The Chicago Bulls finally got a little something out of Carlos Boozer, and it shows in the 93-73 final. Carlos scored 23 points on 10-16–his first 20-point game in over a month–and grabbed 10 boards, making it his first 20/10 of the playoffs, and also his first double-double on 50+ percent shooting. I think the key to Boozer’s success was his involvement early. Players tend to have good games when they get off to quick, productive starts, and Boozer did just that last night by scoring his team’s first two buckets. With teammates like Boozer stepping up (and Atlanta shooting like sh!t), Rose was able to play more of a facilitative game (12 assists, 14 shots). Said Boozer: “D-Rose gets so much attention. The 15-footer was open for me. I shot it.”
Correction: you made it. Not shooting hasn’t been the problem–you’re casting off about 11 times a game in the postseason, which is below your average, but plenty considering your percentage–it’s just that you’d only been connecting about 42 percent of the time. See, Carlos, Derrick Rose has carried you thus far, but the Miami Heat are a little different than the Indiana Pacers and the Atlanta Hawks. They can beat you in a grind-it-out game; those other teams couldn’t… so you guys are going to have to play much better offensively if you want to be alive in June. You’re supposed to be the team’s second best offensive player, so this is your cue: step up or go fishing… I figure it will be one or the other.
Speaking of the matchup with the Heat, why don’t I just elaborate on that rather than go into details on this 20-point blowout? Do you really need the stats on how many jumpers Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson bricked? The Hawks lost, so you know they shot like sh!t. No need for specifics, right? If you’ve been reading my blog throughout the playoffs, you know the deal with the Hawks. So, we’ll just skip the game recap, send ‘em fishing…
…and get right to a little discussion of the Eastern Conference Finals. First of all, I’m really excited about how the matchup has turned out. With the elimination of the Celtics, there are no longer any repeat teams in the running. Someone is going to get their first title if the East’s team wins–be it LeBron or D-Rose–and that makes it very intriguing to me. It’s the same deal out West… Dirk or Durant will be playing for their first… none of that boring three-peat business or another f@cking Spurs title. So, it’s new blood all around, and that means guys are going to be hungry. It’s not that you can’t be hungry to earn multiple titles, but there’s just something special about accomplishing anything for the first time. For whoever wins the title this year, it will be a Kevin Garnett “ANYTHING POSSIBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLE!” moment. I mean, I doubt anyone else will express it like KG did, but that will be the feeling.
First thing’s first: this ECF series involves two of the league’s top defensive teams, and also two teams that I feel have underachieved offensively throughout this postseason. I don’t expect a whole hell of a lot of flash, glamour, and 50+ percent shooting nights; I expect guys to be earning every point they get, and I expect a lot of tight, low-scoring battles. I suppose this favors Chicago, what with Rose’s unbelievable clutchness. However, Miami certainly has advantages as well. How ’bout the shooting guard position? No disrespect to Keith Bogans, but Dwyane Wade is just a little bit better than he is. Wade won’t have to waste much energy checking him (or Ronny Brewer… maybe a little on Kyle Korver), which I figure will allow him to more effectively check Derrick Rose when Mike Bibby is in the game. I figure that’s what Miami is going to do seeing as Bibby would probably get embarrassed so bad that he’d consider retirement.
Chicago is fortunate to have Luol Deng to throw at LeBron. Deng’s length and athleticism make him an excellent defender, and he’s a good enough offensive player to make ‘Bron work on defense as well. LB will have to be sure to keep an eye on him at all times, because Deng has been knocking down the three-ball all season long. If Deng gets in foul trouble, though, the Bulls really have no one else to send at King James. Bogans and Brewer aren’t big enough, plus they’ll be busy with D-Wade. Could we see some Rasual Butler sightings in this series? I think it may be wise of Coach Thibs to utilize the little-used Butler… he’s got decent length, he plays solid D, and he can shoot the ball. I think he once had a career night against LeBron in the past, too… I remember watching him light the Cavs up one time during his tenure with the Clipps. Yup, January 16th of last year… he had 33 points on 12-18. Anyway, I think it would be wise of Miami to try to get Deng in some foul trouble, and if that happens then I think Chicago should give Rasual a go.
I feel the need to mention that Miami is yet to beat the Bulls this season (0-3). I guess it’s not a good sign, but I’m not all that worried if I’m a Heat fan. They struggled with the Celtics during the regular season too, and you see how that worked out. I guess that’s a little different because Boston made mid-season changes after which Miami creamed them, but still, I don’t think Chicago’s regular-season dominance carries much weight. This is a whole different ball game. I think Miami has been better than they were in the regular season, and I don’t think Chicago has been quite as good. Derrick Rose has carried them thus far, but he’s finally going to need some help. Will he get it? I think that’s the key to this thing… but I obviously don’t have the answer. Taj Gibson has played some encouraging ball lately, but Kyle Korver has been off with his jumper. Carlos Boozer just had a nice game, but he’s been pretty lame for the most part. Who the hell knows… we’ll just have to wait and see. Oh, since this will take the place of my usual playoff preview post that I make before each round, I should probably make my official NBA247365.COM guaransheed: Miami in 7.
