My Reactions to Game 2...

Stromin Normin' is not meant to be a summary site, so if you want a summary, go check out BlogaBull. Obviously the game was a huge disappointment, especially to all of us that think we can still win the title without D.Rose. 

In reality, it's one game. So let's take a look at what will propel Los Bulls to win the series. 

1. Mike James (who) MIKE JAMES

Although maybe 2 Bulls fans in the world are upset by his absence, it was clear to me we need to see him out on the court. He brings a veteran presence that CJ and JLIII don't have, and he can still score. No, he might not be able to get across the time-line against Avery Bradley, but like I've said before, he is a much better, reliable true point that either CJ or Lucas. If you thought the guards played well...ok maybe it's your first time watching the NBA. 

2. Stop running the high screen with John Lucas

Thibs will adjust, as we all know he's among the best coaches in the NBA, but really, this play killed us on countless possessions. Sure, it works wonders against an old team that isn't athletic enough to trap, but with Turner, AI, and Jrue Holiday all athletic enough to trap, it doesn't make sense at all. 

Oddly, this play didn't lead to too many turnovers, and, for no reason that I can tell, Philly stopped trapping. However, this play highlights when Lucas' size is a complete liability on the court. 

3. Play defense

I don't know what the hell happened, but the Bulls just stopped playing defense in the 2nd half. No one felt like getting back on d, and Omer looked lost on several occasions. This should be pretty easy. 

4. Stop wasting possessions

This is really common at the gym and also on the Lakers, where the best scorer on the court just pounds the ball for a while and chucks a shot. Unfortunately our best player was sitting in a skybox all alone. This meant CJ Watson and JLIII pounding the ball on the top of the key, running down the shot clock, and then forcing a bad shot. It looks reaaaaaaaaaally bad. 

This great piece from Grantland hightlights exactly what the Bulls should run more often. Mind you it was shut-down a few times, but it's still far better than a high screen with JLIII. Philly's defense looked very good, but I'm confident we can overcome it with better shooting and if we start defending. 

No Rose...Now what?

First and foremost, my thoughts and prayers go out to Derrick Rose. I can't even imagine what he's dealing with right now.

Being from Chicago, loving the game, and graduating in 2007, I feel a special connection to Rose that I've only felt with a few other athletes ever. It's hard to say he's a role model (he's about 5 months older), but his true passion for the game, competition and success is akin to Howard Rourke in Ayn Rand's classic, The Fountainhead. He is literally everything that is right about basketball, sports, capitalism, and the human spirit. Get well soon, and I hope you come back like so many other athletes have. I think he'll be fine.

Another quick note: there was no outrage like what we've seen against Nike designer Jason Petrie when I posted about how I thought adidas was responsible for Rose's injury woes Is adidas to blame?

His comments were totally inappropriate. I'm a big Nike fan, and I think he's a legendary designer, but wtf bro?

But let's get back to what's going on in this series. We now lead 1-0, with no real competition from Philly in game 1. If you didn't hate Evan Turner before, tweeting nonsense about how he was happy to play the Bulls, how he was "better" than Derrick Rose, and how he was a dick to Mark Titus and the rest of the Ohio State squad: Link to Titus' book, I'm dying to read it... you probably should now. I wouldn't be surprised to see a little scuffle this series.

Anyways, more pertinent, is how can we beat the 76er's without last years MVP. And I think that's fairly easy. Our stable of point guards gives us a bit of everything. CJ's a great 3pt shooter and can facilitate decently. John Lucas III is instant offense when he's hot; we've seen him single handedly swing games thanks to his ability to get great separation and hit clutch jumpers. And my personal favorite: MJ...or Mike James. He is old. He skips when he runs. But the man still has plenty of game. I've never seen anyone so slow cut SO quickly, and take much faster guards off the dribble. Mike has a fairly reliable jumper, and can get to the rack better than any point guard on the team. It baffled me and Bulls Passion contributer Corey Hickman every time they decided not to sign him. Also, why the Heat passed on him, if not to block us from having him, is beyond me, but sae la vie.

Take a look at his stat lines when he ACTUALLY got playing time: Wow, they're pretty good. It'd be ignorant to think that he'll really push CJ for too much playing time, but he is certainly a valuable contributor who's been completely overlooked.

I'll have another post up on why we're still the best team in the NBA...and how we'll go about beating the Heat.