Naturally, Bulls fans would rather see Derrick Rose out on the court completely healthy instead of presenting the game ball with his leg in a brace. However, that's what they were resigned to before Game 2 last night. Still, after a half of basketball, there was reason to be optimistic that the Bulls would able to handle the 76ers. Then, the opposite happened as the Sixers outscored their hosts 36-14 in the third quarter en route to a 109-92 victory and swiping home-court advantage. A No. 8 seed hadn't beaten a top seed that badly in over a decade. Whatever the reasons for it, the second half was not pretty.
I'll spare the gory details of said half, but six 76ers scored in double-figures, four of them starters. Jrue Holiday must have felt with Rose's absence, the point guard position needed some offense in the game. He provided just that, scoring 26 points. Louis Williams wasn't far off the bench with 20. A lot of points came in transition, tiring the Bulls out to the point where the game became out of reach.
Joakim Noah shot an astonishing 10-for-11 from the field, leading the Bulls with 21 points. John Lucas III made up for sitting out the last game by pouring in 15. C.J. Watson made his playoff starting debut and scored 12. Rip Hamilton had 10. The starting backcourt however shot a collective 8-for-21, which is pretty bad. None moreso though than the two starting forwards, who are supposed to be carrying the load with Rose gone for the playoffs. Neither Luol Deng nor Carlos Boozer reached double-figures and combined to shoot 7-for-22. If those two continue to turn in those kinds of performances, the Bulls are in trouble. Deng can be cut some slack because of his wrist, but Boozer is the only Bull to appear in every game this year. There's no excuse for him not to assume a leadership role. His regular season may have been decent, but everything is magnified when fewer games are played in the postseason and so closely together.
It's not just those two we have to be concerned about. The whole team minus Derrick Rose doesn't look good in its early stages. I hope the loss of the reigning MVP hasn't had such a mental/psychological/whatever effect on the team that it's impossible for them to stay competitive anymore. Heck of a time for that to be happening, just like the Rose injury. Practically everyone still believes the Bulls will get out of this round and they probably will. Games like last night however won't bode well when Boston awaits in the next round. Like the Spurs in the West, the Celtics are looking to make a final run with their current crop and are very seasoned. This is only the second year this Bulls team has been together, but that's beside the point. What isn't is if the team doesn't wake up quickly and play like they can with no Rose out there, Miami won't get a chance to bounce them because Boston will do it first. Tom Thibodeau has probably already sent some sort of message to his guys.
Focus on getting that home court back by winning Game 3 Friday in Philadelphia. The last thing you want is the media labeling you a fragile bunch that can't survive even one round in the playoffs without its superstar. In short, get back on track and retake the series lead.
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