nate33 wrote:Keep playing D like Game 4, only with Nene to stop Gibson.
Offensively, I thought the Wizards were nearly perfect in Game 4. Except for a few bad long 2's by Wall, their shot selection was superb. Frankly, they could easily have won by a lot more except Gortat couldn't make a layup and the refs were horribly one-sided. Even during that cold stretch of the 4th quarter, the Wizards were getting quality shots. It may be that they have simply figured out Chicago's defense. If that's the case, they should score 95+ points in Game 5. That should be enough to win the game unless Chicago gets another flukey performance like the Dunleavy explosion.
If the refs call the game fairly for 48 minutes, it should be a cakewalk for Washington. If the refs let Gibson, Boozer and Noah push people in the back for offensive boards and foul driving offensive players with impunity, then it could be close.
I counted at least 3 occasions where Boozer or Gibson shoved a Wizards player into a Bulls player while the Bulls player was shooting or rebounding and the ref ended up calling the foul on the Wizard that was shoved.
If Boozer starts again, I think I would start Booker and let Nene come off the bench to battle Gibson. I think Nene will have better success on Gibson and Booker showed he can handle Boozer.
I have no confidence the refs will crack down on the Bulls as they have let them get away with murder since the series started. I watched the game again last night on DVR after being there in person. You are right about multiple plays where the refs allowed the Bulls to come over the back or push players from behind. There was one sequence when Gibson pushed Booker in the back to get an offensive rebound and then Boozer shoved Wall into Gibson and they called the foul on Wall. How can the refs miss both of those fouls. I think they are swallowing their whistles because the NBA wants to see the series get dragged out.
In addition to the refs, I just see the Bulls using desperation and their home crowd to get win. I predicted the Bulls would steal one of the games at the Verizon Center, win at home, and then lose to us in Game 6. I am still sticking to that prediction, but I hope I am wrong.
