Good game. The Bulls took care of business at home, now they have to withstand the Heat push in Miami. Honestly, I think Miami will go pretty quietly if the Bulls jump all over them from the tip of game three. Anyway, some observations from game 2.
- What I found most confidence inspiring about this game was the way Deng picked his play up as the game went on. Miami certainly paid more attention to Luol wherever he was on the court, but when the Bulls needed scores at the end Deng was getting them. Part of this is undoubtedly due to being guarded by Kapono for stretches, but it was nice to see Deng take the action to the opposition.
- BG started off the game hot, which led to the adjustment that eventually got Deng going. In the second half Miami started having their bigs show real aggressively on the screen/rolls the Bulls were running with Ben. This was working too, partially because of Wallace’s inability to be a scoring threat more than five feet away from the basket and partially because Gordon made it easier for the Heat by picking his dribble up outside the three point line and trying to make crazy passes. Eventually they got the kinks worked out and Luol started hitting baskets.
- Between the two of them they combined for 53 points on 22 of 38 (57.9%) shooting. I’ll take that.
- Hinrich bounced back from a terrible game one with 14 and 8 assists, despite more foul trouble. I also started to wonder if he’s pressing himself, because he looks real exasperated on the court. Calm down Kirk! It looked like he was really letting the refs have it after calls. This is going to be a problem at some point.
- The Nocioni/Thomas debate was mostly moot, as neither of them played conspicuously well. Noc was pretty quiet, aside from the 7 points in 11.6 seconds explosion at the end of the half, punctuated by a classic Nocioni howl. Intensity, thy name is Andres. (If you don’t believe me look at the picture on his nba.com player profile. You don’t want none of that.) But with the big three playing well, the Bulls don’t need a ton from either of them.
- Duhon! You’re killing me. I understand why Skiles keeps playing him, I just wish there was a better alternative. Thabo didn’t look nearly as good as he did during game one. He was lost out there on offense. A couple of possessions ended with him not knowing what to do with his dribble and throwing up a wild shot. A couple of them went in, but that’s besides the point. He was definitely better on Wade than Duhon was, but with Hinrich on the bench, they need someone who can handle the ball and initiate the offense. Gordon was doing a poor job of it and Duhon’s basically the only other guy with the necessary skill set to do it. But watching him try to guard Wade made me feel like I was being punched in the testicles repeatedly.
- Ben Wallace had, statistically, a quiet game but what’s most important about his box score is the following: 38:20 minutes, 2 personal fouls. This is the biggest difference between him and Chandler last year. You can call the regular season between the two a wash this year and the future is bright for Tyson, but Chandler was out of his league against Shaq in the playoffs. Wallace staying on the court like that means less time for Shaq to beat up on our second line. It’s the little differences that matter here. Last year Shaq when Shaq would get posted deep Tyson would pick up a cheap foul trying to block his shot, which is just a waste of a foul. When Shaq is in that deep he’s dunking the ball; he’s too big and too strong for basically anyone in the league that close. Wallace plays Shaq hard, but when Shaq makes a good move and gets to the rim Ben doesn’t compound things by tacking a foul onto the end of it. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention PJ Brown as well; he played some quality minutes down low.
- Good to see the Bulls shut the door with Adrian Griffin, just when Wade was getting ready to do his Superman routine. Wait, the Bulls were up 20 when he came in? Even better.
So overall, I was happy with the way the Bulls executed. While Wade would periodically go on runs and Shaq was obviously a handful down low, none of the supporting cast really got going. It looked to me like Riley was forced to choose between his defense unit and his offense unit, both with glaring deficiencies on the other end. The Heat hung around for longer than I would have liked, but they never threatened as seriously as they did in game one. The Bulls defense was all over the Heat (14 turnovers from Shaq/Wade) and the shooters started hitting from beyond the arc. Now we take it to Miami and try to win a playoff game on the road for the first time since the dynasty years.
A couple of notes on the Heat:
- Poor Shaq. He’s working his ass off, but he just doesn’t have the skills he did five years ago. When was the last time you saw him bust ass on a screen/roll like last night? While he’s still arguably the best player on either team, he can’t bring it like he used to. I don’t want him to shoot it. I don’t want him pass it. I want him to slam! I’d be rooting for him if the Heat weren’t, you know, playing the Bulls. (It’s weird watching young Shaq fly around. I remember that guy. Oh, and Skiles with alley oop.)
- When Antoine Walker retires he will be sorely missed. By me, at least. Who else pump fakes from forty feet out? (And makes you close out on him while doing it? You know he’s thinking ‘If they don’t bite on this next time I’m letting it go!’) Who else shuffles into the lane with those little strides, like a man twice his age? Who will captain the NBA’s All-Looks-Like-A-Turtle team? (It’s like the All Defense team, except with turtle resemblance as the criterium for inclusion.) His postgame press conference attire will certainly not be forgotten soon by anyone lucky enough to witness it.
I’m ready for Friday. Bring it on. Game Two was fun, but I want more. I give it three and a half Skiles!
Game Two:
