How bad were the Bulls last night? I'll let Jamaal Magloire answer that:
Sigh.
It was just that kind of night.
The Heat beat the Bulls on the boards and they beat them up. For example:
Miami forced Chicago to shoot 34.1 percent from the field. The Heat packed the paint and willingly gave up open threes. The Bulls capitulated but couldn't convert, going 3-for-20 from downtown. They also missed 10 free throws
It was like the chunk of their brains that controls shooting was taken out and replaced with Michael Bolton's Jack Sparrow song. Which, while totally awesome, doesn't contribute much to putting a ball in a basket.
Check out these ugly numbers: Derrick Rose (7-for-23, 0-for-3 on threes), Carlos Boozer (3-for-10), Luol Deng (5-for-15, 1-for-7 on threes), Kyle Korver (1-for-7, 1-for-5 on threes). Let's face it, those are the Bulls' shooters/scorers. And Boozer, Deng and Rose combined for 8 of Chicago's 10 turnovers. Every time Deng tried to drive baseline, he got the ball stripped.
Rose tried to set up his teammates, and he finished with eight assists, but guys weren't hitting. From ESPN Stats and Information: "Derrick Rose couldn't find his shooting rhythm, and when he created shots for his teammates, they too struggled to convert chances into points. Starting frontcourt Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng had a hard time converting Rose's passes, as the two forwards combined to shoot 2 of 9 (four points) off passes by Rose, and sharpshooter Kyle Korver missed all four of his chances created by the league MVP."
With homecourt advantage on the line, the Bulls mustered only 10 points in the fourth quarter and finished with a playoff-low 75 points.
The Bulls weren't much better on the other end. LeBron James (29 points, 12-for-21) and Dwyane Wade (24 points, 8-for-16, 8-for-10 at the line) did whatever they wanted, and King Crab hit four clutch hoops down the stretch, including a three-pointer with 4:28 left that broke a 73-73 tie and put the Heat in total control. Chicago scored only two more points the rest of the way.
Said Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau: "We played a low-energy offense, a low-energy defense and the result was not good."
He's got that right.
And, hell, I haven't even brought up the mess the Bulls made in the paint last night. From ESPN Stats and Information: "The Bulls made 15-of-33 shots (45.5 pct) inside five feet in Game 2 against the Heat, well below their season average of 58.9 percent entering Wednesday night. Derrick Rose (2 of 10), Carlos Boozer (3 of 8) and Joakim Noah (2 of 6) were three big reasons the Bulls were outscored 50-34 in the paint."
According to Hoopdata, the Heat went 16-for-20 at the rim, an 80 percent conversion rate.
I've gotta tell you, Udonis Haslem was to Game 2 what Taj Gibson was to Game 1. He finished with a plus-minus score of -11, but his energy inspired his teammates. He threw down dunks. He blocked a shot by Rose. He hit a couple 20-footers at the end of the third quarter to stave off a Bulls rally. He grabbed 3 key offensive rebounds and made countless hustle plays.
But let's face it. Haslem didn't beat Chicago by himself. Nor did LeBron or Wade.
The Bulls won Game 1 with defense and rebounding.
They lost Game 2 for the same reasons.
