From the post game press conference:
“This is the playoffs so you’re going to be in tight quarters,” said Thibodeau. “You have to be comfortable being uncomfortable."
This is a team that has been built on hard work, effort and dedication. Everyone has expected roles to fulfill and at this point of the season players aren't surprised. For example, Brewer will be the first player usually off the bench assuming no foul trouble. Noah and Boozer will generally get subbed out before the end of the 1st quarter. Rose will usually start on the bench for the start of 2nd quarter and Deng will usually be the last starter to get a quick breather with about 7 or 8 minutes left in the 2nd. For the most part, I can tell who's been watching Bulls games just by being able to talk about these lineups and rotations. In these last couple of months, the Bulls have used their better defensive combinations for late 3rd quarter sequences, and have generally opened 4th quarters with combinations of Watson, Korver and Rose to focus on offense. This game however was going to get uncomfortable, but there was a group that was going to lead the Bulls to a comfortable result...
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)The game started well enough, with early contributions by Deng (11 pts, 2 assists), Bogans (8 pts) and Rose (9 pts, 4 assists) leading to 32-21 first quarter lead. Although things cooled down somewhat, the Bulls still led at halftime, with the Hawks having quiet performances by key players Johnson, Smith and Teague (not a surprise anymore).
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)And that's when things got uncomfortable. The defensive rotations by the forwards throughout most of this series has been fairly terrible. Part of it is the scheme to give up baseline on dribble penetrations, and a large part of it is the effort by Noah and Boozer to cut off access to the paint. In an unwelcome sight, Teague easily got into the paint time after time hitting 5 of 5 from the field for 11 3rd quarter points.
The Hawks went on a 13-5 to close out the 3rd, leaving the Bulls clinging to a 69-68 lead, and the United Center crowd anxious and nervous.And that's where Thibs and the coaching staff made an excellent move. For most of the season, it's been somewhat clear that the coaching staff will try to avoid putting out units that have trouble scoring in the fourth. You could say it made them uncomfortable. This time however, they opened up with a lineup of Rose, Brewer, Deng, Gibson and Asik. A unit that's only been used 145 minutes this season (http://www.82games.com/1011/1011CHI2.HTM), but holds opponents to 0.85 points per possession. How did they do?Atlanta scores 15 points for the quarter, where they're only able to attempt and make 2 of 6 shots in the paint.http://espn.go.com/nba/playbyplay?gameId=310510004&period=4 Oddly, this focus on defense, seemed to make things move a lot easier on offense, scoring 26 points, and moving a win away from the Eastern Conference Finals.What are the keys for tonight's game?
- Dominate the rebounding battle.
- Win the points in the paint. This means better rotations on dribble penetration.Given that Atlanta thrives on energy, particularly in front of their home crowd, the first quarter should give a great indication of what type of game we're in store for. If Atlanta gets early contributions from Johnson or Smith, particularly on transition, it should be a fairly tight game through most of the game. However, if Chicago is able to impose its will early, it will be tough for the Hawks to overcome the pressure of being eliminated in front of their home crowd. I expect a battle through most of the game, with the Bulls pulling out a tight win.
9 wins to go!Hoopdata box score:
http://www.hoopdata.com/boxscore.aspx?id=310510004 PopcornMachine game flow:
http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20110510&game=ATLCHIPopcornMachine box score:
http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/boxscore.cgi?date=20110510&game=ATLCHI
“This is the playoffs so you’re going to be in tight quarters,” said Thibodeau. “You have to be comfortable being uncomfortable."
This is a team that has been built on hard work, effort and dedication. Everyone has expected roles to fulfill and at this point of the season players aren't surprised. For example, Brewer will be the first player usually off the bench assuming no foul trouble. Noah and Boozer will generally get subbed out before the end of the 1st quarter. Rose will usually start on the bench for the start of 2nd quarter and Deng will usually be the last starter to get a quick breather with about 7 or 8 minutes left in the 2nd. For the most part, I can tell who's been watching Bulls games just by being able to talk about these lineups and rotations. In these last couple of months, the Bulls have used their better defensive combinations for late 3rd quarter sequences, and have generally opened 4th quarters with combinations of Watson, Korver and Rose to focus on offense. This game however was going to get uncomfortable, but there was a group that was going to lead the Bulls to a comfortable result...
- Dominate the rebounding battle.
- Win the points in the paint. This means better rotations on dribble penetration.Given that Atlanta thrives on energy, particularly in front of their home crowd, the first quarter should give a great indication of what type of game we're in store for. If Atlanta gets early contributions from Johnson or Smith, particularly on transition, it should be a fairly tight game through most of the game. However, if Chicago is able to impose its will early, it will be tough for the Hawks to overcome the pressure of being eliminated in front of their home crowd. I expect a battle through most of the game, with the Bulls pulling out a tight win.
9 wins to go!Hoopdata box score:http://www.hoopdata.com/boxscore.aspx?id=310510004 PopcornMachine game flow:
http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20110510&game=ATLCHIPopcornMachine box score:
http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/boxscore.cgi?date=20110510&game=ATLCHI