Post. game. Analysis. Bulls shaky early, get a grip late

[jumpmanjay]

Watched the game again this morning. All i can really say is that we won and Iman Shumpert committed about 21 fouls and got called for 5 of them. Good defense is good defense but this kid just hand checks and shoves guys constantly and doesn't get called for it. It's almost as bad as Lebron with his off arm on offense committing dozens of blatant fouls nearly every time he touches the ball and drives. 21 Shump St. gets away way too much on D. It's really becoming annoying.

so many fouls.

oh, and has anyone else developed a burning hatred for Tyson Chandler and his reactions after every play? What a tool that guy is.

YES. he is worse than wade out there. to his credit, hes probably so pissed because he is on an island by himself out there.

[aaqubed]

Yeah, I noticed it a lot last year that Tyson never seems to think he commited a foul.

He was like that when he was here too. He's been that way his whole career.

[ManualRam]

I am pretty sure Miami is the only team the Bulls have zoned up this year. With their team, it makes total sense. You usually only fall into a zone against teams who can't shoot or to hide some sort of defensive weakness. I think against Miami, its a little of both given their makeup. I think Thibs feels confident he has the pieces to guard any other team in the league man on man.

On to Miami and we will see if Rose plays.

when the knicks or another team goes small, boozer becomes the last line of defense.
you'd figure the bulls would try to hide that, while keeping noah (or taj) near the paint instead of out chasing guys like landry fields around.

[fleet]

You can talk about the Bulls starters vs the Knicks starters all you want, but the game was won mostly by the Bulls' bench from the end of the first quarter to the middle of the 2nd Q when the Bulls turned a 6 point deficit into a 10 point lead. After that, it was pretty much a draw. Bulls bench 33, Knicks bench 18. Korver gets the game ball.

thats pretty disturbing too. The playoffs are all about riding the first 6-7 guys

[tclg]

Almost no one thinks they committed a foul

[ManualRam]

Boozer's defense=atrocious. Hmmm. He guarded Chandler almost exclusively, who barely scored during Boozer's twenty-some minutes in the game. His fouls were largely in the act of playing help defense ... vs. a Douglas or Fields who had blown by their primary defenders. He led the team with three key steals that led to scores on the other end. The atrocious claim is simply unwarranted. Over the last two seasons, the Bulls have the best record in basketball. I don't recall that being the case in the years immediately before his arrival.

help defense is a part of defense.
help defense is even more important in the bulls defensive scheme than individual man defense.
boozer's help defense was atrocious, therefore his defense was atrocious.

[lukeman89]

saw this pic on ESPN and love it

[organix85]

Yeah, I noticed it a lot last year that Tyson never seems to think he commited a foul.

No one ever thinks they committed a foul.

[NBAwesome]

Rip Hamilton played like a star yesterday. In the 3rd quarter, he was going iso, beating people off the dribble and finishing at the rim. This is everything we've ever wanted out of a starting 2 guard. HOW ARE PEOPLE NOT MORE EXCITED ABOUT THIS?

[Ice Man]

thats pretty disturbing too. The playoffs are all about riding the first 6-7 guys

It's great that Taj, Omer, Brewer, and Korver bail out the starters so often, but for the playoffs either the starters need to improve or the lineups need to change. Trailing early and then storming back in the 2nd quarter is not a good formula against elite teams.

[Ice Man]

Rip Hamilton played like a star yesterday. In the 3rd quarter, he was going iso, beating people off the dribble and finishing at the rim. This is everything we've ever wanted out of a starting 2 guard. HOW ARE PEOPLE NOT MORE EXCITED ABOUT THIS?

Because 2 months ago Hamilton had a similar game, and it's hard to get excited about 2 awesome games every 2 months.

I think we'll all get pretty excited if he stays healthy and puts down a couple more like this over the next week or so.

[jl342323]

Boozer's defense=atrocious. Hmmm. He guarded Chandler almost exclusively, who barely scored during Boozer's twenty-some minutes in the game. His fouls were largely in the act of playing help defense ... vs. a Douglas or Fields who had blown by their primary defenders. He led the team with three key steals that led to scores on the other end. The atrocious claim is simply unwarranted. Over the last two seasons, the Bulls have the best record in basketball. I don't recall that being the case in the years immediately before his arrival.

if boozer was involved in a score by opponent, he will get the blame majority of the time. you should expect it by now.

i just wish he would move his feet better and try to stay in front of people. he has to shuffle his feet better, b/c that pnr attack will be there all through the playoff. and it just seems like thibs is putting boozer in a vulnerable situation by not have any secondary help coming boozer's way. other teams stop drose pnr by packing the lane and giving away an open shot. boozer isnt good enough defensively to have to guard melo, lebron, dwade alone in those pnr plays.

[jl342323]

Rip Hamilton played like a star yesterday. In the 3rd quarter, he was going iso, beating people off the dribble and finishing at the rim. This is everything we've ever wanted out of a starting 2 guard. HOW ARE PEOPLE NOT MORE EXCITED ABOUT THIS?

b/c many of these "fans" proclaimed that he would be a non factor. this is the rip i expected this year. and his presence will open up alot for boozer's game. just hope we can CONTROL the pace and attack the hoop with our BALANCED offensive game.

[ManualRam]

Boozer's defense=atrocious. Hmmm. He guarded Chandler almost exclusively, who barely scored during Boozer's twenty-some minutes in the game. His fouls were largely in the act of playing help defense ... vs. a Douglas or Fields who had blown by their primary defenders. He led the team with three key steals that led to scores on the other end. The atrocious claim is simply unwarranted. Over the last two seasons, the Bulls have the best record in basketball. I don't recall that being the case in the years immediately before his arrival.

if boozer was involved in a score by opponent, he will get the blame majority of the time. you should expect it by now.

i just wish he would move his feet better and try to stay in front of people. he has to shuffle his feet better, b/c that pnr attack will be there all through the playoff. and it just seems like thibs is putting boozer in a vulnerable situation by not have any secondary help coming boozer's way. other teams stop drose pnr by packing the lane and giving away an open shot. boozer isnt good enough defensively to have to guard melo, lebron, dwade alone in those pnr plays.

the usual help was on the perimeter because the knicks went small and boozer cant guard the perimeter either.
that's why i think that should the bulls face another team that goes small like that, they should either zone up or just take boozer out. he simply cannot be the last line of defense by himself.

[JDRochholz]

saw this pic on ESPN and love it

Awesome!