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As we watched the Bulls-Pistons games on Saturday night, we just kept telling ourselves that there's a reason these are best-of-seven series. Any team can have an off night.
And, boy, did the Bulls have an off night. The Pistons jumped out to an early lead and kept adding to it, trouncing the Bulls 95-69. The Bulls looked overmatched from the outset of the game, as they looked sloppy and lethargic after the week off.
Ben Gordon was ineffective against Chauncey Billups, scoring just seven points and getting in early foul trouble trying to defend him. P.J. Brown also got himself into early foul trouble. The team handled the ball sloppily the entire night, leading to 22 turnovers. And the bench was horrific, making just 3 of 30 shots — only 10%! So much for their picking up the slack when the starters wilted.
The biggest question now is whether the Bulls can bounce back in tonight's Game 2 in Detroit? They need to make the necessary adjustments defensively and remain more focused throughout the game. A repeat of Saturday's sloppy play and horrific shooting will create a 0-2 hole by the time the series returns to Chicago. If the Bulls have any hopes of winning this series, Monday night's game is the most critical one to win.
Photo via REUTERS/Rebecca Cook.
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Sheesh, so much for my "they might be able to come out with more intensity and steal the first game" theory.
The Pistons showed the Bulls what playoff intensity is all about, and they had better respond in kind tonight (at the very least by staying in the game until the end) or they are in big trouble.
I think it's possible if they just eliminate mistakes and those damn unforced turnovers, like they did in the Miami series. That's the most frustrating thing about the Bulls these days, they have the talent and the personnel to beat anyone when they just freakin' execute. But once they start throwing passes away and making bad decisions it just all falls apart, and then they get into this mode where nobody wants to take a shot (no matter how open they are) and they overpass until the possession is frittered away (either with a steal, a terrible shot, or a shot clock violation).
It's also important for Deng and Gordon to get as hot as they did in the last series, where the shots are falling so perfectly that the net doesn't even twitch. That seems to fire everyone on the team up, causing the defense to get even tighter.
Bottom line is they can't win this series unless they execute perfectly (as the Pistons just leave no room for error) and also get a bit of good luck (which has always seemed in short supply for this team). But even after my little gloomerdoomer rant, I still feel confident they can do it.
@Cletus:
I heard someone argue on another Chicago sports site that they needed Pau Gasol. I'm a Bulls fan but my NBA knowledge is weak. Your thoughts?
Pau can definitely score in the low post, but he's very weak on defense and I don't know if he could hold up under the strict "full effort all the time" regimen that Skiles espouses.
The whole philosophy of the Bulls right now is to have players that play hard every night, get along with others, and don't mind making sacrifices for the good of the team. Gasol doesn't really fit into that context, as he's weak/lazy on defense and a bit of a diva. Add to this the fact that the Bulls would have had to give up too much to get him.
I can see the appeal he has to those frustrated with the Bulls lack of post scoring, however, and there will be complaints that we should have picked him up every time the Bulls lose a game in these playoffs; but I feel they made the right choice by passing on him.
I still think the Bulls have all the players they need to win it all (of course they could always use more scoring, but who couldn't?), they just need to eliminate mistakes and play to their full potential.
Sorry for the rambling answer, t.c.f.b.- but I'm so rarely asked to give my thoughts that I felt I had to beat it into the ground.