They have to fix this broken mess NOW!

[Anytime23]

The Bulls cannot go out like the Magic, saying its one game and your typical upset cliches. Normally im not the type to throw out statistics about series leads and such but history says that the winner of game 1 wins almost 80% of the time,

For the most part, the better team will win. Right now im not so sure thats us. 5 out of 6 playoff games for the Bulls have been a huge struggle and its always more of the same. Unforced turnovers, starting out flat, Boozer being awful and Rose just not being Rose. Guys need to step up. Boozer needs to have more qtrs like he had in the 3rd. He looked strong. He backed guys down, put them in the spin cycle and actually made the bucket. He actually posterized someone. Rose needs to stop with the 3s. When he gets hot from 3, we're nearly impossible to beat but more often than not, he's not good. If you get a good open look, take it. If you make one, good, dont get cocky and jack em up.

They were in a great position to start the 3rd. Horford had 3 fouls, Smith had 2. How come they didnt attack the basket more? We say on a couple early possessions Horford really played soft in the paint which lead to easy buckets. Its not like those guys had big games or anything but i feel like we really missed an opportunity to get easier baskets and put them in further foul trouble.

Also why wasnt Deng more involved? He was our team the first QTR. Whenever Deng has a huge first half, he typically goes missing in the 2nd. The difference between last night and games past is Deng wasnt even involved. Years past he would miss every shot, i dont think he attempted 4 shots the 2nd half. Deng is and always has been the x-factor to our team.

But yeah, the defensive effort wasnt there for long stretches. This is still a very talented team. We may not have the scorers to win it all but i think we have the defense and enough on offense to beat any team in a 7 game series. Im starting to think that maybe they did play too hard during that final stretch at the end of the season. We have a great record vs the top teams in the NBA. Im not sure if having the 2nd or 3rd seed would have been so bad if it meant a more energized playoff squad.

 

[Anytime23]

Oh so i dont think i even made my main point. Basically and obviously, we keep having the same problems game after game. Unless they fix these issues in the next game or 2, the season is over. These issues are too glaring too be ignored and the better teams will have no problem disposing of us, if the Hawks already havent.

I thought no Hinrich=no problem. Big mistake on my part.

 

[Scoot26]

I contribute us losing to the fact Rose went to the foul line ZERO times. IT was a home game, Rose has been getting calls...Rose simply did not attack the basket and when he did he never created contact (maybe Atlanta just knew how to defend it or Rose's ankle has truly made him lost a step) and Rose missed easy layups in the 1st half.

Either way, if Rose gets to the foul line, we're in better shape in Game 1. It doesnt really matter now. We just need to fix what we did wrong offensively, continue to play D, because we also know that Joe Johnson is not going to have another hot shooting night like that again. He may still be able to put up 34 points, which creates the same affect, but if he's missing thats rebounds for us that WE MUST GET. We're a great rebounding team, and theres no reason we shouldnt be able to get those rebounds.

Noah needs to play his heart out like his grandfather is at every game. In fact, maybe his grandfather should just come to every game.

 

[WindyCity7]

I contribute us losing to the fact Rose went to the foul line ZERO times. IT was a home game, Rose has been getting calls...Rose simply did not attack the basket and when he did he never created contact (maybe Atlanta just knew how to defend it or Rose's ankle has truly made him lost a step) and Rose missed easy layups in the 1st half.

Either way, if Rose gets to the foul line, we're in better shape in Game 1. It doesnt really matter now. We just need to fix what we did wrong offensively, continue to play D, because we also know that Joe Johnson is not going to have another hot shooting night like that again. He may still be able to put up 34 points, which creates the same affect, but if he's missing thats rebounds for us that WE MUST GET. We're a great rebounding team, and theres no reason we shouldnt be able to get those rebounds.

Noah needs to play his heart out like his grandfather is at every game. In fact, maybe his grandfather should just come to every game.

exactly what Kyle said .....he even said he would pay for the tickets

 

[Anytime23]

Yeah there were a couple drives where he got contact but no call. Overall the officiating has been awful, i dont know why. We have gotten no respect. Im sure Boozers constant bitching doesnt help(though it works for Kobe).

When Horford was in foul trouble to begin the 3rd, Rose has some nice drives inside.

 

[Scoot26]

exactly what Kyle said .....he even said he would pay for the tickets

lol, then hopefully he does.

 

[Rick]

They're going to be ok. I think a lot of people, and I don't think you're one these people Anytime23, are expecting the Bulls to go out and dominate teams like they did the last few times they won 60+ games in the Jordan era.

They just aren't that team. Those were 62 hard fought wins in my opinion and many of the victories weren't dominant.

 

[Anytime23]

I dont expect them to dominate but i dont expect them to struggle as consistently as they have the past 6 games. More often than not, theyve looked bad.

Starting out flat almost every game is unacceptable in the playoffs. Guys looking lazy on defense so often is unacceptable. Guys like Boozer struggling so often is a problem.

I dont want them to dominate. I want them to look like a team who deserves to be here. They are too well coached and too talented to look so sloppy

 

[Rick]

I dont expect them to dominate but i dont expect them to struggle as consistently as they have the past 6 games. More often than not, theyve looked bad.

Starting out flat almost every game is unacceptable in the playoffs. Guys looking lazy on defense so often is unacceptable. Guys like Boozer struggling so often is a problem.

I dont want them to dominate. I want them to look like a team who deserves to be here. They are too well coached and too talented to look so sloppy

I said I wasn't accusing you and I agree with what you're saying.

 

[Anytime23]

No i understood you, i was just saying...or venting lol

 

[Rick]

No i understood you, i was just saying...or venting lol

I'm just as frustrated, it sucks. The turnovers, the poor defense, everything. They just need to get it together but six games into the playoffs, it's getting harder to say they'll turn it around. Every game seems to be a grind.

 

[97Bulls]

The bulls have looked bad. They've only had one great game. They've havnt been consisttant, and the hawks played out of their mind. Rose looks hurt. He wasn't really agressive and most of his jumpshots came up short. Dengs been inconsistant, as well as noah, and we all know boozer has played like he's a boozer. And I question thibs matchups too. Basketball is a game of matchups. Korver got turned around every time he defended crawford. I think this series, he needs to utilize brewer more. And I honestly feel they need to look for boozer in the post more. I think he has a strong advantage over all of their bigs. He should get about 20 shots a game. And hopefully, he puts their bigs in foul trouble.

 

[Undisputed]

This is not just a "it's just one game" kind of worry to me. Game one just confirms that this will be a hard fought series. The real teams can come back from a game one home loss, like the Lakers and Celtics. We'll learn a lot about these Bulls in this series. The Hawks are not the Pacers. The Bulls have responded really well to loses all season long, so I'm not worried just yet. Right now I'm thinking it was just rust from being off so long. We'll see.

The defense definitely needs to get back to form. They can't get discouraged if teams get hot.