The Baby Bulls never left.
They just fooled you all.
How you could pick Chicago over Miami is understandable after the fact, I never saw much in this Chicago team. What let me know that they weren’t really ready to make noise this year was the last night of the season. All they had to go do was beat New Jersey and they would have had the easy road to the Conference Finals courtesy of the #2 seed.
Instead they drop the ball, lose in New Jersey and end up at #5. Yeah they ended up beating on Miami in the first round but they had no chance against Detroit.
Before the series started the so called “experts” had the nerve to say that the Bulls matched up perfectly with the Pistons. These people said that on paper the two teams were virtually even. News flash; the games are not played on paper. Also, basketball is more mental than it is physical. And that is where Detroit has the major league edge and it has shown time after time in this series. It is a major point that a lot of people refused to talk about. This Chicago team was happy to get out of the first round finally. They were ripe for a letdown especially against a vertan team in Detroit. The Pistons have been up there in the East for a while…and they actually got better. The addition of Chris Webber and the play of Jason Maxiell eclipses Ben Wallace. Now you have to guard all 5 guys…who can guard Detroit? Seriously. Chauncey Billups is so underrated it is scary. No one on Chicago can even try to guard him. The Bulls are too small to guard Rip. Add a great passer like Chris Webber who has no pressure to be the man anymore and this is the most dangerous team in the East without a doubt.
Here is the thing about the Bulls; they were never that good. They have a tremendous talent in Luol Deng and then the rest depends on who they are playing. Against an aging and unmotivated Miami team the Bulls wer able to penetrate and kick at will. That is their style of play so they did it well; it is easy to look like a great team that way. But now they are facing a hungry and strong defensive unit in Detroit. Ben Gordon isn’t hitting those shots now, Luol Deng is having to earn every bucket and apparently Kirk Hinrich forgot that he can shoot because he hardly looks to do it anymore. Nocioni isn’t as effective anymore. And those guys are the heart of their offense. Ben Wallace and PJ Brown are ineffective offensive players to say the least. Tyrus Thomas is far too young to play against a veteran team like Detroit. The Bulls have no bench, no low post scoring and against a good defensive team they have no chance.
I mean just look at the stats; PJ and Ben average 12 points a game or exactly how much Rasheed Wallace averages. And the difference is…Rasheed can get 20 or 30. PJ and Ben are not giving you that.
Unbelievably Couper picked the Bulls going to the Finals. I really need to know what he saw in them that made him even think about writing that. Here is the truth of the matter; they had a great series against a team they matched up up perfectly with. So everyone thought they were a lot better than they were and everyone forgot just how good Detroit was. And not only are they good but they are motivated. The one knock on the Detroit teams has been their tendencies to put it in cruise control. I just knew they would drop one to Orlando because of that fact. But they did not, they stuck to their gameplan and showed their hunger. Just like last night; in the past the Pistons might have packed it in and gone for Game 4. Instead they targeted the Bulls and their inexperience and went for their throat. And like a good matador, they stabbed the Bulls relentlessly.
For Chicago the season is over. I for one thinks this team needs an overhaul if they ever want to win a championship. Not a complete one but they need low post scoring and they need a star. These guys they have are all good players but they are all inconsistent. The Bulls don’t have that guy who can just takeover a game. And until they fix their problems they will be underachievers.
So Coup…you made a bad pick. It’s ok, unfortunately you’re not getting paid like Greg Anthony to say stupid things.