| 19 April 2010
First and foremost, Game 1 went just as expected. Cavs came out hot on their homecourt, and the Bulls looked a little shell-shocked. Derrick put the Bulls on his back and carried them pretty much the entire way to make the game somewhat competitive.
But what did you really expect in Game 1? Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, and Mark Jackson expected a massive blowout. At the start of the game, Van Gundy says, "Why not let Shaq start and regain his bearings, this won't be a competitive series anyway." Do I need to hear that? Do I really need to hear that, as a Bulls fan, before the series even begins? From a beat-writer...fine. From a blogger...fine. But from the color commentator announcing the game, with a gazillion Bulls fans watching, do we really need to hear that? When Derrick started completely breaking down the Bulls defense and the Cavs couldn't break down the Bulls defense for 10 minutes where they didn't score once, the announcers really didn't know what to say. They seemed as shell-shocked as the Bulls at the start of the game. The game was down to a Cavs 7 point lead, and the announcers were hardly paying attention, treating it like a blowout.
Not to mention, they spent the ENTIRE second quarter talking about the Paxson/Del Negro shoving incident. Gossiping like little girls. I kid you not. It was the definition of a travesty. I mean Derrick Rose was whizzing through the lane with spectacular move after spectacular move, and all I hear is "Paxson this", "Del Negro that", "the NBA should step in", "they should be reprimanded". I DON'T CARE. I'm trying to watch a freakin' playoff game. People always complain about Neil and Stacey being too homer. GOOD. I prefer homer to constant Bull-bashing while not even calling the game in front of them. I swear, if I'm forced to watch another game on ABC, I will be watching it on mute in its entirety.
In terms of the actual game, it was a test-run for both teams. The Cavs feel good because Shaq seemed to work himself back in "seamlessly." Oh, really? 12 points on 5-9 shooting and 5 rebounds in 25 minutes. Let me tell you something. I've seen Tyrus Thomas put up numbers like that a hundred times. NOT IMPRESSED. To be honest, the Bulls are the ones who should feel good. Joakim Noah went out there and learned what it's like to play against a 350 lb fat man. Now he knows. And you better believe he will make adjustments.
LeBron and Mo Williams had their standard type of performances. Nothing spectacular from LeBron. 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. He had a few nice blocks that the commentators wouldn't shut up about. In fact the entire half-time show was dedicated to LeBron's blocking ability. I've never seen brown-nosing to that extent. I remember back in the day when the games were on NBC, the half-time show was all business, with game breakdowns from the likes of Costas, Rashad, Dr. J, Peter Vecsey, Jayson Williams, etc. These guys didn't have their heads up Jordan's *ss. They just told it like it was. Entire segments dedicated to recreating a LeBron block through computer animation? Nope.
But anyway, Mo Williams is really killing us. No, it's not even that. It's the three-point shooting. John Paxson and Gar Forman are witnessing the exploitation of one of the Bulls' biggest weaknesses and one of their own biggest screw-ups...the failure to acquire three-point shooting threats. The Cavs attempted 23 threes and made 6. The Bulls attempted 7 and made 1. And that's typical. Mo Williams alone attempted 7...and made 3. He tripled the Bulls' entire three point production. That was the difference in the game. Not LeBron, not Shaq, but three-point shooting. Anthony Parker went 1-6 from three. Jamison made one. Jamario Moon made one. As for the Bulls? Flip Murray made one of his three attempts. That's it. Derrick had a couple that each went in and out. Had he made those, then it's a different game.
Of course, the Cavs did manage to hurt the Bulls in other ways as well. They outrebounded us 37-31. Six more. Specifically, six more offensive rebounds. That was the difference in rebounding. Take away some of those second chance opportunities, and again, it's a different game. The Bulls, who happen to be the best rebounding team in the league, absolutely have to box out better. Then again, the Cavs were getting lucky with a lot of loooong rebounds after some serious bricks and clanks. See below:
Derrick Rose was spectacular. 28 points on 13-28 from the field, with 10 assists and 7 rebounds. Fairly close to a triple-double. I love how as the game closed, Mike Breen says "Derrick had a great night, not a great shooting game, but he played very well." Really? Shooting about 50% from the field is now a bad shooting night? That's news to me. Puttz.
But Derrick, did did have 7 turnovers, but a lot of those turnovers were off of transition drives to the basket where he got hammered and there was no foul call. The refs literally swallow their whistles when it comes to Derrick Rose. Is it because he's a Bull, and they just hate the Bulls? Or is it because he just doesn't argue so they get away with it? I mean, is he not an All-Star? Is it not absolutely clear that he's getting blatantly hacked? Those questions are rhetorical. We know the answer to every one of them. Derrick shared his thoughts on the crooked refs after the game.
“That’s the way they call the game. I can’t say nothing about that. Hopefully, the refs look at what they are doing. We’re still gonna go out and play the game and see if we can get some calls. I know one day it’s gonna change. I cannot get mad. I learned from the New Jersey game (seven turnovers) the refs weren’t calling it right and I got frustrated a little bit. It’s got to change one day. The only thing I’ll tell you is it’s gonna change one day and when it does it’s going to be scary.”
He's right about that. What he does right now is already scary. But when he starts going to the free-throw line 12 times a game, that's when opposing teams will pray they don't meet the Bulls in the playoffs. As for Game 1? He had 1 trip to the line. 28 shots, and only 1 trip to the line. Process that for a minute. Phil Jackson would have been fined $100k after Game 1 if he were Derrick's coach. He would have totally ripped the refs a new one. VDN? Nope. It's like he's trying to impress somebody with his professionalism and class, when instead, he should be sticking up for his best player and making it clear to the league that what the refs are getting away with with Derrick is a traveshamockery.
I'm hoping...praying...that the refs realize they screwed up in Game 1 and start treating Derrick like the superstar that he is, and AT LEAST call a fair game. He should at least be getting to the line when he gets fouled and not being treated like a rookie. AT LEAST. If they wanna throw in a few superstar calls as well, no complaints from me.
Also, Luol Deng has to play better. 12 points on 5-15 from the field and 6 rebounds in 39 minutes ain't gonna cut it. The Bulls need more offense from him, not to mention more defense. He did alright on LeBron, but it was clear that he was incredibly frustrated and overwhelmed guarding him. I don't blame him, but he can't let it take him out of his element on offense. Lu and LeBron even got into it a little bit at one point during a timeout, but we need Lu to keep his cool and just do what he does. I expect Vinny to play James Johnson on LeBron a little more tonight, as Johnson has had some success against him in the past. They can use his phsyicality and athleticism on the defensive end. I also wouldn't be surprised to see another scuffle tonight. I desparately want someone to get in LeBron's face after he does some stupid little celebration/dance and show this Cavs team that the Bulls really aren't scared, and just wait till you come back to the UC.
Which reminds me, Joakim Noah must play tougher. Take Shaq out of his element. Keep playing physical. Don't back down. And if you get in foul trouble, so be it, but you have to play physical. I'm sure Brad Miller won't mind helping with that. But most of all, the Bulls just have to hit their jumpshots. Game 1 was a poor shooting game. As a collective they shot only 42% from the field. That number has to get up to at least 45% for them to be in it. Then again, the Bulls outscored the Cavs by 2 points in the second half even while shooting at a lower percentage, so who knows. Tonight, the Bulls may steal one. You gotta believe, Bulls fans. Game 1 was what it was. And it could have been a lot worse. Give the Bulls credit for making a game out of it. Game 2 will be a different story. I expect a closer game throughout tonight. GO BULLS.
