I'd like to say a toast.  To the man, the myth, the legend.  The one and only...Carmelo Anthony.  Just when this annoying cannucks thought they were going to pull off a stunning upset victory last night, Carmelo said...ummm no sir.  On his second attempt of the possession, he nailed a buzzerbeater.  I said the Nuggets were going to win this game, and they did.  As they should have.

As a result of Carmelo's heroics, the Bulls remain entrenched in the playoff race.  Now 2 back and facing the Nets tonight and the Pistons tomorrow, while the Raptors face the red-hot Heat tomorrow, the Bulls have a huge chance to move .5 game back of the Raptors by tomorrow night.

Thank you, Carmelo.  Some terrific tributes to this great, great man below.

I posted my own NBA Power Rankings a few days ago, but here's the Bloguin Network-wide version of the Power Rankings.  I thought the Bulls got ranked a ittle low, but after last night's game, they're exactly where they should be if, if not too high.

Have a look here.

Okay, I know I said that this game wasn't necessarily a MUST-win.  But it sort of was.  Every game is so incredibly important right now.  What it comes down to is this:  this loss could be the reason why the Bulls don't make the playoffs.  Same thing with any other previous loss before tonight.  But now you're running out of time.

However, as I've been saying for a few days now, this loss isn't the end of the world.  I was hoping the Bulls would be up a half game over Toronto by the end of the weekend, but with this loss, it looks we'll have to settle for them being a half game back (assuming they don't choke against the Nets and Pistons).  Perhaps the worst part about this loss is the fact that Toronto sees this score and it probably gives them a ton of confidence.  They get a little less anxious.  All you can hope for is that you hope that it causes them to relax a bit and maybe their opponents take advantage.

As for the Bulls, I'm not really sure why I should bother recapping this game.  They come out with no effort and no energy.  Vinny Del Negro laid another stink-bomb in the coaching department.  And James Johnson.  Oh boy, James Johnson.  One of the many things that really struck me about this game is just how much the Bulls truly truly miss Luol Deng.  Deng is actually somewhat of a stabilizing force in the Bulls offense.  True, most of the scoring load falls on Derrick.  But the second most falls on Luol Deng.  Usually, if the Bulls aren't shooting well, you can count on Luol Deng to stick a 19 footer to help them stop the bleeding.  He's been consistent with his jump shot for the entire year.  Instead, you have the athletic, but incredibly unintelligent (on the court) James Johnson starting and just turning the ball over left and right.  It's not that he's turning the ball over that much more than other players, but it's more that his turnovers are so absolutely ridiculous and unprofessional that you end up remembering them forever.  They're that dumb.  The point being, there is an incredible void that isn't being filled by Luol Deng's absence, and it can often lead to 20 to nothing runs by Bulls opponents.  By the way, James Johnson made Joel Anthony look like the second coming of Alonzo Mourning.  Anthony had himself a freakin' block party at the Bulls' expense.  If you want to boost your blocked shots statistics, then you absolutely love playing the Bulls and their ridiculous 3 guard lineups.  See JJ get stuffed the turkey that he is below.

But regardless, this team is supposed to be a professional basketball team (even with Pargo and Richard on the roster).  What professional basketball team that you know of shoots 28% in a half?  That's exactly what the Bulls did.  And it's not even that shocking, simply because I feel like I've seen that type of percentage so often recently.  But you just don't expect it as much when games really start to mean as much as they do right now, and with Derrick and Joakim coming back as well.  The Bulls finished shooting 32% from the field.  And the Heat?  52%.  That truly was the difference in the game.  It wasn't the rebounding.  Bulls only got outrebounded by 3 and actually had 4 more offensive boards.  It wasn't the turnovers...the Bulls only had 12.  It wasn't the free-throws.  The Heat only made 2 more free-throws.  It was purely and simply...the shooting.  The Bulls only made 27 buckets to the Heat's 41...and they had 3 more total attempts.  The Heat were simplyl feasting on the Bulls in the paint, and the Bulls couldn't even get layups and 2 foot baby-hooks to fall.

I don't know if I'm alone in this, but for me, one (of man) of the most frustrating parts of this game was Quentin Richardson's abuse of Flip Murray.  I understand that Quentin Richards is bigger.  And he can play a little in the post.  A little.  But as I'm watching him post up Flip on the right key the first time, I can see that he's getting ready to pivot with his right foot, turn toward the base-line, and do an up and under to get to the basket.  I can see that Flip is only protecting the middle.  He's only blocking Quentin's right shoulder.  Yet, it's so freakin' obvious to me that he's going to turn toward the baseline and not toward the middle.  And somehow Flip has no idea?  How is this possible?  Fine, he made a mistake.  Miami, seeing the ease in which Quentin was able to work in the post on Flip, decide to try again.  Sure enough, Q gets it in the same spot.  AGAIN, FLIP IS ONLY PROTECTING THE MIDDLE.  I'm screaming at my TV at this point. "Flip, he's gonna go baseline.  PROTECT THE BASELINE.  PLEASE."  He goes baseline, up and under to his left.  SAME EXACT MOVE.  Flip Murray's defense was atroscious.  Chris Richard's version of "help" was atroscious.  The Bulls were entirely atroscious.

Which brings me to Vinny.  Really, Vinny?  Chris Richard making an appearance in the 1st quarter when Brad Miller's in foul trouble?  I was told that Joakim Noah would be playing 15 minutes in this game.  Was it totally forbidden to put him in at some point in the 1st quarter?  It wasn't clear that the Bulls were struggling with their defense and with their energy?  Isn't Joakim Noah the best cure the Bulls have for that problem?  The 1st quarter winds down...its 31-10.  I figure Joakim will be starting the 2nd quarter.  Nope.  Still Chris Richard out there.  Chris Richard is NOT AN NBA PLAYER.  He missed what must have been his 10th dunk of the season (see right).  Seriously, the guy can't even dunk.  And he's playing center for the Bulls.  Finally, Bulls are down 39-22 at this point, and Vinny only now decides to put in Joakim Noah with 8:55 to go in the half.  Joakim Noah should have been in this game with freakin' 8:55 to go in the FIRST QUARTER.  Vinny went with Chris Richard for nearly an entire quarter before bringing Joakim Noah in.  I blame Vinny for allowing the lead to balloon to 17 and only then bringing in Joakim Noah for the first time.  It's not as if Richard was playing like Ben Wallace in his prime out there.  He was being abused.  Totally and utterly abused.  Yet Vinny doesn't even flinch. Check out this terrific box out of Dorrel Wright by Chris Richard.  Not.  Gotta love the way Richard literally doesn't even jump to get this rebound.  He's literally just standing still as Wright flies past him.

Not one Bull really had a decent shooting night.  The one guy who had any remnance of a good night was Hakim Warrick, who scored a team high 14 points on 4-8 from the field, with 7 rebounds as well.  Unfortunately, he's a total liability on the defensive end.  Taj Gibson was alright I guess too, going 4-9 for 12 points and 10 rebounds.  But Taj really wasn't effect defensively either.  To be honest, Jermaine O'Neal was playing like it was 2002.  The guy was just having his way with absolutely everybody in the paint.  It was the Jermaine O'Neal clinic.  O'Neal finished with a team high 24 points.  The rest of the Heat played well also.  They just know how to execute.  And all Dwyane Wade really had to do tonight was facilitate.  He had the luxury of taking the night because of how bad the Bulls were.  Wade finished with 12 points, 10 assists, and 5 boards.  He only shot the ball 7 times and made 5 of his attempts...and the Heat got to 103.  Unreal.

And I actually take back what I said about Derrick Rose being a Dwyane Wade clone.  Not quiet yet, Derrick.  Derrick's numbers tonight were similar to Wade's.  He finished with 12 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists.  Only Derrick was actually not taking the night off and was trying his hardest.  It just wasn't happening tonight.  Derrick made the same amount of field goals as Wade, only on 9 more attempts.  He had a Pargo/Hinrich/Murray-esque shooting night.  When that happens, it's tough for the Bulls to be in the ball game, especially with Luol Deng not being in as a second option.  Take a look at this shot below...and let me know exactly what that was?  Cuz I'm at a loss for words.

And oh yeah, Pargo continues to piss me off to no end.  What I can tell you for a fact is that dribbling from side to side, not passing the ball, and jacking up 3's and 20 footers for airballs, when you're a 32% shooter, is not the answer to getting back into ballgames.  Pargo, who's supposed to be a veteran, truly and completely thinks that it is.  There is no explanation as to why he does what he does.  He's the epitomy of a black hole on the basketball court.  Sucking the air and life out of an offense.  Yet again, Vinny continues to play him.  I'm so sick of this...I've honestly beaten this story to a bloody pulp, but it happens in every game, and every game he never plays any better.  So yeah, thanks to Vinny's "interesting" rotation choices, as well as the Bulls shooting about as well as my friends and I on Sunday at the JCC, they never ended up making a run to get back into this one.  Not a lot of effort really, either.  It was pretty pathetic to watch.

So that's the ball-game, folks.  The Bulls embarrassed themselves on national television.  Again.  It happens nearly EVERY time the Bulls play on TNT.  Maybe it's the Barkley curse?  I guess you have to think of this game as one the Bulls would have lost even if it were close.  Miami is just better at executing, and they do have Wade after all.  Is it better they lose in a blowout rather than lose in a heartbreaker that's decided in the last minute?  Maybe, maybe not.  That's for you to decide. I personally think losses like this are more demoralizing, but you just have to block it out of your memory as quickly as possible and look it as nothing but another loss and move on.  You can't dwell on how you lost, only that you did lose.  At this point in the season, you can't dwell at all to be honest.

The Bulls are now 2.5 back of Toronto.  They lose to the Heat by 29 a night after the Raptors lose the Jazz by 26.  And I thought the Raptors' loss was demoralizing.  I should have known...the Bulls are the kings of being demoralized.  The Nets should be a cure for this massive headache.  But then again, the Bulls have proven that not to be the case earlier this season.  If the Bulls lose to the Nets Friday night, the season is officially over.  I will call it dead.  As of right now, hope is not completely lost.  And yeah, Derrick let Carlos Arroyo  make a fool out of him on national television.  Sleep well tonight, Derrick.  See below.

Who's ready for fireworks?  Last time these two teams met, Brad Miller go called for flagrant foul that couldn't even be considered a hard foul.  Kirk Hinrich lost his cool, and walked into a ref, causing himself to be ejected and subsequently suspended.

Hinrich is known as somewhat of Wade stopper.  In fact, to met it seems like Dwyane Wade hates playing against Hinrich more than anyone.  He says he "loves it" because of the "challenge," which actually means he hates it.  I have a feeling Hinrich is going to come out incredibly determined tonight.  If you check out one of my recent posts, you can hear Dwyane talk about Hinrich and the development of the Bulls-Heat rivalry.  The Bulls will be playing in a playoff-like atmostphere at the United Center, as the fans and the players alike are aware of what's on the line.  Expect a very loud ovation for Dwyane Wade.

Plus, Ernie, Charles, and Kenny are in the building and will be commentating the game.  How exciting.  Can't wait to hear Charles Barkley crap all over the Bulls on national television.  I'm still leaning toward watching the game on Comcast.  Either way, tonight is the biggest game of the season thus far.  I wouldn't call it a must-win per se, but you definitely want to go out and get this victory as you make a run at the playoffs.  If they win, we're talking 5 game winning streak by Sunday night, and sole possession of the 8-seed.  So without further ado...Go Bulls.

I participated a little in Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago's live-chat this morning.  I asked him a question that relates back to my last post about the Bulls holding the 8-seed by weekend's end.

Dave P. (Chicago, IL)

The Bulls play the Heat (at home), the Nets, and the Pistons in their next three games, while the Raptors play the Nuggets and the Heat on the road. The Bulls will win 2 out of those 3 games, if not all 3, while the Raptors should lose their next 2. The Bulls are only 2 games back right now. So don't you think there's a good chance the Bulls could be half a game ahead of Toronto for the 8-seed by the end of the weekend?

Nick Friedell

(1:30 PM)

Absolutely. But what does it really matter where they are this weekend, when you consider that the Bulls still have to play (among others) the Suns, Cavs, Celtics, Bucks, Raptors and Bobcats twice over the next few weeks. Bottom line: The Bulls must win and get some help to get back into the playoffs.

I disagree slightly with Nick.  From a mental standpoint, I think regaining control of the 8-seed will be a huge blow the Raptors' confidence, and a huge lift for the Bulls.  True, they do have to play all those games he listed, but they also have two more games against the Nets and one against the Wizards that he failed to mention.  And his sentiments about the Bulls needing help aren't really correct.  True, the Bulls could use the help.  But they don't NEED it per se.  The Bulls can get into the playoffs without help once they get that .5 game lead by Sunday, since they play the Bobcats twice and the Raptors once.  The Bobcats are only 3.5 games up on the Bulls right now.  We don't even play them until a week and a half from now.  Their lead will likely be only 2 games over the Bulls at that point based on the schedule.  With 2 wins against the Bobcats, the Bulls and the Bobcats could flip-flop their current positions.  With a win against the Raptors, the Bulls, if they won't already be up on the Raptors, will certainly flip-flop with them at that point based on both teams' schedules.  So not only will the Bulls make the playoffs if they take care of business against the Bobcats and Raptors, but there is a very real possiblity that they will own the 7-seed by season's end.  Even the 6-seed is in reach.

So the fact that the Bulls will likely be a half game up on Toronto by weekend's end is huge.  Since the Bulls will be playing against the opponents directly in front of them in 3 upcoming games, what it means is that they will be in a position to overtake them with a single victory.  In Charlotte's case, with 2 victories.  The Bulls schedule after Sunday is not any tougher than the Raptors or Bobcats.

More on the comparison of schedules between the Bulls, Raptors, and Bobcats later...

They will.  Let me explain.  By the way, before I get to that, I'm loading this post with anti-Raptors video propoganda to inspire Bulls nation as we try to force these annoying Canucks out of the playoff race.  If you really hate the Raptors right now, as you should since they're standing in our way and damaging our potential ability to lure free agents, then you will love all three of these videos.  Be sure to watch them, they're all really short.  Sorry Toronto, you mess with Da Bulls' Eye, you get the horns.

Here's what's happening right now.  The Raptors lost a very big game tonight.  Lost is an understatement.  They got destroyed.  By approximately 26 points.

Huge for the Bulls.

The Bulls now sit exactly 2 games back of the Raptors.  The Bulls play the Heat tomorrow night.  They're due to beat the Heat and they're playing with momentum...so let's assume, for the sake of argument, that they win.  IF they win, they will be 1.5 back as of tomorrow night.

On Friday night, the Raptors play the Nuggets.  The Nuggets have lost 3 straight after tonight's loss in Boston, yet they're still an elite Western Conference team.  They're going to come out hungry and anxious to snap this losing streak and get out of their funk rather quickly.  They will eat Toronto for lunch.  After Friday night, the Bulls will be 1 game back.

On Saturday night, the Bulls play the Nets.  You absolutely have to assume that this will be a victory.  The Nets will be on the second leg of a back-to-back, and they will be playing on the road.  They have 8 victories this season, one came tonight.  They surely will not win another one again so quickly.  On top of that, they've already won once against the Bulls at home, and you have to believe the Bulls will be determined to prevent the embarrassment of getting swept by the Nets at home this season.  This will be a W.  By Saturday night, the Bulls will be a half game back.

On Sunday night, both the Bulls and the Raptors will be playing.  The Bulls play the awful Detroit Pistons.  The Bulls will be coming on the second leg of a back-to-back, but they will have played in what should have been a relatively easy game at home against the Nets on the previous night.  The Pistons have lost 5 straight as of right now, and like the Bulls, they will have just faced the Nets just a day earlier than the Bulls did.  So they will also be coming off of a victory.  But this team is awful (they just lost twice to Indiana in the span of 5 days) and the Bulls will obviously know the stakes.  This will be another W against team that is playing for nothing.

The Raptors will also be playing.  They face the Heat in Miami on Sunday.  Both of those teams will be playing for playoff position.  I expect Dwyane Wade to put his team on his back at home and run past a Toronto team that will be demoralized after coming off of 2 straight losses to Western Conference contenders.  Toronto will lose to Miami on the road.  With a Bulls win and Toronto loss, the Bulls move a half a game ahead of the Raptors for the 8-seed.

The Bulls will hold the 8-seed by the end of the weekend.  That's the reality, people.  I told you not to count us out.

And even if things don't go exactly as I stated here, which they should, the Bulls will still have plenty of time to make up ground as they play Toronto one more time and Charlotte twice.  Either way, this weekend will be huge and we will be AT LEAST within 1 game of the 8-seed.  But I expect us to be in the 8th position.  Either way...DO NOT FRET.  Things are looking up.  The schedule speaks for itself.

Anyone who's a Bulls fan cannot get enough of these dunks, especially the Dragic dunk.  And you definitely cannot get enough of Stacey King's reactions to Derrick's dunks.  As a result, this video may be the greatest Derrick Rose highlight video I have ever seen.  I freakin' love it.  Props to the almighty creator.

Ball Don't Lie posted this ridiculously awesome pic of ex-Bull Aaron Gray earlier today.  It looks like the White Panther was seated at the kids' table at someone's Bar Mitzvah.  Funny enough, he doesn't really look out of place.  He looks super excited in the pic.  Maybe they just announced the sweet table was open?  Or did the red-head to his left just tell him about some juicy 4th grade gossip?  A picture really is worth 1,000 words.

We're nearing the end of the season, which means it's time for the Bloguin NBA Panelist team to vote on power rankings.  That'll be up in a day or two, but I figured I'd post my own power rankings in the mean time.  I had a tough time deciding between New Jersey, Washington, and Minnesota for the bottom 3.  Washington is on a 12 game losing streak, while Minnesota is on a 13 game losing streak, but New Jersey has the worst record by far.  I really think Washington is awful, even worse than the T-Wolves personnel-wise, so that's why I put them below Minny.  And New Jersey had to get the last spot.  7 wins?  Come on.

For the rankings...hit the jump.