Sox Shuffle Continues
Friday Afternoon Diversion
Jay-Z Announces 2010 Tour Dates. Chicago Not On List.
Around Town
I Fight Dragon$
We really thought that Tuesday night would be the end of the Bulls' season after the way that the Pistons demolished them in games one and two in Detroit. In those two games, the Bulls looked like some middle school team playing an NBA team. Sure, the Bulls looked pretty good in game four, at home and with Detroit sitting pretty with a 3-0 series lead. But Detroit couldn't possibly get caught sleeping again, could they?
The Bulls came out red hot at the beginning of game five, hitting six of their first seven shots to open up an early lead and didn't let up all half — hitting 26 of 36, or 72.2%, of their shots. Yet they went into halftime up by only eight. We admit we were pretty frightened by that fact. No team can keep up a torrid shooting pace like that for a whole game, and eight points isn't a very comfortable lead. Not after giving up a 19-point lead in the second half of game three.
While their shooting percentage slipped a little in the second half, they managed to pull away from the Pistons with a 17-2 run midway through the third quarter and never looked back, winning the game 108-92.
Ben Gordon led the hot-shooting Bulls with 28 points on 10 of 16 shooting from the field. Luol Deng added 20, shooting 8 of 13. Kirk Hinrich was the only Bulls starter under 50%, but he dished out 13 assists. Ben Wallace and Andres Nocioni had surprisingly quiet nights, but P.J. Brown and Tyrus Thomas stepped up and had big nights.
Having pulled to within 3-2 in the series, the Bulls host the Pistons for game six at the United Center on Thursday. Can the Bulls use the advantage of their home court to even up the series?
Photo by Reuters/Mike Cassese.
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To all the haters out there sure to comment with "they'll blow it in game 7" remarks, I urge you to enjoy this moment. Go Bulls!
I have to admit as angry as I was that they blew game 3 when it happened, I'm even more pissed now. If they hadn't relented the lead in that game, they would now be up 3-2 heading back to Chicago with a chance to close out the series.
That would have made me a happy guy. That being said. Don't give up on your Baby Bulls, they certainly have enough fight left in them, and the Pistons look lackadaisical lately, like they just expect the Bulls to lay down and die.
I'll emjoy this while it lasts.
emjoy is the new enjoy...
Man, they need a scorer, though.
That said, I would love to hang in there and shock, of all teams, the Pistons.
I'm standing by my original prediction of Pistons in 6, but I wouldn't be totally shocked if the Bulls stole this series. The better team doesn't always win in the playoffs-- see last year's Spurs (who lost to the Mavs) and Heat (who beat those same Mavs).
That's not to disrespect the Bulls. They got skills. They're just not ready for the Finals yet.
Since every veiled pseudoprediction I've made on Chicagoist during this series has been wrong; I'd like to take this opportunity to say that I suspect that the Pistons will bear down and close the series out in Chicago.
But you know I'd love to see this go to seven. Go Bullies!!!