Avi Saini: Fact. Aside from everything Braedan noted about scoring off of the bench, three-point shooting, and Marquis Teague and Kirk Hinrich, Nate Robinson acted as a pure energy guy off of the bench. While it may not seem important, having a guy who can energize the team on nights when no one really wants to be playing is often times the difference between a win and a loss. Having a boundless energy like Nate Robinson can also be a morale and chemistry boost for a team during rough stretches of the season. Nate wasn’t the best player on the Bulls and could be frustrating at times, but finding a high energy guy who is arguably more energetic than Joakim Noah and knows his role is tough to find.

Braedan Ritter: Fact. With Derrick Rose coming back, they won’t need his scoring as much as they did this past season, but having someone who can fill it up off the bench is always an advantage. I’m not yet sold on Marquis Teague, and Kirk Hinrich has his struggles (37 percent from the field last season) and injury issues, so I do think Nate still had a role on this team. Coming off the bench, Robinson averaged 12.4 points per game and shot 41.8 percent from deep. His minutes would be down this season, but the Bulls could use his long-range shooting as well as his ability to create a shot.

Matt McHale: Mostly fact. Nate wasn’t going to get nearly many minutes next season, not with Rose returning, nor with players like Hinrich (whom Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau loves for his defense) and Teague (whom the front office probably want Thibs to develop ala Jimmy Butler) both likely ahead of him in the depth chart. But Robinson is nearly without peer as an off-the-bench scorer/energy guy. And the Bulls will miss that during the long grind of the season.

2. How will the Bulls replace Nate’s scoring off the bench?

Avi Saini: I don’t think the Bulls do replace his scoring off of the bench. After his summer league performances, a lot of people are talking about Andrew Goudelock coming to Chicago to play Nate’s role. However, I find it highly unlikely Goudelock will agree to play in Chicago as the de facto third string point guard when he could likely get a role as a team’s backup. The only other Nate Robinson-esque player available in the market as a free agent is Gary Neal. Yesterday morning the San Antonio Spurs withdrew their qualifying offer making Neal an unrestricted free agent. However, Chicago is probably out of the running for Neal already as he will likely demand a multi-million dollar contract, something the Bulls cant offer.

Braedan Ritter: That is going to be one of the most important questions of the year, and honestly, I’m not sure where it’s going to come from. If I had to pick someone, it would be Mike Dunleavy. The former Buck can’t create his shot like Nate could, but depending on who he is playing with, he may be able to find himself open from three (42.8 percent from deep). The truth is, no one guy that the Bulls have on their current bench can do what Robinson did, with the combination of creating his own shot along with being a three-point threat. It’s going to have to be filled by committee, which means Taj Gibson, Kirk Hinrich and Dunleavy will have to step up.

Matt McHale: If we’ve learned anything about this team over the past couple seasons, the Bulls do everything by committee. If one guy gets hurt, one or more players need to step up. If somebody leaves or gets traded, the same rules apply. Still, expect some of the scoring deficit to get filled by Dunleavy Jr. and Teague. There’s nobody else like Robinson in the league let alone on the Bulls, so there’s no way to truly replace him. But as the coach and players might say, the team will still have more than enough to win.

3. What was your favorite Nate moment?

Avi Saini: Like Braedan, I have to go with the game against the New York Knicks but mostly for his funny feud with former Knicks player Steve Novak. For those of you who didn’t know, Steve Novak would often times use Aaron Rodgers’s “Championship Belt” (often referred to as the “Discount Double-Check”) celebration after making a three pointer. In a game against the Knicks, Nate Robinson did the same celebration after scoring a three pointer. Novak seemed to take issue with it, which Robinson laughed off considering it wasn’t Novak’s celebration to begin with. This sparked what I consider one of the most random and funny feuds to ever take place in basketball. Watching Nate Robinson tear the Knicks apart in that game was fun. But watching Robinson trash talk Novak after every made shot and seeing Robinson repeatedly do the celebration while looking over at Novak was pure gold.

Braedan Ritter: It’s hard to choose just one moment from his action-packed season. I’ve broken down some of the ones that stuck with me, and I’m still not sure which my favorite is. I should probably say his Game 4 performance against the Nets, because that was his best game and one of the two best Bulls’ games of the season, but I’ll say the time he “discount double-checked” over and over and over again. Not just for that moment, but for the game that went along with it, because that night was the perfect summation of Nate Robinson. He scored a season-high 35 in that contest, hitting five threes and outscoring the entire Knicks team in overtime to lead the Bulls to a 118-111 win that ended New York’s 13-game win streak. The two things that Nate added all year—scoring and entertainment—were on full display, as was his behavior that I didn’t fully embrace until he brought it to the Bulls. I’m going to miss you, Nate. Thanks for the memories.

Matt McHale: There’s no “one moment” for me. It was a nightly pleasure to watch the smallest guy on the floor have the biggest guts, take the biggest (and, often, most questionable) shots any and every time it mattered. Robinson played with the heart and soul of a superstar on a minimum contract. And he loved it. He loved every minute of it. The Bulls got everything they could have possibly hoped for out of the Nate Robinson experience. So did the fans. He’ll be missed, that’s for sure. Hopefully the return of Rose will ease the sting of his departure.

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Previous player capsules can be found here: Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Jimmy Butler, Kirk Hinrich, Taj Gibson, Nate Robinson, Marco Belinelli

Richard Hamilton- F:
For his second strait season with Chicago, Richard Hamilton has once again laid an egg. Offensively his production decreased across the board and defensively he’s failed to keep up with most players and has proved to be almost as big of a liability as Carlos Boozer. To add to that, Hamilton failed to stay relatively healthy for the majority of the season. The combination of his deteriorating health and poor play when he was on the floor ultimately led to him being benched by coach Tom Thibodeau. The Bulls currently have a team option many expect them to decline on Hamilton’s $5 million per year contract.

Nazr Mohammed- C-:
When Nazr Mohammed was signed to be the replacement backup big man after Omer Asik’s departure, the majority of the world laughed. Given his age and general performance over the past few season, Mohammed’s expectations were dismally low and he easily lived up to them making this a fairly average year for him. As a whole, his offensive production was lacking and his defensive play left much to be desired. However, as far as backup players go the Bulls could have done worse and he did put in a great deal of effort every minute he was on the floor. While I wasn’t enthralled by his play, I can appreciate the effort. Mohammed was signed to a one year veteran minimum deal last offseason and is now an unrestricted free agent. It is expected that the Bulls will resign Mohammed to another veteran minimum deal likely to be the third string big man behind whoever else they may draft or sign this offseason.

Daequan Cook- D:
When the Bulls signed Daequan Cook they were struggling mightily with their three point shooting. At the time the Bulls were ranked dead last in the league in terms of three point shots attempted and made due to the lack of floor spacers on the roster. Cook, who was supposed to aid in these efforts as a respectable three point shooter, failed to improve Chicago’s status as one of the worst three point shooting teams in the league. Cook is now an unrestricted free agent as he only signed a contract with the team through the rest of the season. It is unknown if the Bulls will look to bring him back or not.

Marquis Teague- N/A:
Like many rookies before him, Marquis Teague barely saw the floor under Tom Thibodeau. Because of this, it is hard to accurately evaluate his performance this past season. However, based off of what we’ve seen in his limited play it’s easy to see what the front office saw in him. He exhibited strong play in many pick-and-roll sets that the Bulls ran with him on the floor, showed good speed, and knows how to get to the hoop. His jump shooting, decision making, and overall defense could use work but that will likely come with time. Teague will be on a rookie deal for another four years making him a Bulls player for a good while.

The post 2012-2013 Player Capsule- Everyone Else appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Previous player capsules can be found here: Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Jimmy Butler, Kirk Hinrich, Taj Gibson, Nate Robinson

Name: Marco Belinelli
Height/Weight: 6’5″ / 192 lbs
Age: 27
NBA Seasons: 6

Regular Season Stats: 73 games, 9.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.0 apg, 0.6 spg, 39.5 FG%, 83.9 FT%

Post-Season Stats: 12 games, 11.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.6 apg, 0.4 spg, 41.1 FG%, 87.9 FT%

Season Grade: B-

Recap:
I dont know about other people’s expectations for him, but for me I didn’t expect too much from Marco Belinelli this past season. Having watched him in the past, I knew he was average at best on defense and offensively he was simply a solid role player and didn’t expect him to do much better than he has in the past. Belinelli did not disappoint.

Throughout the season Belinelli continued to play as he had for his previous three teams though there were some fairly unexpected drops in production for him (ex: three point shooting). Overall, Belinelli had a fairly average season by his standards and should receive a C. However, because of his stretch in the middle of the season as a starter when he led Chicago to many victories behind ultra-efficient 20+ point games, I feel compelled to give him a higher grade.

Future:
Belinelli was also signed to a one year deal last offseason which now makes him an unrestricted free agent. Previously Belinelli signed the Mini-Mid Level Exception which paid him approximately $2 million for the season. Given that his play neither improved nor declined, he will likely be valued at the same price. For the time being it’s unclear whether the Bulls will pursue resigning Belinelli in the coming months or if they will look to replace him with a three point shooter from the draft or free agency.

The post 2012-2013 Player Capsule- Marco Belinelli appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Name: Joakim Noah
Height/Weight: 6’11” / 232 lbs
Age: 28
NBA Seasons: 6

Regular Season Stats: 66 games, 11.9 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 4.0 apg, 2.1 bpg, 48.1 FG%, 75.1 FT%

Post-Season Stats: 12 games, 10.8 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.2 bpg, 43.7 FG%, 64.1 FT%

Season Grade: A-

Recap:
In terms of points and rebounds output Noah’s season ended up being what most people expected it to be. However he outperformed most people’s expectations of him in just about every other regard. In terms of individual play he made large strides in just about every other aspect. One immediately noticeable improvement was with Noah’s passing game as he seemed to benefit from playing with several players skilled at cutting to the rim (ex: Nate Robinson, Jimmy Butler, Marco Belinelli, etc.). In terms of assists, Noah posted a career high 4.0 apg which, had he played four more games on the season, would have tied him with Marc Gasol for most assists per game from a big man in the league. The biggest improvement was seen on defense where Noah posted career highs in both blocks and steals per game. Noah’s improvement on defense had him in contention for defensive player of the year for most of the year until injuries derailed him towards the end of the season. Overall, Noah’s play nabbed him his first selection to an NBA All-Star team.

More importantly Noah ultimately helped lead this rag-tag Bulls team to surpass league expectations. Few had Chicago pegged to be fighting for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference let alone get a solid hold on the fifth seed. Noah’s ability to lead and energize helped this team get behind Tom Thibodeau’s message that Chicago had enough to win.

Future:
Noah’s future is set in stone as he is currently signed with the Bulls through the 2015-2016 season. As for now Noah should take full advantage of vacation to rest his injured foot. Hopefully Noah will also look to use this offseason to work with trainers to improve his body’s strength and conditioning to avoid one of the various lower body injuries that have plagued him these past three seasons, particularly with his foot and ankle. Doing so could be crucial in any future title runs the Bulls look to make.

The post 2012-2013 Player Capsule- Joakim Noah appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

What follows are the things I will remember about each player from this season, ranging from quick thoughts to very quick thoughts, both good and bad, big and little.

Nate Robinson: When he was signed, I didn’t think he would be much more than John Lucas III: a small scorer that would be a backup point guard; a guy who could occasionally fill it up and possibly steal you a game. But Nate was so much more. By season’s end he jumped into my top three favorite Bulls to watch this year (behind Noah and Jimmy). He was just pure energy and scoring, and even though the mistakes were plenty, he made games more fun—and fun was something often in short supply with this Chicago squad. At some points, it looked like he had enough energy to power a small country.

Nate did something people didn’t see coming: he ran the team well while also being himself. That’s not an easy task when you’re a shoot first, second and third point guard. Some credit goes to Tom Thibodeau, but Nate bought into the system and it paid off for everyone.

With his contract up and his bags most likely packed, I can honestly say I’ll miss him—something I did not expect coming into this season.

More quick thoughts on Nate: his Karl Malone layup. His feud with Steve Novak over a stolen celebration. Then discount double-checking into eternity against the Knicks. His sneaky jump ball. How he brought the Bulls back from 14 down very late in Game 4 against the Nets, scoring 29 points after the third quarter and in turn playing the lead role in the most exciting playoff game of the season. After the game he said “I always think I’m on fire, kind of like the old school game NBA Jam…Whenever I’m in the game, I just play with a lot of confidence.” (If one quote could sum up Nate Robinson, it’s that one, or “shooter shoot”) Swatting LeBron in the playoffs.

Marco Belinelli: Another guy probably on his way out,Belinelli didn’tlook like a valuable signing early on, but started to contribute when Rip Hamilton went down and was inserted into the starting lineup. I’ll remember his game-winners against the Pistons (with a great save from Joakim Noah) and the Celtics most of all. Oh, and his celebration against Brooklyn in the playoffs that he got fined for.

Luol Deng: Deng going down in February, bringing more Jimmy Butler into my life. Leading the league in minutes per game again, because Tom Thibodeau doesn’t care about your rotations or rest. A down year from beyond the arc. Another productive season—good defense and solid scoring.

Carlos Boozer: Another solid year from Booz, even though his shooting percentage took a big dip (his lowest shooting percentage of his career and just the second time he shot under 50 percent over a season—he shot 49 percent in 2008-2009 when he played 37 games).Boozer not driving to the basket for about 18 straight games, then unleashing a pretty nice dunk, making everyone ask “why doesn’t he drive more often?” SO MANY FADE-AWAYS. ‘Bum slaying,’ in which Booz puts up big numbers against subpar teams. The surprising opinion from many that he was an All Star, even though it was mainly just three really good weeks around when the voting took place. SO MANY SCREAMS. No-showing the first two games of the Miami series. Using the force. Boozington being one of the best teammates in the league, cheering on (read: screaming for) teammates and continuing to be professional throughout the very open “amnesty Boozer” talk. Being the healthiest Bull once again.

[Late addition from @JoeyLeCroissant on Twitter: Carlos Boozer accidentally punching the ref against Dallas]

Joakim Noah: Noah being the MVP of the team. His 30 point, 23 rebound game against Detroit and his two triple doubles—one of which being his amazing 23 point, 21 rebound, eleven block game against Philly that still blows my mind to this day. Jo playing 38.3 minutes per game before the All Star Break, then being named an All Star for the first time in his career. “Point Noah.” Playing just 32.6 minutes after the All Star Break because of injuries and because that’s the right amount of run a center with foot problems should be getting. Him fighting through plantar fasciitis through two entire playoff series and staying the Bulls’ MVP even with that injury. Coming up huge in Game 7 against the Nets (24 points, 14 rebounds, six blocks). Trolling Chris Bosh and the Heat in the playoffs. First team All Defense.

Jimmy Butler: Becoming my second favorite Bull to watch (and surprisingly close to Joakim Noah). Having that unexplainable talent of being in the right spot on the floor at all times. Playing 48 minutes per night (like a lot of nights) and becoming the new Deng. Turning into a consistent three-point shooter while (at least from my memory) hitting nearly all of his open looks from beyond the arc. His great perimeter defense. Posterizing Chris Bosh. Growing into the shooting guard of the future (hopefully).

Kirk Hinrich: The Bulls having a much, much better record when he plays, even with his awful shooting. All the different injuries because he plays with “so much heart and grit.” That one time he hit a jump shot this season.

Taj Gibson: Gibson never really looking right all season. He started off slow, got injured, came back slow…he just never had a rhythm all year. His “one amazing dunk per postseason series” habit continuing—especially his dunk over Kris Humphries, because we all want to dunk on Kris Humphries.

Omer Asik: Averaging 12.2 points and 14.0 rebounds per 36 minutes.Oh, whoops. Never mind. My mistake. He did that in Houston.

Nazr Mohammed: Rarely missing a shot in the preseason, making me say “hey, maybe letting Omer Asik walk won’t be the worst decision ever.” Missing everything to start the season, making me say “Man, letting Omer Asik walk was the worst decision ever.” That time that he dunked when I had no idea he could still dunk. Also, this move. Actually playing pretty well towards the end of the season and into the playoffs, filling in crucial minutes for Noah when he needed a rest. The joke he made at the start of the playoffs that he was the Bulls’ secret weapon and Thibs was waiting to release him. Being a lesser Kurt Thomas. His knuckleheaded play when he shoved LeBron James.

Rip Hamilton: Injuries.Rip playing in the Miami series, shooting 43 percent and yet somehow still convincing people that he still had value and that Thibs made a mistake not turning to him earlier.

Daequan Cook: An amazing amount of confidence for a three-point shooter that shot 28.6 percent from three. That time he was the Bulls’ leading scorer when Chicago got blown out by Denver. Seriously, this guy just kept chucking. How he went 1-10 in the playoffs, when all the Bulls needed from him was a few buckets. Him stepping out of bounds over and over again in the playoffs, making one wonder if he knew the width of a basketball court.

Trade exception from Kyle Korver off-season deal: Not as much production as I would’ve liked. Also, less of a lady killer than Korver.

Vladimir Radmanovic: He went 3-3 for 9 points in garbage time in the Game 2 blowout loss against Miami. And he was tall…that’s all I got on this one.

Marquis Teague: Great ability to get to the basket, without any other ability…except the ability to turn it over. Not doing much in his first season, but remember Jimmy Butler didn’t do much his rookie year, so hopefully Teague can make a jump and become valuable next year.

Derrick Rose: That time he—HAHAHAHAH…we laugh so we don’t cry. But honestly (and sadly), I’ll probably remember this season most of all as the “Will Derrick return tonight” year.

And that is extremely unfair to all the guys who actually played, because for all the reasons above—good and bad—they are what we should remember.

The post What I Will Remember About The 2012-2013 Chicago Bulls 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.

First, a lot of credit to this Bulls team. They were shorthanded the entire season, but never used that as an excuse. They had their nights that they faltered and fell flat, but it’s games like tonight that show you how much fight and effort this team put in every time they went out on the court. When I look back in a few years, that’s what I will remember. That and Game 4 against the Nets.

The effort was always there from the players on this team. From the new guys like Nate Robinson (who when he was signed I thought he was just an overconfident shooter, but actually bought into Tom Thibodeau’s system pretty well—and provided much needed scoring), to Jimmy Butler (taking a huge step forward into a starting role, developing a reliable three-point shot and shutting down perimeter players), to Joakim Noah (who has been giving the effort his entire career but emerged as Chicago’s MVP this season, often facilitating the offense and leading the defense). Even guys who were planted on the bench for long stretches of the season like Marco Belinelli and Nazr Mohammed stepped up into huge roles at times, including the playoffs.

This Bulls team wasn’t always the most exciting team, but they had their moments, and all you can ask of a team is that they fight until the very end. Chicago did that.

A long, injury-riddled season with tons of off-the-court news has finally ended for the Bulls. Here’s to a better 2013-2014.

Feel free to leave your thoughts on the season below in the comments

The post Rapid Reaction Game 5: Heat 94, Bulls 91 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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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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LVP (Least Valuable Player): Pick your favorite (or least favorite) Chicago player. Carlos Boozer was 3-9 and refused to drive to the basket even though his jumper was off and he had Shane Battier guarding him for stretches. Non-savior Nate Robinson showed up, as he went 3-10 and turned the ball over four times. Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson both lost their cool and got tossed in the fourth, long after the game was lost. Marco Belinelli shot 4-13 as no Bull scored more than 13 points.

X factor: The Bulls pride themselves on defending the paint and the three-point line. Tonight they did neither.Miami scored 56 points in the paint, compared to just 18 for the Bulls. As a matter of fact, the Heat had 16 points in the paint in the third quarter, nearly topping Chicago’s effort for the game in 12 minutes. And after missing lots of open shots in Game 1, Miami shook off the rust. They hit 9-18 from deep, led by Norris Cole (4-4).

That was … terrible: It was the Heat’s largest margin of victory in a playoff game, as well as the Bulls’ largest margin of defeat.  Chicago shot 35.5 percent, while Miami hit at a 60.0 percent clip. Miami had 29 assists, the Bulls had 17.Every stat was in favor of the Heat except “number of players tossed.” With all that said, this only counts as one loss and the series is even going back to Chicago. The Bulls have a lot of adjustments to make, but that’s what Tom Thibodeau does.

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