Bulls Make a Statement in Detroit
And that statement is, "why the Hell couldn't we play like this earlier?!" Like roughly 99.9% of the sporting world, I wrote off the Bulls chances to win this series on Thursday night. Having been demolished in games one and two on the road before blowing a 19-point, second-half lead in game three, I thought they may scrape together one victory. But there was simply no way this series goes beyond five games. Well, after holding on to victory on Sunday, the Bulls destroyed the Pistons in game five tonight in Detroit, and the series is officially on.
The odds are still quite long against the Bulls advancing, as no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in NBA history. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they get blown out of the playoffs on Thursday night. It's just the fact that there is a Thursday night is what impresses me most. I thought they were dead.
If they had only been able to hold on to that 19-point lead in game three, the Bulls would be up 3-2 right now. Talk about infuriating.
So how'd they manage this mini-comeback? Well, for starters, Detroit started looking past Chicago. Much like Miami two weeks ago, the Pistons think they can simply flip the switch and bury the Baby Bulls. Not gonna happen, especially when the Bulls are hitting 60% of their shots. Ben Gordon was simply on fire tonight, while Deng and Hinrich were near the tops of their games as well. Toss in some inspired play by Tyrus Thomas, PJ Brown and Chris Duhon, and the Bulls had six players at or near their peak performance. Even the worst teams in the league are tough to beat when their players are clicking.
In fact, the only subpar performances were by Wallace and Nocioni. Since Skiles mercifully cut Noce's minutes, and Wallace was still able to contribute on D despite his lack of rebounds, it's no wonder the Bulls won. Oh, and let me tell you about the defense.
Smothering. As good as the Pistons looked in the first two games, that's how good the Bulls looked tonight. While Billups was fouling his way to the bench, Webber and Sheed were rendered useless. And Prince was completely invisible. You simply can't compare games 1 & 2 to tonight's game. Tonight was like Bizarro Game Two. Did they switch jerseys? I simply don't get it.
Oh well. I'm not expecting them to win this series, obviously, as Detroit can wake up at any time and end this season. But if the Bulls win Thursday, all bets are off.
Go Bulls!!!!