"Spoelstra said some Heat players are crying in the locker room at the moment." Heat players crying in the locker room after a regular season Bulls loss tells me they needed a big dose of this from season start to present: Don't Believe the Hype The team is so good on paper that its hard to refute the fact that they may gel -- maybe in time for the playoffs. Maybe next year. Or maybe not. Who knows. They are a team built so top heavy that they may play their best ball in the playoffs -- when rotations get so much tighter -- so perhaps all they need to do is get IN to the playoffs and then take care of business. It will be interesting to see how that plays out. I've said since the beginning that I wasn't putting money on the Heat this season, or at least this regular season, despite the media drooling, because it was such a tumultuous situation and the talent drop-off after the Big 3 was so steep.
I'm sure Spoelstra wanted to convey how much his players care, but he's gonna regret that statement, true or not (I have troube buying that players would cry after a regular season loss in early March). I mean, he's not a real popular guy to begin with.
The Heat have exceeded my expectations at this point. Their bench was horrible against us this game - 2-12 shooting and 6 points. Last game 1-8 for 2 points. They may have to play the big three 48 minutes each to beat us. They might have Haslem back, too.
If miami gets the home court advantage then yes, I can see the big three with a much tighter rotation could beat us. Last time I looked we are up 2 games on the loss column with chicago owning the tie breaker! If we dont totally collapse, we are fine.
Am I allowed to take childing amusement over comments like this (from only a little over a month ago):
Re: Game #61, Bulls @ Heat - Game Thread It looks like they don't have the tie-breaker either. There's no way they catch up to the Celtics if they don't win the upcoming game against them in Chicago. Even then, though, they'd only be 2-2 against the Celtics, who will also win their division (obviously). So you look at conference play and the Celtics are too far ahead for the Bulls to catch up, 29-7 to 26-11. Yup, the only way the Bulls catch the Celtics is if they beat them in outright record, which may not be possible even if the Bulls finish 17-4.
One last note on the Cs: Boston's remaining schedule doesn't provide much help either. The Celtics play NY twice (home and away), at New Orleans, at San Antonio, at Miami, at Atlanta, at Houston, and obviously, at Chicago. Their longest road swing is only four games and there isn't a whole lot there that would lend you to believe that the Bulls should close on them. The game tonight is relatively big. If Milwaukee can somehow pull off a win I would feel better about the Bulls' chances.
Interesting point! Unless the Heat goes 19-0, Lebron won more games last year (61) when he was the lone star than he will this year. Bad Decision? http://twitter.com/#!/DwainPrice/status/44558925588205568
The big question is whether the Bulls can win 4 of 7 in a series where Boston has the home court advantage. I'm thinking they do. It's a much bigger deal, IMO, to have the home court against Miami. However, we still have to get past the 1st round, which looks to me like Philly or the new Knicks.
Wade:"This is what everyone wanted. The world's better now because the Heat are losing." http://twitter.com/#!/McGrawDHBulls/status/44511935613513729
Thonus: Bulls are winning all the big games. They're 13-7 against the elite teams in the NBA according to Jeff Sagarin. Only the Spurs (15-7) are better, but all of the Bulls losses come from early in the season. Read more: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/chi...ls-complete-the-heat-sweep.html#ixzz1FsBm81P5
Re: Game #61, Bulls @ Heat - Game Thread Sweet doesn't quite capture the totality of the moment. Not sure what does. A world class play, that's for sure.
Zing! Maybe, just maybe, in a few years, if they really milk this right, people really will feel sorry for them.
The way the heat are going, Orlando might catch them. Only 4 games in the loss column. Unless they have some kind of epiphany, the Heat aren't a big threat to anyone. I could see them struggling in the first round and being swept in the second round. I could see Philly beating them if they aren't playing better than they are now.
You can't discount the epiphany scenario. At some point, you might guess, they decide to become a team. But maybe that's the problem. The coach is not really in charge.