How big of a blow will this be?

[Newskoolbulls]

The Chicago Bulls were handed a gift when the news broke that KG would be out for the playoffs. We came out and handed the Celtics a loss thanks to a Rose coming out party. In game two we struggle yet still stayed close enough that we had a chance to win yet we lost do to the fact that our coach is an idiot. We find out at the end of game 2 that Leon Powe will be out for the remainder of the playoffs which means that a banged up Brian Scalabrine would be getting time and a weak Celtics bench becomes weaker. The Celtics starters will be logging major minutes in this series. If we lose this series how crushing will it be? we avoided the 8th seed which would have meant a matchup against Lebron and avoided 6th which would have meant Dwight bitching our bigs the whole series. We basically had a golden ticket to the second round, if we fail this will be a big blow to the franchise in my opnion.

 

[Newskoolbulls]

God must be looking at this team and saying to himself "I helped you guys out enough and if you cant go out and handle your business its not my problem"

 

[maq25060]

it shouldnt be crushing at all...

the celtics are the more experience team and at WORSE are only slightly less talented than us without KG with 2 established HOF'ers...

like i said, not at all

just b/c we could have (and still could) won the series doesnt mean we should have or were supposed to win it

 

[Shakes]

Even without KG the Celtics are still a better team, so I don't think the Bulls were given a golden ticket at all. All that not having KG does is mean the Bulls could maybe win a game or two and if they got really lucky maybe take the series.

The Bulls were never going to be a top team until Rose has had a few years to develop, so I don't think losing this series would be a blow at all. Given how things were looking a while back, they can be happy with their late run to make the playoffs at all. Next year they need to just build on that and start out stronger (which hasn't been something the team has been good at doing).

 

[cool007]

Actually, Celtics are still a superior team even without KG.

Until Rose actually starts playing like Rondo.

Rose needs to carry this team but he is just too tentative and passive. This is not the time ROse, better wake the hell up.

 

[Newskoolbulls]

cool007 wrote:

Actually, Celtics are still a superior team even without KG.

Until Rose actually starts playing like Rondo.

Rose needs to carry this team but he is just too tentative and passive. This is not the time ROse, better wake the hell up.

Their older, no bench, logging extra minutes. We need to take advantage. I dont think they are superior, i think we are on the same level.

 

[Shakes]

cool007 wrote:

Rose needs to carry this team but he is just too tentative and passive. This is not the time ROse, better wake the hell up.

It's pretty hard for a PG without a good jumpshot to carry the team. They know they can just cut off is points in close and he's got nothing. If the other guys aren't hurting them (and outside of Gordon in game 2 they haven't been) then I really don't see how you expect Rose to take over.

 

[Gene]

It might be surprising to some fans, the fans that think because Garnett is out it = a bulls series win. They forgot about the 2 other HOF's on the team and the rising star PG.

I'll be a man and stick to my prediction of Bulls in 6, but it isn't looking likely.

 

[??? ??????]

I picked Celtics in 7. My rationale was that Derrick Rose would have a big game that would get us a win, and Ben Gordon would have a couple of big games to get us some wins. But we squandered an opportunity on one of Gordon's big nights, so it might end up being Celtics in 6.

I wouldn't be shocked if we ended up winning this series either, or if it still goes to 7. I think Gordon is going to get us at least one more win, almost by himself. Hopefully Rose can do the same, but he doesn't seem to have that killer edge of a Kobe Bryant or Dwyane Wade.

 

[Gene]

I think Derrick Rose has that killer instinct. People seem ot forget that he is still a rookie. Bryant and Wade didn't lead their team almost single handily to a win over the defending NBA champs in their first playoff game, on the road I might add.

And from everything I have heard and read about the kid, he wants to be that guy. He wants to be the guy that takes over and kills a team at the end.

 

[??? ??????]

Gene wrote:

I think Derrick Rose has that killer instinct. People seem ot forget that he is still a rookie. Bryant and Wade didn't lead their team almost single handily to a win over the defending NBA champs in their first playoff game, on the road I might add.

And from everything I have heard and read about the kid, he wants to be that guy. He wants to be the guy that takes over and kills a team at the end.

I watched Wade in his last 2 years at Marquette, and all throughout his NBA career. No one who followed Marquette basketball is surprised at all at what Dwyane Wade is doing right now, as we saw that killer instinct in college. In Wade's first playoff series, he stepped up his game and led the Heat past the Hornets in the first round.

I think the Celtics minus Garnett are pretty comparable to the Hornets team that Wade faced in his rookie year.

 

[cool007]

This is also a LOT ON COACHING as well.

How can Vinny not have a game plan for Rondo??? Why don't we do the same that they are doing with Rose??? Why not we blitz Rondo and have him give up the ball and let other players make decisions??

I just see no adjustmenets from Vinny at all and I don't expect much to change either.

Either players get hot and play well - that's the only way I see we have chance to win.

 

[Gene]

Rose has never shown he can step up in big games? It will be a while until we know if he will be on Wade or Kobe's level sure, but he has proved a lot so far. I think he has proven just as much as those guy did in their first season.

 

[Gene]

cool007 wrote:

This is also a LOT ON COACHING as well.

How can Vinny not have a game plan for Rondo??? Why don't we do the same that they are doing with Rose??? Why not we blitz Rondo and have him give up the ball and let other players make decisions??

I just see no adjustmenets from Vinny at all and I don't expect much to change either.

Either players get hot and play well - that's the only way I see we have chance to win.

I wonder why Rose isn't running down the Celtics throat as well. He has more than Rondo, yet he isn't getting to display it. I think it is the way Vinny wants the offense set up. Instead of Rose running down to the basket and getting fouled or laying it in, he walks it up and calls the offense. Maybe Vinny will let him play more freely on Sunday.

I really don't think it is the Celtic defense, because if Rose wanted to he could blow by them instead of setting up a play.

 

[??? ??????]

Gene wrote:

Rose has never shown he can step up in big games? It will be a while until we know if he will be on Wade or Kobe's level sure, but he has proved a lot so far. I think he has proven just as much as those guy did in their first season.

I don't think there is a question of whether Rose has stepped up in big games. But how many games has he really had that he went out, attacking from the start, and attacking all the way to the finish? Game 1 of this series is the only one I can think of. Otherwise, Rose is tentative, kind of lollygags through the first half a lot of the time, and then finally starts playing more aggressively late in the game.

Compare that to a guy like Gordon, who will try to put the dagger in the opponent in the first quarter...maybe in the second quarter, will continue trying to put the dagger in the opponent's throat in the third, and will keep slashing away at the opponent in the fourth if he's missed on all of his earlier slashes.

I wish Rose would learn to be aggressive from the get go like Ben Gordon. It could just be because he's a rookie, and that he will start trying to take over more next year. But it would be nice if he would start trying it now, instead of being so tentative most of the time.

 

[Gene]

Oh I totally agree. Rose seems extremely passive until the closing minutes of the 4th quarter. Whether that is by design or something he does on his own, I don't know. I am leaning towards it being by design, because you'd think the coaches would tell him to be more aggressive the first 3 quarters. Maybe Vinny figures he's a rookie and if he is taking shots the entire game we might be more prone to losing more games and losing games is something he can't afford since he's a first year coach with no experience.

If/when Rose plays all 4 quarters there is no doubt in my mind that he can be on Wade's level of play. He certainly has all the skills.

 

[dunkside.com]

Newskoolbulls wrote:

The Chicago Bulls were handed a gift when the news broke that KG would be out for the playoffs. We came out and handed the Celtics a loss thanks to a Rose coming out party. In game two we struggle yet still stayed close enough that we had a chance to win yet we lost do to the fact that our coach is an idiot. We find out at the end of game 2 that Leon Powe will be out for the remainder of the playoffs which means that a banged up Brian Scalabrine would be getting time and a weak Celtics bench becomes weaker. The Celtics starters will be logging major minutes in this series. If we lose this series how crushing will it be? we avoided the 8th seed which would have meant a matchup against Lebron and avoided 6th which would have meant Dwight bitching our bigs the whole series. We basically had a golden ticket to the second round, if we fail this will be a big blow to the franchise in my opnion.

Of course, because a loss to the world champions will cause fans who kept filling the UC even when the bulls were the laughingstock of the league not only to suddenly stop buying tickets, but it will prompt a mass suicide as they won't be able to cope with the disappointment. The arena will be empty for all home games, the players will become depressive, uncle JR will have to trade all the contracts and picks for money to be able to make some cash and the team will be comprised of D-league rejects.

Furthermore David Stern will make the Bulls change their name to Losers so they never forget their infamous loss to the world champions and live in shame forever. He will also make JR hire Dunleavy and Isiah and rig the lottery so the Bulls always get the last pick even if they have the worst record year after year.

And then the plague will hit Chicago.
I'm telling you, if the Bulls lose this series, the entire city is doomed, not just the franchise.

??? ?????? wrote:

I picked Celtics in 7. My rationale was that Derrick Rose would have a big game that would get us a win, and Ben Gordon would have a couple of big games to get us some wins. But we squandered an opportunity on one of Gordon's big nights, so it might end up being Celtics in 6.

I wouldn't be shocked if we ended up winning this series either, or if it still goes to 7. I think Gordon is going to get us at least one more win, almost by himself. Hopefully Rose can do the same, but he doesn't seem to have that killer edge of a Kobe Bryant or Dwyane Wade.

Kobe's killer instinct (and ability to deliver in the crunch time) is way overrated. Yeah, he hit some game winners in the regular season. But he came up lame in 2 finals (2004 and 2008). He tried to shoot his way and failed. And that's exactly what he did in g3 of the series with the Jazz. With the Lakers having a golden opportunity to put their boot on the Jazz' neck, he shot 5-24 and allowed the Jazz back in the series.


cool007 wrote:

Actually, Celtics are still a superior team even without KG.

Until Rose actually starts playing like Rondo.

Rose needs to carry this team but he is just too tentative and passive. This is not the time ROse, better wake the hell up.

You need to remind yourself he's still a rookie.
Just being in the playoffs is gravy. Any win is gravy. In fact any playoffs game played is gravy cause it gives the young players the opportunity to get some more experience and get battle tested. This way if Paxson manages to actually build a contender those who'll still be on the roster will benefit just from having played these games.

cool007 wrote:

This is also a LOT ON COACHING as well.

How can Vinny not have a game plan for Rondo??? Why don't we do the same that they are doing with Rose??? Why not we blitz Rondo and have him give up the ball and let other players make decisions??

I just see no adjustmenets from Vinny at all and I don't expect much to change either.

Either players get hot and play well - that's the only way I see we have chance to win.

agreed 100%
But again: remind yourself the Bulls had no business being in the playoffs in the 1st place. It was a combination of the Eastern being so weak below the top 3 and them getting hot after the all star break.
So just try to enjoy the games. Forget about W/L - the 1st two games of the series were very enjoyable and I can only hope there are at least 2 more like those in this series.