'Da Bulls finally followed through last night on the promise of Games 1 and 2, winning decisively at home with Jordan cheering them on from the luxury box.
Unfortunately, it appears Miami's James Posey will not receive the suspension he deserves for tackling Hinrich at the end of the game, leading to the altercation pictured here. Even Pat Riley disapproved of the mugging, as quoted in the Tribune: "Maybe something happened at the other end of the court, but I don't like that. There has to be dignity in the game."
A quote from CNNSI that brought back fond memories of the Jayhawks circa 2002:
"At one point Miami's Walker tried to exhort his teammates by turning and clapping his hands vigorously. "Let's Go!" he yelled. By the time he turned back, Hinrich had blown past him en route to the basket."
As I'm pretty sure I've said all along: Bulls in seven.
Am I wasting my time on this NBA stuff? Anyone still with me?
Oh, I'm with you--saw that game, and that soccer tackle, last night.
ReplyDeleteMy internet access on the road, though, is touch-and-go (right now I've paid $6 for an hour at a swank Chicago hotel, cause I just had to know what was going on in the Jayhawk Nation).
That move deserved a suspension, but I don't think that Posey will tip any scales. (Seems like a poseur joke is in order, but I'm drawing a blank . . .)
At any rate, I'm pretty sure I said Bulls in seven. Rock chalk!
Update: Posey WAS suspended (I guess someone had a change of heart), and the Bulls won again Sunday.
ReplyDeleteI'm not happy, however, with the way any of the other series are going at the moment...
3 May update: the Bulls' performance last night was too miserable to warrant a post of its own--I mean, Shaq in foul trouble, Wade hurt, and the best they can do is get up by 5 in the 3rd and then lose by 14?
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it was the Heat's defense or just cold shooting by Kirk and Ben Gordon (the two were a combined 6 of 29--that's 20%--from the field), but that was an ugly, ugly game. And for a team averaging 104 points-per-game in the series to score just 78 points? Yow.
Let's hope they can get it together for tomorrow's game back in Chicago. . . .
The Bulls were probably due for a bad game--they had played really well even in Games 1 and 2 when they lost.
ReplyDeleteThe best the Bulls can hope for now is that Wade's injury will sideline him for Games 6 and (God willing) 7, which is what happened last year when the Heat went up 3-2 against the Pistons.
Well, I find it hard to cheer for injuries.
ReplyDeleteIt's like what Kirsten Dunst's character says in Bring It On, when another character is enthused about the chance of winning by default:
"I define best as competing against the best there is out there and beating them."
Not a very pithy quote, Kirsten, but I take the point.
ReplyDeleteOn that note, I thought it was interesting that Kobe and Phil asked the NBA not to suspend Raja Bell for clotheslining Kobe in Game 5, even though they both clearly view Bell with nothing but contempt. (He was suspended anyway).
Sometimes it's easier to motivate yourself to do your best when you know you'll be facing the best competition. Plus, the team that's depleted often plays with a lot more fire than the fully-stocked team. When Ron Artest was suspended for Game 2 of the Kings-Spurs series, his team came out and played much better than they had with him in Game 1, whereas the Spurs played much worse. We'll see if that is what happens with Phoenix.
And maybe I dismissed the Bulls chances too easily. They were due for a bad game; now maybe they're due for two good games.