Bulls Fall Just Short at the Heat

I must admit something before I start writing about this game.  As you know, I was down on the NBA coming into today.  I dissed the aloof fans, overpaid divas, and everything about the NBA earlier in the week as I praised college basketball for all the enjoyment it brought today.  However, I was able to watch two games today-the OSU-Michigan game and the entire Bulls-Heat game, and I must say my outlook may have changed a little bit.  I realized I do not hate the NBA as I witnessed a great game between two great teams down in Miami.  My care for the NBA can, in fact, be salvaged, and I can certainly continue to hate the Heat in this Bulls-Heat rivalry.  Now to the game:

In every quarter, the Heat came out blazing, going on crazy runs capped off by thunderous dunks and Bulls' timeouts.  LBJ's dunk over Lucas was just ridiculous, so much so that when I saw it in real time the first time I didn't quite know what had happened.  The Bulls, known for their defense, weren't quite the same without Deng's efforts on Lebron as he went off for 35 today.  The problem wasn't necessarily Ronnie Brewer, but the fact that Lebron was making easy and difficult shots.  Something I was bothered by throughout the day, though, was the lack of help defense once they got in the lane.  When Lebron got into the lane, I was irked mainly at Boozer for his slow motion defense and total lack of help defense.  It seems like everyone buys into the defense except for him at times.  I liked what Taj brought to the table today and Noah was feisty on the defensive end with some blocks, but Boozer is a sitting duck out there and it's doing enough or anything at all on defense.

I was impressed by the Bulls' ability to come back in every single quarter in impressive fashion.  While Rose only finished 11-28 from the field, he was absolutely ridiculous in some situations to keep them in it and made some amazing attacks and finishes at the rim.  His 34-6-6 line was great, but he received little help in the way of scoring from the rest of the team.  Hamilton shot poorly and made some key turnovers, Boozer was just clueless, shooting jumpers early in the shot clock as usual, and Noah did contribute nicely.  But you can't beat the Heat without your glue in Deng and without ever really leading in the game.  The Bulls did well to battle, but it's not like they deserved to win.  You knew Rose would be jinxed with the screen saying he hadn't missed a fourth quarter free throw all year.  He goes and misses a pair, but that happens.  LBJ was a choke artist as usual late, but it didn't end up costing the Heat as they managed to escape.  I'm encouraged though because the Bulls did this without Deng and didn't play near their best.  In my estimation, the Heat played a good game and still barely escaped with victory.  So at full strength and playing better, I see the Bulls winning against the Heat and asserting themselves as the best in the Eastern Conference.

I'm glad I could talk some Bulls here and get back into an NBA mood.  It was a very exciting game to watch and showed me that the NBA can be exciting even with a logjammed schedule.