wake.eat.sleep

Before Game 1, the consensus was that Chicago's talent would outshine and overwhelm Indiana despite the Pacers playing relatively well under Coach Vogel. In two games, many Bulls fans and NBA fans expected a largely dominant performance by the Bulls over a Pacers team that everyone expected to be overwhelmed in its first playoff experience in years.

Instead, the Pacers have come up, and executed a game plan that has left the Bulls looking less than spectacular. In fact, the Pacers have been particularly physical, especially when Derrick Rose comes into the lane. Jeff Foster, in fact, has gone from less than memorable journeyman forward/center, to a player that Bulls fans will heartily boo like James Posey for his playoff behavior.

(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Time after time, the Bulls would attack the lane, and get hammered and hit. Some fouls were hard, and clean. Basketball moves to attack the ball, prevent the shot from going up. But the occasional foul, would include some extra non-basketball contact. Bulls fans and announcers started to wonder, how would the Bulls respond?

How did they respond?

...by not responding to their physical play. Let's go over the game first.

Collison returns to Indiana's starting lineup. Also sneaker heads will note that he switched from the Adidas Crazy Lights:

Back to his old shoe:

The first half is largely uneven for both teams. Indiana doesn't shoot well early, but Chicago eventually is forced into 11 turnovers, and the game is deadlocked at 42-42 at halftime. Officiating on both ends of the floor seems uneven, Boozer gets an early 2 fouls and has to leave with 7:21 left in the first quarter, and 3 other players quickly pick up 2.

A number of interesting stats at the half: the Pacers only have 7 assists, but have almost double the points in the paints than the Bulls (20-10). The Bulls hit 5-11 3 pointers, and the Pacers only hit for 1-5.

This brings us to a fine example of the Pacers old-school physical play. Jeff Foster, and his greatest hits. On a quick drive into the lane, a play where Foster claims Rose was too quick to react to, Foster could not apparently get his elbow out of the way of Rose's face:

Next, as Deng pump-fakes Foster into the air, Foster shows us his revolutionary way of trying to block a ball, using your elbows, instead of your hands.

Step 1, bend elbow:

Step 2, drive elbow towards player's head:

Although neither of these fouls were assessed as flagrant fouls, it wasn't surprising to see the NBA upgrade these fouls to flagrant fouls after the game.

Now, I know many of us (myself included), wondered if the Bulls should respond to their physical play, in kind. Not on every play, but just a nice hard one on a drive for a change. We waited, and the Pacers did too.

Our wait was in vain. As I've forgotten, the Bulls aren't a reactive team. As they have all year, they don't need to change the way they play, just because another team tries to rough them up to make them change their style. It's not pretty, but as long as they play their style of game and win, that's all that matters.

The Pacers, on the other hand, are running out of ideas. They've played the type of games they've wanted to play, and they haven't been able to knock Chicago's determination and poise especially in the 4th quarter. Try as they might, when it counts, Chicago has been a little bit faster, a little bit stronger, and a bit too good.

As they have all season under Vogel, I expect another scrappy hard fought game from the Pacers. In the end, all they'll be left with is one question: did we ever have a prayer at all?

(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Popcorn Machine Game Flow:
http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20110421&game=CHIIND

Popcorn Machine Box Score:
http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/boxscore.cgi?date=20110421&game=CHIIND

(13 wins to go!)