Quick Thoughts: Game 2 - 76ers Run Over the Bulls (Shouldn't that be the other way around)

"We got our asses kicked today" - Joakim Noah after the Bulls 109-92 to the 76ers at the United Center in Game 2.

          It's the playoffs, there are going to be tough games. With a coach like Doug Collins on the other side, he'll find ways and motivate his players to beat even the toughest opponent. After Game 1 Coach Collins pleaded his team to get defensive rebounds - WHY? Fast Breaks! Sixers are one of the best teams in transition and they showed it by out-rebounding the Bulls 38-32, which lead to 25 fast break points (11pts in the 3rd). This looked similar to the game earlier this year in Philly when Bulls got their ass handed to them. Chicago rarely get outworked - but they did - and with their lack of interior defense and inability to close out shots; a recipe for a tough loss. Sixers shot an astounding 59% from the field, and when a team is shooting that well... forget about it.
          Alright, so they lost...but the discussions aren't going to be how they lost, they'll be about the 'what ifs' concerning who they lost. Would it have been different if Derrick Rose was in the game? We'll never know for sure-- but I don't think so. Rose might have kept the game as close as it could have been, but to overcome the 3rd qtr in which the Bulls were outscored 36-14 would have been too much. Rose's greatest power is that he is a run stopper. When another team start a 4-0 or 6-0 run, Rose knows that it is his time to make a basket and stop the run - and that at least keeps the Bulls in the game for a while longer. The problem with the Rose-less Bulls is that no one (besides JL3 haha) is aggressive enough offensively to play that role. To me, the defense was more of a disappointment, but it gets hard to play defense when other players don't step up. Defense in basketball is as much a team game as it is a 1-on-1 match-up game.

          After the injury to Rose, EVERYONE on the team needed to step up. Instead, at their lowest point in the post-season, no one was able to find ways to stand-up (see what I did there...). Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng are the ones that need to step up the most in the absence of Rose. Both will need to play at an all-star level if the Bulls want any shot. They certainly didn't come though in game 2. In all the minutes that Boozer played in the 3rd (6 I think) he scored 0 points. Deng played all of the 3rd qtr scoring just 2 pts. Both Deng and Boozer didn't even make it into double digit scoring for the whole game (8 and 9 pts respectively). Instead it was Joakim Noah as the lone scorer who stepped up for the Bulls. I know its damn-right unbelievable. Noah was 10-11 and had 21pts and 8reb.
          No one saw that coming- you know why? Because Doug Collins is a good coach. Sixers from the get-go looked to shut down Deng, Boozer and Watson, and they let Noah do what he could. It was a great effort by him, but I'm sorry. Noah being your top scorer isn't going to win you a playoff series against the Bobcats. While the series now moves to Philly, there's a little bit of hope. The Bulls were one of the leagues best road teams. Good teams, championship teams, find ways to get back up. Play defense, get high percentage shots, and win! I still see the Bulls pulling out this series in 5/6 games. Thibs is too good of a coach and this team is still too talented.

Do you still BULLieve?

See you in the city of Brotherly Love on Friday.