2012 NBA Playoffs: Why the 76ers Will Take Down the Rose-Less Bulls

With a 1-0 series lead against the eighth seed in the East, most people thought Chicago would go on to win the first round, even without Derrick Rose.

And in the first half of Game 2, there wasn’t much concern from Bulls fans, with their team up eight.

Then, the third and fourth quarters happened.

Philadelphia ran away with Game 2 in the third quarter, outscoring the Bulls 36-14 and scoring 14 fastbreak points. Jrue Holiday scored 26 points, and he and Evan Turner powered the 76ers' third quarter stampede.

Three 76ers finished with 19 or more points, as Turner scored 19 and Lou Williams added 20. Philadelphia racked up 25 fastbreak points during the game, and they scored 52 points in the paint. Chicago got just eight fastbreak points and 32 points in the paint.

Chicago was outscored 62-37 in the second half because they were outhustled. We all know Chicago as one of the hardest working teams in the NBA, but in the second half when the Sixers started clicking, Chicago stopped fighting for loose balls and rebounds. As a result, Philly dominated them on fastbreaks.

And when Andre Igoudala threw down that thunderous dunk over Luol Deng, the Bulls' fate was sealed. Their home court advantage was gone.

Early in the third quarter, Holiday got going. He drained a 19-footer, a three and a 14-footer to cut Chicago's lead from eight to three. Turner and Elton Brand then combined to score 10 points to put Philly up by five. Brand hit a fadeaway that put Philadelphia up 62-61 and they wouldn't look back.

The rest, as they say, was history.

If the trend from Game 2 continues, the 76ers will win the series in 5.

Without a dynamic point guard to try and contain, Jrue Holiday and the Sixers had fresh legs. They were able to get the stops they needed which led to the aforementioned quick transition points.

Someone on the Bulls needs to wear out the Sixer defense, or else Philadelphia will run away in the second half again.

In Philadelphia, it'll be much tougher to win. If Chicago uses up all their energy in the first half, they'll be in deep trouble. With the crowd on their side, the 76ers will have the momentum.

That spells trouble for Chicago.

There really isn't much to amend if you're Chicago except upping the hustle quotient. If they do that, Philadelphia might be taken out of their game a little and Chicago could steal a road win.

But for now, all the Bulls can do is hope. Philadelphia is an energetic team. With great shooters like Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner, great crowd-energizing guys like Lou Williams and Andre Iguodala, and solid bench players like Lavoy Allen, Thaddeus Young (who's also a great shooter), and Jodie Meeks, there's no reason to believe Philly can't win this series.

Because while they may have seemed like an easy opponent for Chicago, now that D-Rose is gone, there's not much the Bulls can do to stop the Sixers.