In my ECF Quick Prediction, I mentioned the need for the Bulls to limit Miami's transition offense. Partly because the Bulls have been somewhat mediocre at transition defense, and partly because Miami tends to feed off the energy created by the type of highlights that get generated by those plays. One key that I tend to take for granted and that many analysts have seemed to downplay is that this Bulls team can be, and has been quite relentless all season. Coming into the playoffs, many analysts were saying that other teams would ratchet up their intensity, and the Bulls would have no "extra gear" to shift into. Regardless of whether you believe that, the unique quality of this team is being able to bring the same level of energy and intensity for longer stretches than most teams, and in particular they feed off the energy of Joakim Noah and complementary players such as Taj Gibson.
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)These two plays were a microcosm of the intensity and approach of both teams. As both Sam Smith and Nick Friedell have pointed out, Wade talked about how it affected him, and some odd 90 to 1 dunks to dunked on ratio (?). Gibson however, explained why he preferred the putback dunk instead:
This game certainly was the poster child for 48 minutes of tough basketball.Key stats for the game:Miami - 16 turnovers, only 11 assists, 15-15 from FT, only 18 and 15 points from Wade and James respectively. Only 1-4 shooting by James at the rim. 2-9 shooting from Wade and James from 16-23 feet. Chicago - Only 10 turnovers, an outstanding 45-33 edge in rebounding, with a 19-6 edge in offensive rebounding. 23 assists leading to 38 FGs made. 9 of their 10 three point FG made were assisted, and 8 assists were finished at the rim. Although the Heat shot well (47%), they only managed 68 shots for the game, as Chicago mostly forced them into isolations for most of the second half.Nothing came easy for the Heat all night long.
They had so much trouble on offense, they even tried to sneak in a 6th player on offense!
As exciting as this first game was, there's still a lot to improve on. First off, the Bulls haven't shot well for most of the playoffs. It's also not likely for Wade and James to be passive with fewer attempts at the rim, and less free throw attempts (only 4 each in Game 1). The most concerning thing to look out for in Game 2, is that the Bulls generally have a let down after dominating performances. Most recently, think of Round 2's Game 4 after Derrick Rose's outstanding Game 3 domination. I think we finally see more minutes from Chalmers (probably starting), Ilgauskas, Dampier, and House. Magloire will likely return to the mothballs he was resting in. The rebounding edge that the Bulls enjoyed in Game 1 will shrink, and I expect there to be more free throws shot this game. It still feels like a seven game series to me. 7 to go!Hoopdata box score:
http://www.hoopdata.com/boxscore.aspx?id=310515004 PopcornMachine game flow:
http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20110515&game=MIACHI PopcornMachine box score:
http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/boxscore.cgi?date=20110515&game=MIACHI
“That showed no matter the score or how much time is left in the game you never stop playing. You play until the clock runs out. Thibs’ motto is to play 48 minutes and tonight we wanted to show we could come out and play 48 minutes of tough basketball.”
This game certainly was the poster child for 48 minutes of tough basketball.Key stats for the game:Miami - 16 turnovers, only 11 assists, 15-15 from FT, only 18 and 15 points from Wade and James respectively. Only 1-4 shooting by James at the rim. 2-9 shooting from Wade and James from 16-23 feet. Chicago - Only 10 turnovers, an outstanding 45-33 edge in rebounding, with a 19-6 edge in offensive rebounding. 23 assists leading to 38 FGs made. 9 of their 10 three point FG made were assisted, and 8 assists were finished at the rim. Although the Heat shot well (47%), they only managed 68 shots for the game, as Chicago mostly forced them into isolations for most of the second half.Nothing came easy for the Heat all night long.
They had so much trouble on offense, they even tried to sneak in a 6th player on offense! As exciting as this first game was, there's still a lot to improve on. First off, the Bulls haven't shot well for most of the playoffs. It's also not likely for Wade and James to be passive with fewer attempts at the rim, and less free throw attempts (only 4 each in Game 1). The most concerning thing to look out for in Game 2, is that the Bulls generally have a let down after dominating performances. Most recently, think of Round 2's Game 4 after Derrick Rose's outstanding Game 3 domination. I think we finally see more minutes from Chalmers (probably starting), Ilgauskas, Dampier, and House. Magloire will likely return to the mothballs he was resting in. The rebounding edge that the Bulls enjoyed in Game 1 will shrink, and I expect there to be more free throws shot this game. It still feels like a seven game series to me. 7 to go!Hoopdata box score:http://www.hoopdata.com/boxscore.aspx?id=310515004 PopcornMachine game flow:
http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20110515&game=MIACHI PopcornMachine box score:
http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/boxscore.cgi?date=20110515&game=MIACHI