 1 blk, 2 tos
Boozer played out of his mind on both sides tonight. On offense he demonstrated that in addition to being able to shoot an elbow jumper, he can drive and play with his back to the basket. On one play, Boozer backdown Chris Andersen and used a spin move to get himself a wide open layup. His offensive efforts led to a 72.2% night from the floor. Defensively Boozer was spotty. From time to time he made the same boneheaded mistakes such as failing to rotate but at others he showed poise and quick hands as he managed to block a shot and strip the ball out of the hands of some Heat players. Phenomenal night from Boozer.

Luol Deng- 4 pts, 5 rbs, 4 asts, 2 stls, 3 tos
Deng’s night was mostly forgettable. Defensively he had difficulty going against Lebron James, though that shouldn’t be too much of a shock. Most of Deng’s damage came on offense where he couldn’t get anything going for the Bulls tonight. Deng fell short on all 5 of his three point attempts, lost his dribble a couple of times, and just made some poor decisions in terms of passing. For all his poor play though the team did perform a little better with him on the floor though.

Jimmy Butler- 20 pts, 3 rbs, 3 asts, 5 stls, 1 blk, 2 tos
Butler was the gold spot of tonight’s game for Chicago. He put the team on his back towards the end of the third quarter and through the fourth and led the Bulls fight to come back in the game. Defensively he was a rock (what else is new?) and managed to get deflect a lot of passes and made life difficult for whoever he was guarding, including Lebron James. The team’s overall play took a nosedive when Butler was called for his third foul early in the game but picked up significantly when he came back onto the floor. That should tell you everything you need to know about his performance.

Derrick Rose- 12 pts, 1 rbs, 4 asts, 5 tos
Rose’s return wasn’t what any of us were hoping for by any means. Rose shot a poor 26.7% from the floor including 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. Defensively Rose was repeatedly burned by whoever he was guarding and seems like he’s regressed a bit from 2011, though this isn’t too shocking. Offensively I find it a bit hard to blame Rose for his struggles (outside of his ill-advised three point shots… those I blame him for). Most of Rose’s game driving to the basket is reliant on the team’s ability to spread the floor and open up some lanes for him to drive through. However, the team’s overall struggles shooting the ball failed to produce any holes for him to work with and, as a result, Rose couldn’t get anything consistent going. For reference as to how poorly the team shot the ball, refer to the shot chart from NBA.com below.

Bench- Taj Gibson, Tony Snell, Mike Dunleavy, Kirk Hinrich
The bench tonight failed to produce much tonight and were a big reason why the Bulls fell into the big hole in the second quarter of the game. Taj Gibson was the brightest spot of the bench as he managed to provide some semblance of offense and played solid defense. Kirk Hinrich wasn’t terrible on offense tonight though his shot release was fairly slow. There were a few occasions where Hinrich was open for a three point shot but by the time he released he was completely guarded by an opponent. Defensively Hinrich also appeared a step slow for most of the night. Dunleavy managed to get his game going in the fourth quarter as he knocked down two three pointers, a jump shot, and a pair of free throws, however outside of the fourth quarter his performance was miserable. Defensively he was repeatedly burned and offensively he had zero rhythm on his shot. Finally, Tony Snell saw his NBA debut guarding Lebron James during that second quarter stretch during which Butler and Deng sat. Not surprisingly, Snell struggled against the likes of Lebron and made several rookie mistakes when handling the ball on offense. Snell, who had demonstrated a decent three point shot during the Summer League and during the preseason, fell short on all of his jump shots on the night as well.

The post Chicago Bulls 95 – Miami Heat 107: Game Recap appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Previous player capsules can be found here: Joakim Noah

Name: Carlos Boozer
Height/Weight: 6’9″ / 258 lbs
Age: 31
NBA Seasons: 11

Regular Season Stats: 79 games, 16.2 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 2.3 apg, 0.4 bpg, 47.7 FG%, 73.1 FT%

Post-Season Stats: 12 games, 16.4 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 1.5 apg, 0.1 bpg, 49.4 FG%, 68.9 FT%

Season Grade: B+

Recap:
For the most part Carlos Boozer’s year wasn’t too bad. Based on the averages he almost averaged the double-double he was originally signed to produce for Chicago on a respectable shooting percentage. Boozer also had the fifth most double-double games in the league with 44, was top 10 for both total rebounds and rebounds per game, and, very shockingly, Boozer was also 19th in the league for defensive rating and 13th with defensive win shares. It’s safe to say that Boozer had a good season especially relative to the expectations he had in the preseason and that he probably deserves a higher grade than given. Unfortunately there are a few things that just cannot be overlooked:

1. Boozer’s defense still just wasn’t that good. While Boozer did rank in the top 20 for both defensive rating and win shares, both of those statistics are heavily determined by team play. Individually, Boozer’s defense continued to be porous as he has repeatedly allowed opponents to blow by him into the paint and/or rotated too slowly onto an opponent, if at all. Boozer has proved to be the beneficiary of Tom Thibodeau’s system and the steller defensive play of his teammates, especially Joakim Noah.
2. Boozer failed to play consistently in the playoffs yet again. A big gripe fans have had over the past three years with Boozer is his knack for “disappearing.” Boozer did play well in the playoffs this time around, especially the first round against the Brooklyn Nets. But once again when Chicago needed him to step up in an important series against the Miami Heat, Boozer’s game was nowhere to be found. The result was another 4-1 exit against Miami.

Future:
While some fans are calling for the organization to use the amnesty clause on Boozer it looks like he’ll still be around for at least another season. Aside from improved play and the fact that he’s one of the few Bulls players to be able to play without injuries for extended periods of time, Boozer’s game is would be fairly hard to replace this offseason given Chicago’s salary cap situation. As things stands, it seems as if the rumored “2014 plan” is still in full effect for Chicago.

The post 2012-2013 Player Capsules- Carlos Boozer appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Derrick Rose missed the game and by extension missed the entire season, leading at least one writer to describe his much hyped “Return” packaged by Adidas as a hoax. On top of that melodrama, Kirk Hinrich (calf) and Luol Deng (illness) never recovered enough to play a single second round game, which had to be extremely frustrating for the both of them.

Meanwhile, four starters — Carlos Boozer, Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah and Nate Robinson — logged 40+ minutes, with Robinson sitting for less than a minute and a half and Butler again going the full 48.

The only surprise of the night was the unexpected resurrection of Rip Hamilton. Not only did Hamilton log 35 minutes off the bench in place of an increasingly ineffective Marco Belinelli, he scored 15 points on 12 shots and compiled a game-high plus-minus score of +12.

The Bulls were coming off the worst offensive performance in their playoff history, so virtually anything would have been an improvement, but they were actually pretty effective on offense. thanks largely to strong games from Boozer (26 points, 10-for-19, 14 rebounds), Robinson (21 points, 4-for-7 on threes, 6 assists) and Butler (19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals), the Bulls scored at a rate of 108.7 points per 100 possessions (per Basketball-Reference).

And, believe it or not, the Bulls were in good position to win this game.

Despite a disastrous first seven minutes that saw them fall behind 22-4, the Bulls did what these Bulls have done for the entirety of the Tom Thibodeau era.

They refused to panic.

They fought.

They competed.

By the end of the first quarter, Chicago trailed by only nine points. After outscoring Miami 32-17 in the second quarter, the Bulls took a six-point lead into halftime. That lead expanded to 11 points (75-64) with just under two minutes left in the third quarter. And it seemed like the miraculous was about to happen.

Then Miami cranked up their intensity.

On offense, the Heat went to their old standbys. Shane Battier knocked down two threes thanks to a couple drive-and-kick moves by LeBron James. Norris Cole had a brief hot streak, hitting from 17 feet and then serving up a facial at the rim. Dwyane Wade — who had to retreat to Miami’s locker room between the third and fourth quarters to have his knee re-taped — emerged from his funk to hit two of his patented running one-handers and later had a putback dunk of a missed Cole jumper. And between all those plays, LeBron was directing traffic, driving the ball and drawing fouls.

In all, the Bulls were outscored 24-15 in the fourth quarter but still managed to be down only three points and have possession of the ball with 26.4 seconds left. Unfortunately, Thibodeau had already used all his timeouts, and the Bulls were forced to freelance on that final possession.

It was not a smooth possession by any stretch of the imagination. The Bulls players were running around helter skelter in a frantic attempt to get any kind of clean or dirty look at the rim. Robinson squeezed off a three-pointer that missed badly, but Boozer corralled the offensive rebound. The ball ended up in Butler’s hands. After freeing himself up with a few ball fakes, Butler jacked a triple of his own, which also missed badly. Robinson somehow ended up with the rebound, but there wasn’t enough time left to get any kind of shot.

Game over.

Said Noah: “We kept fighting. And kept fighting.”

Added Boozer: “We grinded it out. We had chances. We just fell a little bit short.”

Just a little bit short in this game. And a lot short in this series.

And yet, despite the loss, Chicago’s performance in this final game far exceeded expectations. Which is something the Bulls had been doing all season.

Said Thibodeau: “Obviously we’re disappointed in losing the series. But I was never disappointed in our team. I thought our team fought hard all year long. There was no quit in them.”

Added Boozer: “We’ve got warriors here. If we’re healthy next season, we’re going to be pretty good.”

Of course. But good enough to defeat the Miami Heat?

ESPNChicago’s Nick Friedell doesn’t think so. Not as presently constructed. Of course, the Bulls won’t return next season as presently constructed.

For starters, barring an unforeseen calamity or setback, Rose should return in 2013-14.

Furthermore, Hamilton probably won’t be back — the third year of his contract isn’t guaranteed and I just can’t see the Bulls paying Rip $5 million next season — leaving the former Piston to wistfully consider what might have been.

There’s also a good chance Robinson won’t be back. Although he’d like to be.

Said Robinson: “I would love to [come back]. Honestly, I really would. But knowing the guys that we have here, I know it’s probably limited space for me, but we’ll see how it goes. [I’ll] talk to my agent and stuff like that and figure out what’s the best plan for me. God has blessed me this far [to] continue to play the game that I love. I love this team, I love these guys, and if I could stay here it would be wonderful.”

Although Robinson had a strong season and was often the team’s best offensive player, there are several reasons the Bulls might not bring him back. For starters, there could be a logjam in a backcourt that includes Rose, Hinrich, Butler (at times), Belinelli (if he is re-signed) and Marquis Teague.

Will the Bulls — a notoriously fiscally responsible team (read that: cheap) — want to pay him? Especially if they end up bringing Belinelli back?

And will Belinelli be back? Management likes his skill set, but Marco shot a career-low 35.7 percent from three-point range, and his Effective Field Goal Percentage also dipped to a career-worst mark.

Then too, the Bulls desperately need more three-point shooters. They ranked 21st in three-point percentage and 29th in attempts this season. That won’t cut it in today’s NBA. And anyway, Rose will need shooters to space the floor for his drives, assuming he returns to anything like his old form.

There are big questions and big if’s heading into this offseason. And, for better or worse, most of the improvement will have to come from within. The Bulls don’t have the financial flexibility to sign any high-caliber players, and they still wouldn’t be able to do so even if they used the amnesty provision to offload Boozer’s contract, so you can probably expect Carlos to return for at least one more season. My guess is that the Bulls will amnesty Boozer in the summer of 2014 when Deng and Hinrich’s contracts come off the books.

So while the roster will likely be shifted around and tweaked where possible, management will probably field mostly the same team with an eager eye toward the following offseason. Meaning the Bulls and their fans will have to rely on improved health, internal development and maybe one or two key role players who might be able to contribute.

To what result? Nobody knows.

Said Noah: “It’s hard right now because we just lost. And it’s always hard to sit here knowing that your season’s over but there are a lot of positives. We’re a young team that has experienced a lot at a young age. When you see what a guy like Jimmy Butler brought to the table. … We’re going to come back healthy, we’re going to be able to compete with these guys for a long time and I think that one day we’ll get our shot.”

Only time will tell.

Extras:
Recap, Box Score, Advanced Box Score, Play-by-Play, Shot Chart.

The post Game 5 Recap: Bulls fight to the bitter end appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

You can’t blame the Bulls too much, I guess, considering the number of injuries they are fighting through and that their third string point guard, who is known only for scoring, wouldn’t have been able to hit a shot on a Fisher Price net (which is more his size, actually).

Nate Robinson went 0-12, the Bulls shot 25.7 percent as a team, scored just nine points in the third quarter and finished with 19 made field goals. Oh and the Bulls point guard combo of Nate and Marquis Teague scored more points for Miami (two) than for Chicago (zero).

Tom Thibodeau was so desperate for offense that he played Rip Hamilton 22 minutes. Rip hadn’t seen the floor since Game 6 of the Brooklyn series—a series in which he played ten total minutes. So Rip Hamilton played 22 minutes in a single game after playing ten minutes in a seven game series—a series which included a triple overtime game. And the worst part about it: Rip ended up as the Bulls’ third leading scorer.

“Nobody said this was going to be easy,” Robinson said. “We’re professionals for a reason. We’ll go back to the drawing board and figure it out.” I’m not sure what the Bulls can draw up that will win them three straight games, unless Vladimir Radmanovic turns into a LeBron James clone. I’m not ruling that out, but I’ll say it’s unlikely.

The worst part about Chicago’s Game 4 no-show has to be the timing. Not just that it came at home in the postseason, but because this was a very winnable game. Miami didn’t play all that well, but then again, they didn’t have to. Dwyane Wade continued to struggle, finishing 3-10 from the field with six points. Chris Bosh shot well (7-10), but didn’t have a huge stat line (14 points, six rebounds). Norris Cole wasn’t hitting everything in sight (2-4, seven points). And Shane Battier could have been a member of the Bulls with his shooting (1-6).

“I don’t want them looking backwards,” Thibodeau said. “I don’t want them looking ahead. Just lock into the game that’s in front of us and concentrate on winning that game. We know we’re capable.”

The Bulls seemed capable to make this an entertaining series coming in and actually stole home court after Game 2, but they’ve lost the three games in this matchup by an average of 23.3 points per game. Too much might be piling up against the Bulls: too much talent on Miami, too many injuries for the Bulls.

Kirk Hinrich, still dealing with a calf bruise, and Luol Deng, recovering from an illness, are both expected to be out of Game 5.

It’s not just Game 5 the Bulls need to win now though. It’s Game 5, Game 6 and Game 7…against the defending champs. It’s been an uphill battle all year for Chicago, playing without their best player, working through a variety of injuries to a number of different players, but this particular hill is too big to climb.

There aren’t any moral victories in the playoffs, and if the Bulls continue to play like they did at home in Games 3 and 4, there won’t be any actual victories either.

If the Bulls do go down, they’ll go down fighting. But I tonight is their last game of the season, let’s just hope they shoot at least 30 percent.

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If you follow this team, you know what they’ve endured. The season-long absence (and continued distraction) of Derrick Rose. The dismemberment of the Bench Mob. Injuries (and re-injuries) to key players. Long minutes. Little rest. Everything short of hordes of locusts and meteor storms.

Through it all, the Bulls have endured. They won 45 games. Earned the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. Beat the Nets in a do-or-die Game 7 in Brooklyn. Won Game 1 of their second round playoff series against the Heat in Miami.

And while the Bulls have talent, even without Rose, they have not been as talented as their playoff opponents. Having Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng out of action has only widened the talent disparity.

But what the Bulls lack in talent, they make up in sheer will power. That has been the defining characteristic of this team under coach Tom Thibodeau. Thibs always says the Bulls have more than enough to win — he probably would say that even if they had to suit up a few ball boys and a couple janitors — and the players believe it. Buy into it. Live it.

That said, Game 4 was the game when cracks began to form in that seemingly impenetrable wall of mental fortitude Thibodeau had built around his players. It was as if the team as a whole suddenly and unexpectedly realized how badly the odds were stacked against them.

It showed in every facet of the game. Yes, even the defense, despite the fact that Miami finished with only 88 points. The Heat still converted better than 80 percent of their shots at the rim (per Hoopdata) and scored at a rate of 106.5 points per 100 possessions (per Basketball-Reference).

Where the breakdown really showed was offense. Mind you, the Bulls have been a poor offensive team all season, and Miami certainly picked up their D in this game. But the Bulls were historically bad in Game 4. They compiled playoff franchise lows in points (65), field goal percentage (25.7) and third quarter point total (9). According to ESPN Stats and Information, the Bulls had never shot less than 30 percent in a playoff game, and they had scored below 70 points only once before, in a 95-69 loss to the Detroit Pistons back in 2007.

Check the shot chart if you have the stomach to do so. They Bulls were ice cold from everywhere.

Nate Robinson’s performance was symbolic of this group meltdown. Robinson — who has been the team’s best offensive player much of the season and certainly throughout these playoffs — went 0-for-12 from the field and was held scoreless in 32 minutes. He also had as many turnovers as assists (4).

As ESPN Stats and Information put it: “Nate Robinson’s 0-for-12 was two shots shy of the worst 0-for in NBA playoff history, a dubious mark shared by Chick Reiser (1948) and Dennis Johnson (1978).”

By the second half, Nate was gasping for breath and actually looked hesitant to shoot, which are two things I’ve never seen from him. It didn’t help that Miami’s defense was swarming him at every opportunity.

Said Shane Battier: “Nate’s the one guy on their team who can put pressure on our defense off the bounce. He can create havoc. He gets inside the defense, he scores, he gets the crowd going and suddenly … It best serves us if we make him work, if we make him take a few more dribbles. It starts with Mario and Norris … when we get up into the ball handler we’re an entirely different team.”

Added Robinson: “They did a good job defending of course. But I had a lot of open shots that I usually make and a lot of floaters that I usually make that I missed, but you can’t make every shot. At the same time you just have to know when it’s not your night and it wasn’t my night tonight. I just have to try to bounce back.”

Nate wasn’t alone in his offensive misery. Carlos Boozer led the team in scoring in Game 4 with 16 points but shot 3-for-14 from the field. Minus his Game 3 performance (21 points on 10-for-16 shooting), Boozer is averaging 9.3 points on 9-for-34 shooting. The Heat are pushing him out of his comfort zone near the basket and forcing jump shots over outstretched hands. And those shots aren’t falling.

But Boozer nixed the idea that he or the Bulls are running on fumes.

Said Boozer: “Nah, not at all. It’s not over by a long shot. You saw what happened last series. We were up 3-1 against Brooklyn and there was a Game 7. For us, we just have to regroup and get the next game and bring it back here for Game 6.”

That’ll be a lot easier said than done.

If you want to talk about signs of offensive desperation, Rip Hamilton — who had logged a total of 10 minutes and 20 seconds of playoff action in two token appearances against the Nets — played 22 minutes in Game 4.

Said Hamilton: “A lot of stuff in life you don’t understand. This is what I was brought here for. To not be able to play and help my teammates, it’s hard, it’s rough. But I try to stay positive. I don’t try to rock the boat. I just try be positive with them and let [teammates] know what they need to do out there and things like that. Tonight I got lucky. I got to go out there and play.”

Hamilton knocked down a couple threes, going 4-for-11 overall is unlikely to get him out of Thibodeau’s doghouse. If Rip plays in Game 5, his role and minutes will be limited.

ESPN’s Scoop Jackson warns not to give up on the Bulls in Game 5, but it’s hard to imagine what the Bulls could possibly have left. Rose isn’t going to suit up until next year. That much is obvious. Hinrich probably won’t be able to go. Deng might, but how much will he be able to contribute after losing 15 pounds and suffering through a debilitating illness?

Said Taj Gibson: “It’s hard to believe [all the injuries that have happened]. I don’t know, we’re just kind of putting screws and bandages everywhere. It’s frustrating. Every night, every day, we’re just trying to push through it.”

To a man, the coach and players will put everything they have into forcing a Game 6. But, unless they have one more miracle left in them, Game 5 will most likely be remembered as the last stand of the 2012-13 Bulls. There’s no shame in that. But it is a bummer.

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LVP (Least Valuable Player): No one player earned this. It should go to the entire Bulls team. They started 1-12 from the field, were even worse in the third quarter (more on this in the next section) and put up some historically bad numbers. Nobody shot well for the Bulls, who went 25.7 percent from the floor. Nate Robinson did go 0-12 from the field, so only a handful of people in history shot worse than him. We really shouldn’t be surprised that Nate came crashing back down to earth.

Defining Moment: The nine points in the entire third quarter are probably a pretty good summary for this game. The Bulls went 2-13 from the field in the third frame, or 15.4 percent. They also turned it over seven times for good measure.

X factor: The Bulls point guards score scored more points for Miami (two), than for Chicago (zero). Shout out to Adam Reisinger for pointing this out. Marquis Teague tipped in a pass on defense to score two points for the Heat, but went 0-2 at the end he was actually supposed to score. That was nothing compared to Nate Robinson’s 0-12, though.

That Was … history: The Bulls set franchise records for fewest points and lowest field goal percentage in a playoff game. Their nine third quarter points were also a franchise low for the postseason. It was the worst shooting percentage for a playoff team since 2004 (Hornets, 24.4 percent). The Bulls worst playoff field goal percentage coming into tonight was 31.1 percent against Detroit in 1990.

In short, that was one of the worst playoff performances ever. At least he Bulls have an excuse of being injured. This very long, frustrating season could have just one game remaining, as the series heads back to Miami.

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Tom Thibodeau’s game plan worked against LeBron James, who went just 1-7 from midrange. That’s 14.3 percent. James didn’t have a great shooting night from the field, going 6-17, but hit all 11 of his foul shots and added eight boards and seven assists because he’s LeBron James. Stopping the MVP is where it starts, but that’s just part of the battle.

Miami’s third banana, Chris Bosh, hit 5-9 from midrange, and went 8-16 overall. As a team, the Heat hit 50.0 percent of their midrange jumpers (13-26), nearly 10 percent better than the league average from the area.

The unfortunate part of all this is that Chicago did a very good job of defending the rim. The Heat went just 11-21 (52.4 percent) at the basket, almost 20 percent lower than their season average. Miami led the league in field goal percentage at the rim, hitting 71.5 percent of their shots from in close, according to Hoopdata. LeBron shot a staggering 77.7 at the rim on the year, but the Bulls held him to 50 percent (3-6) last time out.

Unfortunately the Bulls couldn’t capitalize because of the midrange jumpers mentioned above and the fact that Stephen Curry is wearing a Norris Cole skin-suit for this series. Cole is a perfect 8-8 from three in the three games, and was 6-7 overall in Game 3, contributing 18 off the bench.

So what can the Bulls do next game? Well, maybe closing out on Cole at the three point line a little quicker would be a start. But other than that, they probably won’t change much. Chicago will always give their opponent the midrange jumper, because it is the least efficient shot in the game. They showed this in the Nets series, when Brook Lopez hit three consecutive 20-footers but there was absolutely no change in the way they defended it.

They don’t want to give up easy shots, which they didn’t in Game 3, although the Heat did get to the line 30 times. The Bulls also want to run you off the three-point line, which they didn’t do great, but when the defense is over-compensating for LeBron James some open threes will happen. Also when Nate Robinson is on the court or when Carlos Boozer has to guard a small forward.

The Bulls were right there, they just faded down the stretch, which isn’t surprising considering their short bench. Don’t expect them to have any more healthy bodies for Game 4.

According to K.C. Johnson, Luol Deng couldn’t practice on Saturday without throwing up, and on Sunday stopped after just warming up.

“I did some individual work (Saturday) and I started throwing up a little bit. I couldn’t finish the workout,” Deng said, probably with a trash can within reach. “I tried to practice with the team (Sunday) and the same thing. My body, my system is not reacting well to anything I’m doing right now.”

Of course to Thibs, this mean Deng is “day-to-day.” I can’t believe they haven’t shut down Deng when he is having trouble eating solid foods.

Kirk Hinrich didn’t do much either, riding a stationary bike and getting a few shots up and is officially the same status as Deng.

With that news, Chicago will have the same guys healthy to play as they look to even the series at two games apiece (presumably with more than just two and a half minutes of Nazr Mohammed).

Among the “things that went right” for the Bulls was Carlos Boozer finally getting word that the second round started. Boozington scored 21 points on 10-16 from the field after scoring just 14 points in the first two games combined. He was finally being somewhat aggressive, and it paid off when he did. Boozer went 4-4 at the rim and 7-8 overall in the paint. If that right there doesn’t jump out to Boozer to start getting to the hole, then I don’t know what will. And while he was 7-8 in the paint, he was just 3-7 from midrange. That’s not a terrible midrange percentage, but he often has a size advantage in this series and he needs to take advantage of that (without throwing elbows and getting called for charges).

Don’t wake the beast: The Miami Heat are 10-0 following losses in Game 1 of playoff series during the Big Three era. After dropping Game 1, they won four straight against Chicago in the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals, four straight against the Thunder in the 2012 Finals and have now won two straight against the Bulls in this series.

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