Game Recap: Bulls didn't play great, yet found a way to win. Deng with another very solid game (favorite stat for Luol, 4 steals, and helped slow down LeCrab to 8/28 shooting) Yes, Thomas did play very well (Now let's see that more often!) Rose needs to find shit jumpshot. At least he's always looking to attack the basket (honestly they were lucky to force overtime-Mo Williams shot lights out) Cavs I thought really missed Ilgauskas Now it's Gordon who's starting to struggle. Hinrich has re-energized the offense Noah started, yet only played 4 minutes...ok While Noc gets 36 minutes. Showcasing! Another DNP for Hughes, and Larry hasn't complained. THis must be a case of Pax reassuring Hughes that he actively being shopped. Too bad no one wants him.
I don't think Gordon's really struggling. He just had the one bad game against Toronto. Tonight, Cleveland put a focus on stuffing out Gordon's shot, because dropped on average 27 this season on them. Gordon just deferred to his teammates instead of shooting bad shots, and the Bulls were better for it.
We are in better shape without Hughes. I think the Bulls played a really good game. There was alot of ball fumbling down the stretch but we figured out a way to push OT...and then in OT we had some sort of transcendent performance which should be how we play on the regular with all of our shooters.
BG has been struggling for a few games. This is the fourth game in a row where he hasn't shot well and had at least as many TO's as Assists. I think he's probably burned out from the pressure of being BG a little bit with trying to prove he's a big time player on a young team. I wouldn't say he's handled it all that well, but there's still a lot of season left. If he can get it straightened out, this bulls team could actually get somewhere. But I think the idea that bulls need BG's scoring has been conclusively shown to be a fallacy. The bulls can win without him doing anything like they did the last two nights. The bulls don't need a guy who overdribbles and forces shots. But if BG can be a guy who moves the ball and hits open shots he can be a valuable part of winning team again. After another crappy start, I saw a little bit of that in the second half so hopefully it happens pretty quickly.
I think Gordon's increase in turnovers has just been a result of him moving the ball around more, as the Bulls have been passing a lot more. Last night, against the Raptors, if Gordon made those threes, the game would have been a blowout, instead of a barn burner. He's just in a tad bit of a shooting slump, and Cleveland was completely focusing on him tonight. So he gets a bit of a pass tonight, as he didn't take enough shots to see if he was in a shooting slump. Right now, I would say you can't trade Kirk Hinrich for an expiring contract or just an average big men. His leadership is more valuable than that. If Boozer or Amare become available, bye bye Kirk. Raef Lafrentz or Joel Pryzbrilla, hell no.
Lots of things we've been doing right the last couple games, not just Kirk. Not poo-pooing him, because having him back and Hughes on the bench is improvement number one. Definitely. I'd simply add to that * Deng back and playing like he's capable of, and Thabo not playing much. * Tyrus seemingly cemented into the starting lineup and Gray cemented (in his cement shoes) to the bench. * Gooden being back and no Gray. * Nocioni still needed to be gone, but at least playing well. * Noah largely having his head in the game. What was up with only 13 minutes for him? He must be the lone remaining doghouse denizen now that Tyrus seems to be out. I'll grant that I've never seen a player commit a traveling violation while inbounding the ball, and that's dumb, but he was playing with a lot of energy and had his head well in the game from what I saw. He made a couple really nice plays, in fact. I hope he continues to start.
Yeah, the bulls probably caught them on a bit of an off night. And losing Delonte West after he was absolutely abusing BG for the first quarter was a blow too. But those are the breaks and the bulls took advantage of them which is all you can really hope for.
What I liked about last night's game was that Deng seems back and Hinrich played like a really good player. The 3 pointer Hinrich nailed in OT probably iced the game for us. It was great for two reasons: he made it, and he made it. Read between the lines if you don't understand both reasons Interesting points about both LeBron and Rose. Though both were having off nights (Rose had 6 points at the end of Q3), the coaches stuck with them and they broke out of their funk with the game on the line. In LeBron's case, his shooting touch wasn't there last night, but he was still out there to take the potential game winner at the end of Q4. It's terrific the Bulls beat the Cavs, but there are some things to consider. The Cavs were without two of their key players in the front court (Wallace and Z) and then lost their starting SG early in the game. Even with our team healthy and the guys we've missed along playing great, Cleveland held us to about their league leading PPG against (87) through end of Q4. The announcers reported that LeBron had some sort of flu or stomach virus and wasn't feeling well before the game. It showed in his FT shooting where nobody was guarding him, as well as in his putrid shooting from the floor. He still went to the line 16 times, and if he went 12-16 instead of 11-16, we lose in regulation. A win is a win, regardless.
You could also argue that BG usually plays better, or at least scores more, too. So it wasn't like the bulls were (or have been for about a season and a half) on all cylinders either. The bulls beat the Cavs by stopping LBJ plain and simple. Even against a weakened LBJ (who was still close to a triple double) it's a very encouraging sign given the prominent roles and solid play of Rose, Tyrus, Hinrich and Deng and the fact that they overcame an off night by their number one scorer. And it was the second game of a back to back where they played hard and won the night before against a rested if not healthy team. I don't see how there isn't something to be excited about.
