Chicago Bulls Thread

I'd love to see the sweep happen but I agree that the Heat are too good and will surely be too determined not to come out and take at least one game. No team has come back from being down 0-3 and whenever you've got four chances to win one game you're in a good position but the Bulls can't afford to use up all those chances, giving the Heat more confidence to pull off the seemingly impossible and allowing themselves to get rattled in the process.

I'm by no means a Miami fan, but it's kind of disheartening to imagine Shaq being out so soon. I was looking forward to see him put in some strong games during the course of the playoffs.

i guess it's a few more hrs till we find out what Shaq has left in the tank

Sweep!

Finally out of the first round. My favorite stat of tonights game - CHI: 5 MIA: 17... turnovers. Great work from the Bulls. Nocioni hasn't put on his usual performance in the playoffs but it obviously hasn't mattered so far with Deng's play (not to mention Noc is probably still hurting).

Detroit up next, if they get past Detroit I can't see them stopping before the finals. I can't wait for the next round.

Jackal, I feel the same every year with Tracy McGrady and Carmelo.

Yeah, but McGrady & Carmelo are bitches. (J/k.)

This is Shaq we're talking about. Shaq. I got nothing but man love for the big fella.

sweeeep.

I hope all those sportswriters picking Miami to win & even going to the ECF are hiding their heads in a bag.

FUCK YEAH! It's a shame that the Bulls couldnt take that second seed, after their performance in this series. They absolutely deserved it. It would have been better, and probably more fitting for them to square off against Detroit in the conference finals.

I dont think any of us predicted a sweep going into this series, and it is incredibly satisfying.

Where to now for Shaq though?

What impresses me the most about the sweep is that I picked them to win (albeit 4-2), which means they weren't just battling the Heat but also the Jinx.

Superstitions aside, a fantastic first round showing to say the least with another "first since 1998" to show for it, not to mention the first defeat of a defending champ in seven years and the first sweep of a defending champ in 50 years. Now, if they'd just show some of these games on Foxtel...

Now, if they'd just show some of these games on Foxtel...

We'll just have to pray for a finals berth. Just quietly, and to ourselves, without making any sort of prediction whatsoever.

Chicago/Detroit will have to be one of the stories of the playoffs, with the Ben Wallace side-story capturing a lot of attention. Foxtel should really, really show at least some of those games, although having said that, i just know we're going to have Suns/Spurs games coming out of our arseholes.

That's probably our best bet. The schedule is showing two Conference Semifinal Game 3s and a Game 6 doubleheader the following week (if necessary). I can't believe how pathetic the coverage has suddenly become, especially considering they're showing a lot of baseball. I know there's baseball fans in Australia who are probably just as keen for MLB coverage as we are for NBA coverage but surely we outnumber them and other scheduling arrangements could be made.

Deeetroit Basketball!!!!!!

Maybe it's me, but i'm not as hyped as i thought i'd be about this series. I guess gotta wait for the games to start.

Good news with Kirk and Big Ben making the All-Defensive Second team. Definitely deserving, and the first Bulls to make it since you-know-who.

Pretty solid selections all around this year. Awesome to see a couple of Bulls in there though.

Maybe it's me, but i'm not as hyped as i thought i'd be about this series. I guess gotta wait for the games to start.

The fact they're not nearly as accessible to watch as they should be might have something to do with it.

Congrats to Luol Deng for winning the Sportsmanship award. And an extra big "fuck you" to James Posey for ever flagrant-fouling him.

From all accounts it's a well-deserved honour.

Seems a few sportswriters are jumping on the Bulls bandwagon. I've seen a couple of people pick them to go over the Pistons 4-3, somewhat of a turnaround from the predictions of being out in the first round in five or six games.

And an extra big "fuck you" to James Posey for ever flagrant-fouling him.

From all accounts it's a well-deserved honour.

Well deserved indeed.

there's no poll on ESPN, but RealGM indicates that 53.6% think Bulls will win vs 46.4% for the Pistons.....246 votes or so.

Game 1 tomorrow!

there's no poll on ESPN, but RealGM indicates that 53.6% think Bulls will win vs 46.4% for the Pistons.....246 votes or so.

Game 1 tomorrow!

Yeah, can't wait for the game. I'd be excited to see when Big Ben goes back to the Palace and match up with Sheed...


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I love these Bulls, but I still have the Pistons moving on and eventually losing to Phoenix in the finals. Too many play off tested veterans for this team to overcome IMO.

Yeah, but you cant say Miami didnt have tested veterans either.. Shaq, Payton, Eddie Jones and to an extent, Walker..

Detroit is a much better team than Miami. I always thought this Bulls/Miami series relied completely on how Dwyane plays, and he didn't live up to it. Since the Pistons are a much better team than the Heat with Wade injured, this matchup is alot more even and I think the fact that Detroit has players who have been there, done that and are very familiar with the playoffs will be a major factor. Even though Miami had plenty of tested veterans and winners, those guys couldn't get it done without a particularly strong showing from Wade, which didn't happen.

Impressive victory for Detroit in Game 1. Gordon was out of sync after picking up those quick fouls early in the game, nothing was dropping for them through the final eighteen minutes of the game and the Pistons found their shooting touch again early in the fourth, successfully quashing any hopes of a miracle run. They've responded well after some embarrassing defeats this year, here's hoping Game 2 will follow that trend and be a better showing.

sweeeep.

I hope all those sportswriters picking Miami to win & even going to the ECF are hiding their heads in a bag.

yes sir!
the slow miami heat was a good matchup for the bulls. the bulls are indeed a perimeter scoring team...making perimeter shots are a lot easier when you have open looks

no offense to the heat, but the detroit pistons series will 100x harder-
all the starters on detroit can score so the bulls D can't key on 2 players like they did against the heat. the detroit bigs can hit perimeter shots so that should present problems as well. and not to mention the pistons are a better defensive team


i think the long layoff and opening on the road affected the Bulls in game 1. detroit played awesome and the crowd was a factor of course though...

the rotations from help side have to be quicker from the Bulls D and they have to watch their fouls

i think ben gordon is going to get lit up by chauncey all series. his best defense i think is to score a lot on offense himself

we'll see if Rasheed will continue to post up throughout the series

i think game 2 is a must win for the Bulls- if not just for the fact they don't want to go home down 0-2 but also this detroit team is a very strong road team. they are capable of taking one in the united center

we'll see what happens- as andrew said, Skiles coached teams rarely have 2 pitiful performanes in a row

chicago will win game 2.. please play tyrus thomas more... heehee...

i think the long layoff and opening on the road affected the Bulls in game 1.

That's been a trend this season as well, losses (sometimes embarrassing ones) after a lengthy break between games. Ben Gordon in particular doesn't have his finest performances in games seperated by three or more days and the same is true of Luol Deng, albeit to a lesser extent.