What better occasion to draw me out of silence and into blogging than the first Conference Finals game involving my beloved Chicago Bulls since Michael Jordan dispersed of Reggie Miller in 1998? I feel like I should be honoring everything 1990s right now, so I come to you live, from my house, with a Mountain Dew and Doritos in hand ... and a Michael Jordan Jersey on my back. And, since today is my lone off day before I ship off to Boston at the end of the week, I'll celebrate this pivotal game (is it possible for game one to be pivotal?) with a running blog of my observations. You can thank me later.
7:50 PM - Ernie, Chuck and Kenny are breaking down the Zombie Sonics' victory over Memphis earlier in the day. I went looking for my Supersonics hat earlier today and could not find it. It's likely that I'll have to excavate my old room at my parents house to find it, but I feel like I should at least locate it, although I don't know that I can root for the Zombies over the Mavs. I'm torn here: on the one hand, I loudly proclaimed before last year that Kevin Durant would be the best player of the generation (ahead of LeBron), and I would love to see him attain that title. Additionally, I proclaimed this year (after LeBron decided that he was created to be Riker to Wade's Jean-Luc) that Miami would not be the next powerhouse, but that OKC would take that mantel. So, out of a desire to see both those predictions validated, an OKC western conference title would make me feel good. Still ... it's the Mavericks. I have a Kidd jersey. I have a Mavs hat and Mashburn shirt (courtesy of my Uncle, years ago). And they have Dirk, who is fun to watch, and Cuban, who I wish would have bought the Cubs. I guess on the bright side, I can't really lose no matter who wins the Western Conference Finals. I can't say the same about the East...
7:54 PM - What a final four in the NBA! You have the villains (LeBron, Wade and Bosh ... and if you've forgotten why they are the villains, watch this again to see an intro that would make Vince McMahon blush), aiming to prove that teamwork, balance, and testicular fortitude are no longer precursors to winning in the NBA. You have the veteran team showing unexpected spunk, and playing for keeps (Dallas shocking the Lakers and ending Phil's reign). You have the young team we expected to make the jump (the Oklahoma City Zombies, who proved last year they were ready for the jump in their tough round one loss to Los Angeles). And then you have the young team nobody expected to make the jump this quick, my beloved Bulls. As this year kept on going and I became more and more impressed with the way they played as a team, and with the way which Derrick Rose carried himself. He is a deserving MVP, but we now have the rare situation where the four best players in the league are arguably on the four remaining teams. Exciting times indeed.
8:01 PM - Just had an interview with Joakim Noah, the penultimate "guy you love when he's on your team, but want to punch when he's not on your team." Trust me, when he played at Florida I wanted to punch him, and it wasn't as if I was totally against him. But now that he plays for my team, I love him. He's like Rodman, only sane and not into cross-dressing.
8:03PM - Anyway, back to my previous comment regarding the four best players in the league remaining, I'd break my MVP vote down this way for this season:
- Derrick Rose - nobody expected him, nor his team, to make the jump this year, and they ended up with the best record in the league. After the Bulls knocked out the Hawks in the second round we heard Rose responding to Larry Drew (Hawks coach) as Drew offered encouragement. What did he say? "Yes Sir, thank you Sir." Um ... this is the NBA we're talking about right? I can't even get the high school kids I coach to say thank you sir to the officials consistently. Again, I was wrong, John Paxson was right.
- Dirk Nowitzki - look up Dallas' record with him before his injury, then after he recovered. They would have been the number one overall seed in the NBA without his injury.
- D Wade - He was the clutch member of the team, and, of course, he orchestrated everyone coming to Miami. So he also should be executive of the year.
- Durant - best scorer in the league, most complete offensive game since Bird (combining inside, outside, everything).
8:08 PM - Great job getting the ball inside to Noah, who finishes with a baby hook. Miami comes back with a deep three by Bibby ... not the shot they want, but the shot we want. Bulls weathered the first storm, let's see how Miami does in the halfcourt set.
8:10PM - Bosh draws the foul and makes the shot. Bruce always taught us: if you're going to foul, make damn sure they don't make shot as well. Noah should keep that in mind. Miami 9, Chicago 7.
8:13PM - Carlos Boozer may very well be the x-factor in this series. If he plays like an all-star the Bulls can win, but if he plays like he did for much of the first two rounds the Bulls won't stand a chance. They go to him early tonight, and we'll see how he responds. Mr. Rose has another turnover, and I start to get antsy. Terrible call giving LeBron continuation when he was fouled three steps earlier. Glad to see the officials still don't know how to call a game. Oh, by the way, that was off of yet another Rose turnover.
8:15PM - Boozer scores off a nice pass. He had to use high glass, but didn't get blocked. Baby steps. Wade responds by drawing a foul on Bogans. The Bulls might end up regretting going with the Bogans, Brewer, Korver poo-poo platter instead of making the move for Ray Allen during free agency or O.J. Mayo before the trade deadline. Heat by four. Brewer in.
8:17PM - Awful shot by Deng ... he's been quiet so far, and he can't be. We have our first time out with the Heat up four. It's actually a minor miracle we are only down four when we've turned the ball over half a dozen times already. Thibs better get on the boys during this stoppage of play. We are playing their game, not ours.
8:18PM - My father told me he thought tonight's winner would be the team to take the series. I told him that I felt Miami would win the series, based entirely on me being pessimistic and not having had anything good happen for one of my teams since 1998. Also known as A.J. (after Jordan). We return to play with Craig Sager sporting yet another hideous coat, and with Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" playing in the United Center. Bosh hits a set shot, and Miami increases its' lead. Noah misses on the other side, then picks LeBron's pocket, then Miami stops the Bulls, then scores.
8:21PM - The Bulls are down eight, and are playing super sloppy. Miami is +6 on rebounds right now, but Noah gets an offensive board and kicks it to Deng who hits his shot. Noah goes to the line after drawing a foul on James. As a side note, somewhere along the line I went from loathing Marv Albert to not minding him at all. It's also comforting to have Steve Kerr calling the game ... it's like having a secret agent. Maybe we can get him to come out of retirement to hit a shot since the rest of our team doesn't appear interested in hitting any. Timeout, Miami.
8:24PM - Smitty has returned to the man-cave, and sticking with our 90s motif he has busted out his own Mt. Dew. Indiana weather, as usual, sucks. Rainy and cold all day. It's not like it's mid-May or anything. Miami comes out of a timeout with a shot by Bibby, who hits another shot. When did Bibby's corpse begin playing basketball again? Rose responds, the Wade responds. Kerr tells us that Miami has gone small, playing LeBron at the 4. The Bulls put Taj Gibson in for Boozer.
8:28PM - LeBron picks up foul two, complains to the ref, then gets pulled from the game. Erik Spoelstra has a classic "punch me" face ... Smitty points out he also always looks confused. Steve Kerr "Erik Spoelstra has really shown his hand early." Kerr is pointing this out in regards to him going small. Meanwhile, Wade blatantly double dribbles, which of course the referees don't call. The one thing that always makes me hesitant to care about the NBA is the corrupt nature of the officiating. If you make it through one game without the feeling that the refs are trying to throw it one way or another it's a miracle. Honestly, it is beyond me how they can be this bad, and still be considered professionals.
8:34PM - Michael Jordan + Hitler Mustache = successful commercial (in the minds of some Haynes executive). I'm still fascinated with how this went down. Did Jordan show up with a Hitler 'stache unknowingly? Did he lose a bet and have to do it? Did he do it intentionally to see if someone would stop him? I feel like I'm missing out by not knowing.
8:36PM - Watson to Gibson for two, and the Bulls are down one. Bulls go to the reserves, with all starters except for Deng out. A coach Thibs staple. Watson next leaves a runner short. Ugh. HUGE DUNK by Taj Gibson, drawing a foul on Wade. Remember: Taj Gibson is a rich-man's Carlos Boozer. I honestly think he's better than Boozer. What's scary is there aren't many people who want to argue the point.
8:39PM - When Wade pump fakes you have to stay home... Gibson didn't stay home. Wade goes to the line and give Miami the lead back. I've got to say, I'm a big fan of letting the reserves get a rhythm, and it'll be interesting to see how long Thibs can let the reserves go. Gibson another nice bucket off a nice pass from Deng. Korver comes in for Deng now, and now we have all backups in. This is high risk.
8:42PM - Omar Asik scores inside and draws the foul. I like him by the way. TV timeout. The fact that the Bulls withstood the early storm, their own turnovers, and begin out rebounded early and are now tied with Miami bodes well for this game.
8:44PM - Bulls have their first lead at 30 - 29. LeBron has checked back in, and Wade has checked out. Yet another Bulls turnover. On the bright side the Bulls bench has 12 points already. Miami gets away with an offensive goal tending. Korver misses off a screen, and then the Bulls turn it over again. Boozer and Rose come back in with 7:12 left in the second. Miami has six on the court, but doesn't get the technical. What the hell?
8:49PM - Miami up four, following a defensive 3 second call on the Bulss. Kerr with a good explanation of the rule. Kerr also agrees with me that Heat should have had a technical for the 6 on the court. The officials literally just gave Miami points. Big 3 from the corner for Deng. Bulls are not boxing out well; another second chance 2 for Bosh. Timeout with five minutes left.
8:52PM - Bulls open up with another turnover. I don't know how many we have, but it's got to be close to ten already. Big put back by Boozer after a Noah miss. So far we've seen Chicago play decent defense, but we are getting drawn off on pump fakes a stupid amount of times. LeBron goes to the line again. The crowd in Chicago is quite lively ... making me proud. Rose hits a jumper ... terrible foul call on Korver. LeBron pushes off and it's a foul on Korver?
8:57PM - Deng is playing great right now, and the Bulls tie it on a Noah put back. Deng will need to be Pippen to Rose's Jordan if the Bulls are going to win this series. Carrying that analogy to its' end, we have the following:
- Rose = Jordan
- Deng = Pippen
- Noah = Rodman
- Bogans = Harper
- Boozer = Longley?
9:04PM - HUGE turnover by Noah. The Bulls are making Bosh look like he's worth the money. That's the first time that has happened this year. The Noah turnover ended up being a six point swing. That's awful. Rose only shooting jumpers has led to him getting only two free throw attempts today. He's going to need to get to the line much more than that. Three fouls on Bosh is promising, but LeBron "shockingly" has been allowed to play every bit as physical without getting his third foul. Deng hits two free throws. Miami calls a timeout with 18.1 seconds left in the half to draw up the last shot.
9:08PM - James hits a shot with five seconds left, and the bulls get a chance to respond, but Rose barely has a handle on it. Tied at the half. Lovely. This halftime break will be sponsored by the Subway on my corner, which I will now walk to and get a footlong spicy Italian. Subway. Eat Fresh.
9:35PM - And ... we're back. With a stomach full of Subway. Noah pads his stats with a rebound and put back. Bulls lead by one after four minutes have passed in the third. I can't believe that we've allowed Bosh to score 21 tonight. Weak defensive performance inside. James hits an MJ-like fade away. Kareem's sky-hook, MJ's fade, Hakeem's dream shake ... the most difficult to defend shots of my lifetime.
9:40PM - Marv, Kerr and Miller are having a long discussion about LeBron and Wade signing with Chicago this summer and how "close" it was. Meanwhile, Keith Bogans hits a corner three, putting the Bulls up five. Rose takes a hard fall after missing a fast break layup. Noah ran the fast break by the way. Like he dribbled it up. Impressive. Rose hits both his free throws.
9:42PM - Time out by Miami. Erik Spolestra would like you to know Miami's players care about this game. They are all crying in the huddle right now. Crying ok? That's how much this means to them. In other news, I have a major issue with Hyundai "guaranteeing" a set resale price for their cars. Since when is fixing prices a part of a capitalist society?
9:45PM - I think WGU Indiana, an online "college," is actually "Mitch Daniels University." Which means you will be taught in the fine arts of "outsourcing highway management so that the roads are not maintained and the state does not experience the profit you promise," "cutting all critical social services below the federal reimbursement level, then skim that difference off the top," and "see how much profit you can turn for the state while screwing over everyone else." In other news, a Mitch Daniels nomination for president would have Obama tap dancing with joy.
9:48PM - The Bulls have quietly extended their lead to nine, while the officials decide that it has been too much of a good thing for the Bulls, so they call a foul on Deng which replays clearly show was not a foul. Keith Bogans then shoots, and misses again. Deng makes it up by forcing the ball off LeBron's foot. No foul there Tim Donaghy?
9:50PM - Why is Keith Bogans shooting so much? Three possessions out of five have been Bogans misses. Great defense on James by Gibson, then Rose and Wade exchange baskets. Bulls by six.
9:53PM - Deng with a big three, then more tough D on James, while Wade also gets shut down. This current group (Brewer, Deng, Rose, Noah, Gibson) is very long, and contests shots well. I like it. A lot. Miami has 7.3 seconds left in the quarter, and Wade goes to the bench.
9:56PM - I hate the Sager interviews at the start of the quarters. You miss the first play every time. Couldn't we do them audio only? Thibs needs to get Rose a break here early in the fourth. Asik is in for Noah.
10:00PM - Two big plays in a row by Asik just challenging the shots. And then he dunks it and draws the foul. LeBron answers with a 3. Watson in for Rose. This is a big sequence, and Deng follows his shot. The Bulls are doing great on the offensive glass, this half in particular. It's heartening to see that they have reestablished themselves there. Big steal by Brewer who will get two shots plus the ball.
10:03PM - The Bulls are now up 12, and they have pulled it back up again with the bench players out on the court. Wade, Bosh and James are back in for Miami. Brewer dunks it; Bulls up 14, and Miami calls a quick time out. This has been the Bulls M.O. all year: the bench gets it done. If they can finish this out over the last nine minutes this would be an unbelievably huge first game. Right now the Bulls look like they are on a different plane. They have the look of a team that loves playing together and doesn't care who gets it done, just that it gets done. Miami, conversely, looks quite disheveled.
10:06PM - Spolestra "if you are real about winning this game." Not good if the coach doesn't know if his team is real about winning a game. Somehow the Bulls keep getting 7'1" Omar Asik switched onto James, and he keeps James in front. big three by Watson. Bosh responds with an "and one."
10:10PM - Rose and Noah back in ... Deng gets a three to roll in. It's nice when the ball bounces your way. James kicks to Chalmers to respond for 3. Smitty observes "if they (Chicago) can grind teams down like this they are going to win." It's a good observation, because this game has gone that way. The first half Chicago didn't play great, but held close. Their bench closed the gap to allow them to keep the game close, and then pull ahead. Boozer back in, Bulls by 14 with 6:30 left.
10:11PM - following a turnover by Boozer Miami cuts the lead to 12. Rose responds on cue. Bosh is fouled inside, and there is a TV timeout.
10:14PM - We return to the game with the score Chicago 90 - Miami 76. There is 5:35 left in the quarter, with Bosh at the line. The Bulls are 9 of 19 from 3. That won't hold through the entire series, but Rose won't be this ineffective at getting to the line either, so it should balance out. Bosh makes both free throws. James just complained and got a call changed from a foul on him to a foul on Chalmers. Cute.
10:18PM - Boozer has 14 points and 9 rebounds. We'd take that every game. Gibson will check in for defensive purposes, but Boozer has had a solid game thus far. Bosh is at the line again, and he cuts the Bulls lead to 12.
10:20PM - Korver knocks down a timely three to extend the lead to fifteen. It's great to see him hit a shot; that will be important as the series progresses. Wade responds by tossing the ball to Deng. The fans get loud; they can feel it. D-Rose to the hoop. Bulls by 17.
10:22PM - Trailer for the new Cameron Diaz movie has the following dialogue:
"LeBron will never be Jordan, call me when he has six titles"
"Is that your only argument?"
"IT'S THE ONLY ARGUMENT I NEED!!!"
...
...
Amen
10:24PM - Under four minutes now, and Noah is showing some fire. Miami is running a slow offense, conceding the game. Udonis Haslem is in to get some garbage minutes. 21 for Deng, with great defense, passing and rebounding. Pippen-esqe if you ask me. Time to pull the starters; Bulls up 19 with 2:14 left. Thibs begins pulling on cue. Rose is out; all the starters follow.
10:30PM - The crowd is chanting "over-rated" at Miami. Even Ronnie Brewer is knocking down jumpers. The Bulls have gone on a 44-22 run to end this game. Emphatic dunk by the Rich Man's Carlos Boozer: Taj Gibson. Emphatic win by the Bulls. Even Reggie Miller says "I have been to the mountain top." One down. Three more to go. Class on Wednesday will hold me back a bit, but I think I'll be able to see it. The Mad House on Madison is back baby. I'm smiling about as much as you can.
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