Bulls win 92-79 Bulls were out rebounded 51-48 Bulls 42% Cavs 32% Jamison 31/11/5 assists/2 steals Rose 24/2 rebounds/8 assists/4 steals/3 blocks/ Deng 20/12/2 assists/2 steals Boozer 20/10/3 assists/1 steal/1 block Hickson 13/20/1 assist/1steal/1 block korver 11/3/2assists/1 steal/2 blocks D Gibson 10/2/5 assists/1 steal/1 block Asik had 2 points, 2 blocks, 5 rebounds in just 13 minutes of play
Man, 30-14. Lookin' nice, for a team that hasn't really put it all together, yet. Spose you could say the same thing about Miami, and they have a slightly higher ceiling, I would think.
I continue to have mixed feelings about Miami. Stars win in the playoffs, and teams with good interior play win in the playoffs. I don't think there's ever been a team that has had such strong stars and such weak interior play. I know they have suffered injuries, but their record against good teams is not what you would expect from a contender, let alone a champion. Have you looked at how they fare against the best teams in each division? They're 4-8. Celtics 0-2 Orlando 1-1 Bulls 0-1 Atlanta 1-1 Lakers 1-0 Dallas 0-2 New Orleans 1-1 And who knows if Miami is going to be healthy. As per the game tonight, there wasn't much to take away except that the Bulls came away with another win. I was really pleased with how Kirk [sic] Thomas played the role of enforcer. I haven't seen anyone else on the Bulls do that since Antonio Davis. When Jamison was on fire and the Bulls were only up by 2 or 4 (I think this was in the last four minutes of the game) Thomas jumped out on a jump shot, lowered his shoulder, and leveled Jamison. Let's hope the Bears provide hits like that tomorrow. I also like how Thomas pulled away quick (so that he wouldn't get a T) and tried to argue the foul with the refs to the point where Funk was cluelessly defending him. If you look at the play in slow motion Thomas wasn't even trying for the ball; he lowered his body to get leverage and dove square into Jamison. I hate cheap shots. But if they're part of the game, and Rose certainly received his fair share tonight, the Bulls need an enforcer so it goes both ways.
Well, it wasn't the blowout I was hoping for, but at least the last 3 minutes were relatively stress-free. 20 and 12 will work, Luol.
Yeah, I'm also not convinced that Miami will 'get it', but they just might.... And Kurt Thomas has just been a rock for us. There are some people who thought losing Miller was going to screw us, but my feeling is that KT is a bigger help for the team because of that toughness and preparation, compared to big Brad, who liked to work himself into shape at about the trading deadline. Derrick draws the line in the sand, offensively speaking. KT does it as a defender. [video=youtube;V4UfAL9f74I]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4UfAL9f74I[/video]
