Neither team got off to an impressive start, trading a few leads in the first quarter before the Bulls led 21-15 at the end. Defense and slow offense happened again in the second as halftime came with a tie score of 37. While Miami held a slight edge after three, they could never pull away and the Bulls were only happy to take full advantage, scoring 35 fourth-quarter points. Whenever Miami had a chance to do some serious damage, they were always answered. Unable to get into their normal offensive groove and falling victim to the Bulls' hustle and will, they now find themselves without home-court advantage only one game in. They were outrebounded by the visitors 46-32.
I don't know what Nate Robinson's been taking before games, but somebody ship more of it to him pronto. He nearly had a double-double, leading everyone in scoring and assists with 29 and nine respectively. It's amazing how he started the season with a non-guaranteed contract and now, his stock couldn't be higher. Jimmy Butler, who played all 48 minutes once again and did his best to guard LeBron James and his 24 points, achieved that double-double (21 points, 14 rebounds) and was 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Joining the double-double club was Joakim Noah with 13 points and 11 rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end. Taj Gibson came off the bench to score 12 and Marco Belinelli had 10.
Though it shouldn't even be considered, maybe the Bulls should just play with this rotation for the rest of the playoffs. It doesn't really seem to matter who Tom Thibodeau puts out there. All they do is prove more that they belong where they are. They take what they have and just leave it all on the court. Nothing can detract them. Whatever the Big 3 were planning before this game, I don't think they thought the energy from the Bulls' win over the Nets would remain. However they restrategize for the next meeting, they better know the Bulls will be ready for them. In fact, they're the only team to have a winning record against them since the 2010-11 season (9-8). Never question how much they want to win. If they don't necessarily do it for their own sake, they do it just to show everyone how tough their opponent really is. What's not to respect about that?
Game 2 will be Wednesday in Miami and we'll definitely see a more prepared Heat team. Yes, they're down in the series, but they won't be pushed around in their house for more than one game in a row. The Bulls should look for a lot more physical opponent who will be done playing soft. Whether TWTW cancels that out remains to be seen. We'll just have to watch and find out.
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