wake.eat.sleep

It's not unusual to see LeBron James put up the following stat line:

35 points on 14-25 shooting, 4 steals

It's not unusual to see Dwyane Wade do the following in the same game:

36 points on 16-26 shooting, 7 rebounds

But in a game where reigning MVP Derrick Rose would need to sit due to minor injuries suffered during a fender bender, it's not unusual to expect the Bulls to struggle even if they were playing at home.

Really, we should have learned our lesson and realized that it's not unusual in this circumstances for a formerly unlikely hero to step up and dance on the Heat.

 

The biggest story of the game was Lucas. Love him (very likely) or hate him (very unlikely at this point), John Lucas III has had the (delusional?) ability to shoot without fear and without hesitation. Against a team that would very likely make an average team second guess their shot selection, John Lucas was part of the unit that ripped off a 2nd quarter 19-3 run which largely put the game within the Bulls control and the energetic United Center crowd engaged.

Despite putting up the type of numbers that should have allowed Miami to win easily, the game was largely out of their reach until a late 4th quarter run made the score more respectable. In the end, they couldn't really overcome the 50-34 edge the Bulls had in rebounds. Subtract out the late 3s that Jones and James hit late in the game, and the Bulls also outshot the Heat from the 3 point line, hitting 10 to their eventual 6.

 

Some games you have a great game plan. Some games you just have more talent. But some games, you just need a hero, and John Lucas, who knew that you were our only hope for this game?

 

Injuries aside, despite what happens in the regular season (and given what happened in last year's playoffs), I still feel that when these two teams meet in the playoffs, it will not be pretty. However, part of me likes to imagine that the coaching staff is strategically trying to minimize how much game film the Heat will have playing against the Bulls full roster. Am I right? Am I delusional? Who knows. But if this gives them the edge in the playoffs, I'm all for it.