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. 

Bull of the Day: Kevin Ollie

Just because my man played for the 76ers. He's best known for being a throw-in for the Jalen Rose trade.

SOMEHOW he was in the NBA until 2010. Mind-blowing.

The Heat are so beatable

Yeah, I said it. So beatable. I don't like focusing on other teams (especially one's we aren't playing), but let's face it, the Heat are the only team in the NBA that can beat us. And if they do, it's not because of Dywane Wade or Chris Bosh. It comes down to King James.

If you've been a long time reader, you know I'm one of one Bulls fans in the world that loves LeBron. I was a little pissed that he didn't join us come "Decision" time, but I got over it, and I like watching him play more than any one player today outside of Derrick Rose. He may not have the best jumpshot, but man can he bully his way to the hoop any time he wants to. So with Rose out, he's the best player in the NBA. How do you beat this man?

Well...there's another reason why I love LeBron, and its because him and I are kindred souls psychologically. This is no compliment to either of us--but it's also why the Heat are beatable. The sort of hyper-sensitive, lack of self-awareness that LeBron fosters can only be understood if you go through the same thing. He always says the wrong things, even though he thinks they're right, and then he cowers from big moments.

Reason #1 why the Heat are beatable: LeBron's Psyche


If you disagree, see last year's NBA finals, the Eastern Conference Finals the year before that, this year's All Star game, and heck, the last time he bricked some free throws against the Bulls. He's a sensitive dude, and sensitive guys (myself included) cower when they aren't 110% confident in their abilities. Clearly, as much as I'm sure he'd never admit it, he isn't. It's why he defers to Wade, and its also why Kobe was the alpha dog on the last Olympic team. Sorry Bron, maybe you'll be better at stockpicking (I am).

Everyone needs to understand their limitations, which brings me to my next point...

Reason #2 why the Heat are beatable: LeBron loves his jump shot


What happens when you're EASILY the best in the NBA at getting to the rim since Michael Jordan?

If you thought, take it to the rim every time you need a bucket, you were totally wrong. LeBron would much rather shoot his very streaky and inconsistent pull-up jumper at the top of the key rather than take it to the rim every time. Why? I don't know, but he does it. And when he does that, the Bulls can rejoice with easy rebounds and transition buckets.

When he takes it to the rim? That's fine, you know, we're just the BEST rotational defense in the league. Joakim will force him to dish it out to Battier or Mike Miller, who will quickly be closed out on, and mess their 3's, leading to a fast-break opportunity and more points.

Which brings me to the third reason...

Reason #3 why the Heat are so beatable...The team sucks outside of LeBron and Wade


Joel Anthony, Mario Chalmers, Juwan Howard, Udonis fricken Haslem...I'm not sure if any of these guys would even make the Bulls roster, let alone see the court. Heck, I don't think Battier or Miller would be rotation guys either. And Norris Cole kind of sucks now.

Chris Bosh you say? Whatever, Bosh has somehow become a worse player than Carlos Boozer, and I'm actually glad we got Boozer over Bosh and Amare. He's no real threat (though he killed us last year). I don't see him bouncing back from a fairly mediocre season in the playoffs.

This comes down to Wade + LeBron vs the Bulls. And, assuming LeBron reverts to his old, nervous self, that leaves us with a Wade vs Bulls match-up. I'm comfortable with that.

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.

Why Wilbon and Broussard are wrong about Sunday's Loss

Let's get this out of the way... the loss to Oklahoma City on Sunday was easily the worst game the Bulls have played all season. Not only did the defense look mediocre, but the offense showed us what it is in big games without D.Rose....and that is complete shit.

I won't hate on my main man John Lucas or CJ "one of the best back-up points in the leauge" Watson. Both have defined roles on the team. JL3 is a volume scorer in the ilk of Ben Gordon, but the problem is, he can't defend and kills the offense. Once he hits a difficult shot he turns into a chucker and we get the old stand around and watch phenomenon. It reminds me of a few of his friends...Stevie Franchise and Allen Iverson...curious.

CJ didn't play well either, nor did anyone for that matter. Having Korver in the starting line-up against an offensive juggernaut proved to be  poor decision. I'd much rather have Ronnie Brewer in to make switches.

Speaking of switches, the Bulls didn't even try to defend Russell Westbrook on the pick and roll. He had 27 points on 10-18 shooting and didn't even commit a turnover! Westbrook! He was popping wide open jumpers consistently.

The game really got away in the 3rd quarter when Durant and Westbrook scored and set-up their teammates. Unfortunately, the Bulls couldn't even score, let alone counter.

After the game, talking head Chris Broussard was adamant that we shouldn't discount this win. Hell, Magic Johnson said OKC is the best team in the league! Even Wilbon seemed to support this thrashing of his hometown team. All I could think was...WTF is going on?

For one, it's impossible NOT to discount a game where the team with the best record was missing their top scorer and the league's MVP. Would you have discounted the Bulls losing to the Jazz without MJ in the line-up? Hell yes you would have. This team isn't even the same without Rose in the line-up. No one creates like him, nor can anyone else on the team get a bucket whenever he wants. I wouldn't really discount that skill...

Best team in the league? You can't be serious Magic. Everyone likes riding the KD train; he's a great scorer and super fun to watch. But, he still cannot defend, and you have to question if he's seen the Spurs, Heat, and Bulls play. San Antonio could run out of steam, but I can't see OKC hang with Miami or the Bulls in a 7-game series. Not playing defense was an anomaly, and Miami is fricken' good. Don't believe me? Well, they have LeBron James and Dywane Wade...


Bottom line: don't panic about this little loss. We won't remember it in a month when Rose is out there scoring 30 points per game in the playoffs. Also, OKC is likely the 4th best team in the league. Don't count out Kobe!