NBA News: Bulls and Hawks duke it out
I was thinking Tuesday night after game 5 game ended, can this go to a game seven? Why not, despite the seeding neither team has really dominated this series. The Bulls being the overall number 1 seed were expected to cruise through the Hawks with little resistance as possible. The Hawks turned the table on them and pretty much served notice that you may be going on a early vacation. Call Jameer Nelson and the Orlando Magic, they will recommend a nice villa for you to stay at......Going into game 5 with the series tied at 2-2 the Bulls and the Hawks were looking to get the edge on one another and put their opponent on the brink. The Bulls were able to do that by winning 95-83 and going up 3-2 in the series putting them a game away from going to the Eastern Conference final. Smarting from their 100-88 game 4 collapse on Sunday the Bulls turned up the defensive intensity from the get go. As of late the Bulls have been labeled the "Derrick Rose show", a distinction that they go as far as he goes, that the offense is not spread around enough. You are hearing things that he is a modern day Allen Iverson or Stephon Marbury who had the reputation to score in bunches and not good ball distribution. Like them Rose has the title of point guard but also is the primary scorer on his team. Carlos Boozer who has been struggling in the playoffs was supposed to help ease that burden. Unfortunately due to injuries and a tendency to get into early foul trouble he has been very inconsistent. It seemed though in game 4 he started to show life pouring in 18-points. As for game 5 it was the bench and unlikely hero Taj Gibson who saved the day for the Bulls. Bulls Head coach Tom Thibodeau opted to go with most of his reserves in the 4th quarter. He had Ronnie Brewer, rookie center Omer Asik, and Gibson paired up with Rose and Luol Deng. Rose did his thing with 33-points and Luol deng who scored the first seven points for the Bulls finished with 23. It was Taj Gibson that had the most hustle scoring all of his 11-points in the final period. This was an unexpected move by Thibodeau but most effective. The Bulls more then every have to put the nail in the coffin tonight against the Hawks. The Miami Heat just finished eliminating the Boston Celtics 4-1 in their Eastern Conference semi-final, so they are waiting in the winds. The Hawks are going to be looking to to tie the series and force a game seven. Josh Smith and Joe Johnson have been galvanizing the Hawks making this a very brutal and physical series for both teams. Game 6 in the ATL tonight.........nuff said
