Game Six Tonight

The Bulls face elimination tonight in game six of their first-round series with the Boston Celtics.  The Bulls trail the Celtics 3-2 in the series, though every game has been closely contested aside from Boston’s game three blowout in the United Center.  Boston point guard Rajon Rondo will be in uniform tonight, as the league decided not to suspend him for a hard foul on Chicago center Brad Miller in the closing seconds of game five.  Rondo nearly admitted that he was not going for the ball on the play in a post-game interview, but no flagrant was called at the time and no suspension will be handed out.

The Bulls need to come storming out of the gates tonight and will look to their dynamic backcourt duo early.  Derrick Rose needs to do everything he can to get into the paint on offense and disrupt Rondo on defense and Ben Gordon needs to get his shot going early and get to the free throw line with regularity.  The Bulls are most definitely capable of winning this game and sending the series back to Boston for a game seven.  It’s do or die time for Chicago and they need to step things up.

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Celtics Edge Bulls in Game Five

The Bulls were unable to secure the win in another thriller in their first-round series with the defending champion Boston Celtics.  The Bulls fell 106-104 in overtime after an interesting finish to last night’s game.  Paul Pierce put the Celtics up two with a little more than three seconds left in overtime.  The Bulls were able to inbound to a wide open Brad Miller, who was fouled by Rajon Rondo as he attempted a floater in the lane.  Miller missed the first of two shots and was forced to intentionally miss the second, but he didn’t hit the rim on the second shot and the ball was awarded to the Celtics, basically ending the game.

There is some question whether Rondo’s foul, which drew blood from Miller’s mouth, was flagrant, but a simple personal foul was called.  The Bulls missed out on a golden opportunity in this game, the chance to go back to Chicago able to close the series out in game six.  Now the Bulls must win both of the remaining games in the series.  Ben Gordon did end up suiting up last night, though he struggled from the floor.  He did manage to pour in 26 points, thanks to 12 free throw attempts, and hit three crucial free throws to send the game to overtime.

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Gordon Day-to-Day

Bulls shooting guard Ben Gordon is listed day-to-day after suffering a strained left hamstring in the second quarter of game four on Sunday.  Gordon had an MRI yesterday that confirmed the strain, easing the team’s concerns that the injury was something more serious.  Gordon was able to play the remainder of game four, finish with 22 points and hitting a crucial three-pointer that sent the game into the double overtime.  Gordon has shown why he’s so maddening as a player this series, scoring 42 points in one game and laying an egg the next.  Gordon’s inconsistency has been his biggest flaw, but he’s capable of putting up some huge games.

The Bulls will need Gordon tonight, but it’s unclear whether he’s going to play.  The series is currently tied at 2-2, but the Celtics have the home court advantage.  This young Chicago team played the Celtics tough in both games of this series at TD Banknorth Garden, splitting in Boston before the Celtics did the same at the United Center.  It’s hard to see the Bulls winning the series without Gordon on the floor, unless Derrick Rose suddenly morphs into Michael Jordan.  If Gordon misses tonight’s game, the Bulls will likely have to win the last two of the series to advance to the second round.

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Bulls Bounce Back

After an uninspiring performance on Thursday night, the Bulls bounced back with a collective herculean effort in game four yesterday against the Boston Celtics, securing the victory in two overtime periods.  It was the effort of the Bulls’ starting backcourt, Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon, which was the key for the team yesterday, resulting in a 121-118 victory.  Rose had 23 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, while Gordon chipped in 22 points of his own.  Rose and Gordon were two of seven Chicago players to score in double figures in the contest.  Gordon played the bulk of the game with what is thought to be a strained hamstring, an injury that will likely prompt an MRI later today.

This was a must-win game for the Bulls, as they simply could not head back to Boston down 3-1 with any hope of advancing to the second round.  It’s not going to be easy to take another game at TD Banknorth Garden, but games one and two showed that the Bulls are capable of doing so.  If Gordon misses any time, other players are really going to have to step up and fill his shoes.  Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo has been killing Chicago all series and needs to be contained better.

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Trounced

It went from bad to worse for the Bulls in their game three matchup with the defending champion Boston Celtics last night.  In a contest that many people were predicting the Bulls to win, Chicago was down by more than 20 points by halftime and the game was essentially over.  The team shot a dreadful 38 percent from the floor last night and Ben Gordon led the Bulls in scoring with a mere 15 points.  Derrick Rose had a really rough game as well, shooting just four of 14 from the field and committing seven turnovers.

Rajon Rondo came up big yet again for the Celtics, pouring in 20 points to go with his six rebounds, 11 assists and five steals.  Paul Pierce also finally had a good shooting game, dropping 24 points but doing little else.  The Celtics didn’t play great basketball, the Bulls just played poorly.  Kirk Hinrich was the only Chicago player to log double-digit minutes and hit at least half of his attempts from the field.  The Bulls had been playing extremely well at the United Center as of late, but last night’s game certainly did not follow suit.  Game four will be played on Sunday at 4 p.m. eastern and is basically a must-win situation for the Bulls, now down 2-1 in the series.

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Game Three Tonight

The Bulls return home to the United Center tonight for game three of their first-round series with the defending champion Boston Celtics.  This is a huge game for both teams as it could determine the balance of power for the remainder of the series.  The Bulls shocked the Celtics by taking them down in game one, and narrowly missed out on returning to the Windy City with a 2-0 lead.  The Bulls have played very well at home, especially down the stretch this season.  If they can bring the kind of intensity that they did in Boston, they should be in line for a victory tonight.

The key to tonight’s game should be stopping Boston point guard Rajon Rondo.  Rondo has terrorized the Bulls thus far in the series, averaging a triple-double in the first two games.  Paul Pierce is yet to have a really good game, so the team must also be on the lookout for him getting hot.  Ray Allen killed the Bulls in the second half of game two and whoever is defending him tonight must stay at home on defense and resist the urge to help.  This will be the biggest game of the season so far for the Bulls.

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Rose ROY

Bulls point guard Derrick Rose has reportedly been named the NBA’s rookie of the year for the 2008-09 season.  Rose was the number one overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft after leading Memphis to the national title game in his lone collegiate season.  Bulls fans will remember that there was much debate about whether the team should select Rose or now-Miami Heat forward Michael Beasley.  The Bulls decided to go with the hometown kid in Rose and it has immediately paid dividends as the team had a bounce-back season and made the playoffs.  Rose recently scored 36 points and handed out 11 assists in his first career postseason performance.

Rose was remarkable as a rookie and he had to be to win this award, as there were several other impressive youngsters vying for the distinction.  Rose has started from day one and has often been the Bulls’ best player on the floor.  He’s had to learn on the fly at a position that is notoriously difficult for players to make a smooth transition from collegiate game to the pros.  What has impressed this blogger most about this young man has been his character and poise, in addition to his stellar play.

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Allen’s Three Sinks Bulls in Game Two

The Bulls were on the verge of leaving Boston with a 2-0 lead in their first-round series until Ray Allen hit a three-pointer with two seconds to go in last night’s game.  The Celtics survived a tight game 118-115 after the Bulls were unable to hit a desperation heave to send it to overtime.  Allen was the difference maker in the second half, as he scored 28 of his 30 points after halftime.  Rajon Rondo kept the Celtics in the game early on and finished with a triple double of 19 points, 12 rebounds and 16 assists.  He also added five steals and turned the ball over only twice.

While Derrick Rose did not look to score the way he did in game one, Ben Gordon picked up the slack with a serious scoring effort of his own.  The former Husky dropped 42 points on the Celtics, hitting big shots late in the game to keep the Bulls in contention.  Gordon shot the ball very well in the contest, hitting 14 of 24 from the field, six of 11 from three and eight of nine from the line.  Despite the tough loss, the Bulls will head home to the United Center with a 1-1 split.  Game three will be played on Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern.

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Early Bloomer

Just when Bulls fans thought they couldn’t love rookie point guard Derrick Rose any more, the Chicago native stepped up his game even further.  Rose led the Bulls to a 105-103 win over the Boston Celtics in his first career playoff game on Saturday, tying the NBA record for most point in a player’s first postseason contest with 36.  Rose added 11 assists and four rebounds in the game, giving Bulls fans the kind of hope that they haven’t experienced since the days of MJ.  In what is seemingly becoming a trend for this Chicago team, all five starters scored in double figures.

When you’re the lower seed in a playoff series, the goal early on in the series is essentially to take one of those first two road games.  Regardless of the result of game two, the Bulls will be heading back to the United Center, where they’ve played exceptionally well all season, with an opportunity to take a serious lead on Boston in this series.  The team cannot expect such a Herculean effort from their star rookie every night, so guys like Ben Gordon are going to have to step up and shoulder some of the load.  Game two is tonight at 7 p.m. eastern.

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Game One Tomorrow Night

The Bulls will head to Boston to take on the defending champion Boston Celtics tomorrow night in the first game of their round one series.  The Celtics must be reeling a bit from the news that their leader, Kevin Garnett, could miss the entire postseason.  Tomorrow night will be a great opportunity for the Bulls to steal a game at TD Banknorth Garden.  Garnett would have been extremely difficult for the Bulls’ front line to stop, but now they don’t have to worry about the Celtics’ bigs as much.  Guys like Leon Powe and Glen Davis just don’t command the kind of attention that Garnett does, though Powe could have a big game if the Bulls don’t keep an eye on him.

The most interesting matchup in this series could be between Derrick Rose and Boston point guard Rajon Rondo.  Rondo is crafty and much more experienced than Rose, but Rose’s pure athleticism is off the charts.  It should be interesting to see who performs better between the two.  The first priority for the Bulls will be to contain Paul Pierce.  They don’t have to stop him completely, but hinder him enough to make the other players on the Celtics beat them.

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