Good Enough Isn't

Give the Bulls credit for not giving up in Game 5, even as the situation looked bleak.  They trailed by 17 in the fourth quarter before eventually drawing to within two with 1:17 left.  However, they just couldn't get that one more basket needed to pull in front and Joakim Noah's bad pass late sealed the deal.  The Cavaliers had a 106-101 win and a 3-2 series lead.

Pau Gasol's hamstring wouldn't let him play and Taj Gibson was ejected early in the fourth for kicking Matthew Dellavedova.  That forced the Bulls to go small down the stretch and they lost out on rebounds that could have made a difference.  With the defense already in an off year, we should have known better than to raise our expectations during such a key time.  Then again, those are the unpredictable Bulls for you.

LeBron James came out swinging and finished with a line you wouldn't believe:  38 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks.  It was yet another reminder of how he's the game's most complete player.  Kyrie Irving, playing on one leg, scored 25 in a display that mainly showed he can still shoot with a bad knee.

All five Bulls starters scored in double figures, led by Jimmy Butler's 29.  Mike Dunleavy recovered nicely from a bad Game 4 with 19 and Derrick Rose scored 16.  Butler, Rose and Noah tried to make up for Gasol's absence with nine rebounds apiece.  That, along with shooting 92.9 percent from the free-throw line, should have been enough, but having James in the wrong uniform proved costly.

Despite being in the game most of the way, it felt by the end like the grind-it-out Bulls of years past than the contending Bulls of this season.  With Gasol out of action and Rose and Butler not getting enough help from elsewhere, it felt like there was some sort of disadvantage.  What exactly that was isn't entirely clear, but it might have to do with how inconsistent the team has been all year.

Losing rebounding battles, missing on offense and turning the ball over are why the Bulls can't find the right formula that will push them past the Cavaliers.  All those things have happened against lesser teams and now, a wounded opponent has pushed them to the brink.  The opportunities keep coming and the Bulls, for some reason, aren't pouncing on them.  Hopefully for our sake, it's a reflection on ability and not will.

The Bulls need to win Game 6 in Chicago on Thursday to keep their season alive.  If they can do that, there's the tall order of taking Game 7 in Cleveland on Sunday.  Until that happens, the failure to grab Game 4 will be the lasting image of one of the greatest what-ifs in team history.  They can only take it one game at a time though and right now, the focus is on not letting the United Center crowd leave with a feeling of finality.