Chicago Bulls Comeback Falls Short as Indiana Pacers Stay Alive
Today, Derrick "the Stalker" Rose and the Chicago Bulls try and close out their series against the Indiana Pacers, while Danny Granger and the Indiana Pacers try to fulfill their pledge to "shock the world" and not get swept.
Once the game starts I'll be following the progress live. Feel free to join in with any comments of your own as you watch.
Here are some keys to the game for both teams.
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers have been doing a good job of keeping things close by gooning it up. They have the second most personal fouls in the playoffs, trailing only the Atlanta Hawks, who are using the hack-a-Howard defense.
While you can argue that the Bulls' 76 points off of made free throws show it's not working, it's been effective in keeping the Bulls out of an offensive rhythm. The Bulls have the third worst field goal percentage of all playoff teams.
They've also been getting into passing lanes, getting hands on balls and forcing turnovers. Chicago's 53 turnovers are the worst in the postseason.
All of this is a result of the style of defense that Indiana has been playing. They've been disruptive and that's prevented Chicago from getting into an offensive flow.
If the Pacers have any chance to win, then they need to stay ubiquitous, have their hands slapping at every ball and get in the lane and keep drawing fouls. They aren't good enough to play with the Bulls, so they need to be ugly enough to make Chicago ugly if they're going to win.
The Pacers also need to rebound, particularly defensively.
The Bulls have been staying in the games even though they've had bad turnover problems and bad shooting because they are getting so many offensive rebounds. Their 51 offensive boards is far and away the most of any team. Joakim Noah leads the playoffs with an 18.5 percent offensive rebound percentage.
The other thing that Indiana needs to do is execute down the stretch. Over the last 9:50 of the three previous games, the Bulls have outscored the Pacers 78-53. The Bulls execute and they don't, and that's why the Bulls keep winning.
Chicago Bulls
The first thing the Bulls need to do is show restraint. While there is a temptation to want to say the Bulls need to retaliate against the kind of hard fouls the Pacers have been throwing around, the Bulls need to play beyond this game and this series.
The last thing they need to do is have someone like Kurt Thomas suspended for the first game of a second-round series based on a foul that occurs during this game. Chicago needs to keep their poise and play physical without exacerbating the issue.
The next thing they need to do is take care of the ball. Indiana is getting their hands all over the place and the Bulls, from time to time, get careless. They need to hold onto the ball in rebounds, they need to make crisp passes, not lazy ones, and they need to keep their eyes open for gambling defenders.
The third thing they need to do is be aware of the trap. When Rose gets a two-man trap on him, they need to come up and help. Last game they were running away from Rose in the trap. That's not helping with the turnovers.
The fourth thing they need to do is make their shots, Rose included. Some of the shots they're missing are challenged shots and that's permissible. However, when there's a lot of attention on Rose, they need to make the open shots, especially shots against mismatched opponents.
If Dahntay Jones and Paul George are covering Rose, then Darren Collision is on someone else and there's a mismatch. Last game, Keith Bogans, Luol Deng and Kyle Korver combined to go 7-12 from behind the arc. If they can maintain that, the double teaming won't last long.
Finally, Carlos Boozer needs to earn his $80 million.
He got brought in for this and aside from Game 2, he's been less effective than Taj Gibson. Down the stretch of the regular season he was starting to really step up, averaging 16 points and 13 boards over his last 10 games, but the first three games he's been a lot less impressive.
If the wings are hitting their threes and Boozer shows up in the post, then the Pacers are going to have to defend the court and not just Rose. When that's happened, the Bulls are just about unbeatable.
Prediction:
A homer pick? Yes. But it's probably not the only one. The Bulls will win this one going away. I think the Bulls hit a groove early in this one and post their first double-digit lead of the series. Look for them to win going away. For the first time in the series, there won't be any questions of who will win coming down the stretch.
Join In
Feel free to comment! Consider this a party. Pull up a bowl of e-chili, grab something out of the e-fridge and watch the game with me.
