04/24/24
May 16, 2011
Bulls Beat Heat in Game 1: The Chicago Bulls defeated LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh 103-82 in the opening game of their Eastern Conference Finals series Sunday. The game was tied 48-all at the half but a 10-0 third quarter run put the Bulls en route to a rot.
posted by rcade to basketball at 07:55 AM - 14 comments
Chicago is a much deeper team than the Celtics and if Thibideau manages the game well they'll be able to take advantage of the Heat's bargain basement bench.
posted by cixelsyd at 11:15 AM on May 16, 2011
Meant to ask this earlier: Would last year's Cavs have beaten this year's Celtics?
posted by rcade at 11:37 AM on May 16, 2011
Yeah, probably so. I hate to admit it, but they weren't the same team after the Perk trade. Not so much because of it (I don't think) as the new pieces never got the system.
posted by yerfatma at 01:10 PM on May 16, 2011
"Meant to ask this earlier: Would last year's Cavs have beaten this year's Celtics?"
I think not. Mainly because Lebron "choke" James did not play well in that series and Doc Rivers out coached the Cavs and both I think would happen again. Even with the other "big two" Boston almost made a shot at the buzzer in game 4 that would have tied the series and possibly changed the dynamic for the rest of the series. Boston just ran out of gas but Perkins could have made a huge difference.
No doubt Miami was better but not that much better. We all know Lebron needs help, a lot of help that he just claimed he did not have. Even though the Cavs had the best record in the NBA regular season that year. They were totally reliant on Lebron playing well in the playoffs.
posted by Atheist at 03:03 PM on May 16, 2011
posted by NoMich at 03:52 PM on May 16, 2011
Nice dunk over Wade
Wade attempted to slow him with his patented forearm shove but momentum prevailed.
posted by cixelsyd at 05:15 PM on May 16, 2011
Would last year's Cavs have beaten this year's Celtics?
I don't think so. I think it's simply a case of age. Put both teams in their prime, and I think the Celtics win every time. Getting old sucks.
posted by justgary at 06:02 PM on May 16, 2011
But who on last year's Cavs aged as much in one year as the Celtics? I think LeBron's playoff pinnacle this season will be to beat Boston, and I enjoy the irony that he could've done it in Cleveland. Like Butch and Sundance, it's always the ones you didn't expect who get you. I see Chicago winning this one in six.
posted by rcade at 06:32 PM on May 16, 2011
Like Charles Barkley said, Chicago's bench is better than Miami's bench every game, and Spoelstra can't play Bosh - James - Wade 48 minutes a game.
posted by insomnyuk at 09:43 PM on May 16, 2011
Wade attempted to slow him with his patented forearm shove but momentum prevailed.
Pretty sure forearms were around before Wade got here.
I think LeBron's playoff pinnacle this season will be to beat Boston, and I enjoy the irony that he could've done it in Cleveland.
Cleveland won 19 games this year. Maybe he could've done it in Cleveland but why would you want to? That was a poorly constructed team that happened to have the best player in the league on it.
Nice dunk over Wade.
Why are we talking about anything else! Blake Griffin dressed up like Taj Gibson to sneak into the playoffs.
posted by tron7 at 11:58 AM on May 17, 2011
posted by tron7 at 12:10 PM on May 17, 2011
Maybe he could've done it in Cleveland but why would you want to?
Because he's from the area and the fans are better. The Cavs outdrew the Heat this season. Hired-gun titles never resonate in sports the way one does after a star player pays his dues, nor do they engender long-term fan loyalty, and South Florida doesn't support any team other than the Dolphins. Look at the Marlins.
posted by rcade at 12:58 PM on May 17, 2011
You assume he cares about any of that more than he does winning. I think if winning is the top priority he made the right call. Anyway, my point was supposed to be about the team, not the city or fanbase. I guess I should have added onto the end of my sentence, "with that team."
posted by tron7 at 03:09 PM on May 17, 2011
If the Bulls can continue to inflict this kind of pain on El Calor, I'll continue to try to find ways to cope with seeing the visage of Noah on my tellyvision screen.
I admire the way the Bulls have been rebuilt and perhaps if Pitino had not come along, the Celtics could have been rebuilt in a similar fashion a few years back.