TNT said this is the first time in Luol's career where he had scored 20 plus points in 6 straight games.
Obviously, the Bulls came to play and the Heat kinda didn't. The Bulls completely outworked the Heat. Nice to have Boozer back again.
Meaningless December basketball... still... nice to see the Bulls pound the Heat, even if they are not really trying and just laughing about it. Whatever. I'm pretty much on board with keeping the core we have and attacking next year, so its important to keep the spirits up. Keep the fellers fighting hard and listening to Thibs and playing tough D and all of that. So these wins are important as its a reward for the hard work the men are putting in. Obviously it hurts draft position, but unless you go all out tank, getting one of those studs is a pipe dream. Nice win!
Didn't see that ass-whupping coming even with the Heat short handed -- even though I know we always play them tougher than just about anyone in the league. It wasn't the most beautiful, thorough, precision strike ass-whupping I have ever seen but I will take it. Early in the season? check. Nothing on the line? check. But methinks if we got dealt what we handed out we'd see more meaning, more significance, more to project. Lets enjoy the win for what it is -- a win and a thorough, if uneven, bitch-slapping of the Heat and proof that this team can continue to find ways to step it up in the absence of DRose. Hopefully this will provide some confidence and momentum carrying forward.
I saw an appropriate metaphor describing the Bulls the other day. Something like, a wild animal with three broken legs - it will bite if you get near, but it ain't going anywhere.
-- I had a feeling that this might be up. This Heat team sure has an acute ability to pace themselves. They just don't give a damn until the postseason. It kind of cuts against all the conventional wisdom that says you have to build up good habits in the regular season. -- Taj Gibson is playing some damn fine ball right now. That's going to be wonderful in the playoffs when you have a guy besides Derrick Rose who can score in iso situations. -- I kept waiting for Snell to take Jesus Shuttleworth off the dribble. He has the skills to do it, and had some big lanes. It looks to me like Snell is still playing very conservatively and trying to make the adjustment. -- I was happy that Teague had a pretty good game but I lost my shit when he tried to show up his teammates. There was that situation in the third I think when he tried to Ice and his big man wasn't there (I think Gibson, IIRC) and the opposing guard drove directly to the hoop. Teague then turned around and gestured at his teammates. Seriously, WTF? That dude is responsible for more turnovers than plays this season.
Teague is super quick. Reggie Miller kept saying you can't teach speed, yet he never finished with a score one time! He does that 90% of the time. What good does that do us? Break down the defense, yes, Noah getting a tip in, maybe. We need him to finish and he doesn't.
Carlos Boozer, Bulls easily handle Heat The way everything was crumbling, the Chicago Bulls sure needed a reprieve. Knocking off the defending champions was a nice one. Carlos Boozer scored 27 points, and the Bulls pounded LeBron James and the Miami Heat 107-87 on Thursday night. Read more http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=400489152
