NBA Playoffs 2011: Chicago Bulls Even Series with Atlanta Hawks 86-73
On the night Derrick Rose officially received his MVP award, he also helped his team even the series against the Atlanta Hawks with an 86-73 Game 2 victory.
From midway through the first quarter, when the Bulls went on a 10-2 run to turn a 17-15 deficit into a 25-19 lead, the Bulls led. It was a far different game from Game 1.
The following slides will highlight the main reasons the Bulls won, and players from both teams who excelled—and a few who didn't.
Jamal Crawford
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Jamal Crawford had a game he would probably rather forget about, going just 2-10 from the field and scoring 11 points. Crawford's only other contributions to the game were two turnovers and an assist.
Defensively, he was guarding Keith Bogans and Ronnie Brewer, and sometimes Kyle Korver. None had big nights, but that was more a product of not being a key component of the offense, or in Korver's case, simply not hitting open shots.
Josh Smith
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Josh Smith scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds. However, he was just 4-14 from the field and took some pretty bad shots throughout the game.
At times, it was because he was the only one who could get a shot off, as the Bulls were daring the Hawks to have Smith beat them.
Smith played reasonably well defensively against Deng, but not exceptionally.
Al Horford
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From the field, Horford has been surprisingly ineffective in both games. Tonight, while he did have six assists and 14 boards, he was only 3-12 from the field.
Horford has been guarded by Noah through the series, and tonight he was shut down.
Furthermore, he was ineffective guarding Noah, who had a big night filling the vacuum left by Boozer.
Joe Johnson
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After a huge Game 1, Johnson had a much more mundane Game 2. Guarded by Luol Deng for most of the night, Johnson didn't get the open looks he had before, and to his credit did not force bad shots to compensate.
He scored only 16 points on the night on 7-15 shooting.
Defensively, he had five steals, compensating for his lack of offense. All in all, it wasn't a bad game from Johnson, but it wasn't good either.
Down the stretch he held the ball too long and stopped passing as he tried to win it himself.
Jeff Teague
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Jeff Teague has played exceptionally well in the absence of Kirk Hinrich, and the Hawks may be looking at their starting point guard next season if Teague continues to grow and shine.
Teague took advantage of his opportunities in Game 2 and made the Bulls pay, particularly when guarded by Korver, whom he repeatedly attacked.
Teague led all Hawks scorers with 21 points on just 14 shots.
Carlos Boozer
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Guarded by Horford through most of the night, Boozer was not very effective once again, scoring only eight points on 4-12 from the field. He did have 12 rebounds, though.
Surprisingly, Boozer actually played reasonably well defensively, but that probably was overlooked by most.
Atlanta scored only 32 points in the paint and their bigs shot 9-35. Boozer merits at least some of the credit for that; if nothing else, for at least not being the weak link.
Keith Bogans
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Keith Bogans did not have a huge night offensively, but how often does he? He did, however, trigger the "Bogans effect," which means he hit two three-point shots.
When Bogans and Brewer combine for just two three-pointers, the Bulls are now 42-3.
Defensively, Bogans was solid. As he, Brewer and Rose traded off guarding Crawford and sometimes Johnson, the duo was held to just 27 points, less than half of the 56 they combined for in Game 1.
Taj Gibson
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Taj Gibson didn't do a lot offensively, but his defense is quietly reaching the level of the elite defenders in the game.
In just 16 minutes of play on the night, Gibson was +7 and had five rebounds. As Atlanta looked to start a rally, Gibson came in with four minutes left.
The Hawks scored only two more points the rest of the game.
Luol Deng
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Luol Deng had a typical Luol Deng night, doing his "glue-all" thing.
He was 6-13 from the field, scoring 14 points. He had 12 rebounds. He played spectacular defense on Joe Johnson, ensuring that the Bulls weren't going to be beaten by him twice in a row.
Deng was one of three Bulls on the night with a double-double.
Derrick Rose
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For Derrick Rose, Game 2 was something of a mixed bag. As has been the story during the playoffs, sometimes he played like the MVP and sometimes he played like a 22-year-old trying to find his way through the postseason.
On the one hand, Rose scored 25 points and had 10 assists, six boards and two blocks.
On the other, he was once again 10 of 27 from the field and had eight turnovers.
Some of that was good defense from the Hawks, and some was Rose trying to force things. It seems that Rose isn't letting the play come to him the way he did during the regular season.
He may be "over-performing" as he tries to vindicate his MVP status and carry the Bulls.
Sometimes it's easy to forget Rose is so young. There's a lot of weight on those 22-year-old shoulders.
Joakim Noah
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Noah was undoubtedly the difference tonight, and the reason the Bulls won.
He had 19 points and 14 rebounds—seven on the offensive glass. On a night when neither team shot well from the field and Atlanta got to the line six more times, those extra possessions and put-backs were a huge bonus to the Bulls.
Noah's defense was stellar. He owned the paint tonight, shutting down the Atlanta bigs with impunity.
Noah may be the player who steps up and takes some of the pressure off Rose during the postseason.
Game 3
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The series is split 1-1 because both teams controlled the tempo and style of the game on one night.
When the Hawks were able to force their offense and hit their shots, they won.
When Chicago's defense closed the lane and challenged the perimeter shots tonight, Atlanta was powerless to stop them.
Atlanta's home record, 24-17, is actually worse than the Bulls' road record, 26-15. If the Bulls come out and establish themselves early in Game 3 and pull ahead, they should be able to steal back the game that Atlanta took in Chicago.
However, if the Hawks establish their shot from the beginning and pass the ball to create openings in the defense, they can control the game and hold their home court.
