# Playoff Game Thread: 4.24.05 Wizards @ Bulls



## MJG

<center><table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0><tr><td>







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5:30 PM on TNT


<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0><tr><td>







</td><td><center>- Key Match: PG -<br><font color=#DFDFDF>|</font><br><font color=#DFDFDF>|</font></center><table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0><tr><td width=34><p align="right">25.7</p></td><td width=50><center>*PPG*</center></td><td width=34>15.5</td></tr><tr><td colspan=3><font color=#DFDFDF>|</font></td></tr><tr><td width=34><p align="right">4.7</p></td><td width=50><center>*RPG*</center></td><td width=34>4.0</td></tr><tr><td colspan=3><font color=#DFDFDF>|</font></td></tr><tr><td width=34><p align="right">5.2</p></td><td width=50><center>*APG*</center></td><td width=34>6.5</td></tr><tr><td colspan=3><font color=#DFDFDF>|</font></td></tr><tr><td width=34><p align="right">1.8</p></td><td width=50><center>*SPG*</center></td><td width=34>1.6</td></tr><tr><td colspan=3><font color=#DFDFDF>|</font></td></tr><tr><td width=34><p align="right">0.3</p></td><td width=50><center>*BPG*</center></td><td width=34>0.3</td></tr><tr><td colspan=3><font color=#DFDFDF>|</font></td></tr><tr><td width=34><p align="right">41.2</p></td><td width=50><center>*MPG*</center></td><td width=34>36.6</td></tr><tr><td colspan=3><font color=#DFDFDF>|</font></td></tr></table></td><td>







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## Shanghai Kid

Ha you said the hell with the Knicks game lets just get to the playoffs.

The game is Sunday at 5.30 on TNT and Comcast

I think Chicago wins game 1.


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## Pay Ton

Bulls fan here. Glad to see we're playing you guys as I love watching your team play. Don't get me wrong, I want the Bulls to win, but I'm excited with the rivalry that seems to be developing between us.

Good luck to both teams...


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## jazzy1

I won't say who wins no time to jinx them this is big and the playoffs. 

I think a couple key factors to look for in this game. 

I'm starting with the premise that all of the Bulls key players play well. Hinrich, and Gordon. I think Hughes and Arenas play well. 

I think Jamison has to play well for us to win. He has to not let Nocioni frustrate him offensively. He has to get some post ups and get to the line some. 

The Bulls turn the ball over alot sometimes which plays right into our hands. So that will be our advantage. The Bulls from the edge can really shoot the ball against our poor perimeter defense which gives them an edge there. 

The Harrington/Davis/Chandler vs the Haywood,Kwame/Etan match-up will be big. 

I think IF and its a big IF Kwame can come in and give us some offense in the post against Chandler and can clear him off the boards it might swing the series, Ruffin is big here also. If Chandler and crew have their way they'll have the advantage. 

I think we get one of the 1st 2 games. Not sure which ones though. 

This is gonna be A GREAT SERIES from a competitve standpoint. 

I think for this series Kwame would be better starting than JJ would. The Bulls have strong bulky tough inside players. I think Kwame would fit well against the Bulls starting bigs. Much more so than the non productive JJ.


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## One on One

We win the series 4-2. Arenas wakes up and realizes he's gotta play hard and the Bulls won't stop him if he does. Also, surprisingly, Kwame takes the confidence he's gained in the final regular season games to be a factor as we advance to face the Miami Heat.


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## afireinside

Wizards in 6. 

Bulls :rocket:


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## BullFan16

bulls in 6....why...they want it more....they are more agressive and have shooters all over the court.... once you get by gilbert n hughes its all looking good for the bulls...although gilbert has burned us pretty bad this year, i think hinrich and gordon are gonna tear this series apart....it should be interesting tho!!

go bullz :clap:


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## Chicago N VA

Didn't know that many Wizard's fans existed.

But Bulls in 7.


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## MJG

Chicago N VA said:


> But Bulls in 7.


I think that's what I'm going to call as well. I just think it's such an even series from the looks of it, I'm assuming there will be seven games, and I can't really decide who is going to win that final one. However, when things are that close, coupled with me knowing that I probably have some deep internal favoritism towards my team, I give the slimmest of edges to Chicago.

It's still early Friday though, so I wouldn't rule out a mind change on Sunday or tomorrow or ten minutes from now


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## eYeKey

Wizards in 4.


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## jazzy1

Nah Wizards have too much offensive talent to lose and I think thats gonna sway this series. I think Gordon will have enough off games to give us an edge. I think it'll be a razor thin 6 games but the Wizards will prevail. Homecourt won't matter unless there's a 7th game. Which I think is unlikely . 

I think we have bigs capable of haing bigger scoring games. Kwame, Etan and Haywood are all capable of getting 15 points or so at any point this series, while I think Davis, Harrington and Chandler are more offensively limited. Chandler could have a big game or 2 if he hurts us on the boards with stickbacks and penetration drop off's which is possible with our weak perimeter defense. Other than that though I think we have a slight edge.


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## MJG

You know, that's one of the interesting things about the series. It's supposed to be one of if not the very closest in the first round, but I've found very few predictions for seven games. It seems like no matter who anyone thinks will win, they think they will do it in six. I think if it does only go six, then the loser will have disappointed and played below what they should have. Not to say I wouldn't love to see that on Chicago's side of the fence ...


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## ZonkerBL

MJG said:


> You know, that's one of the interesting things about the series. It's supposed to be one of if not the very closest in the first round, but I've found very few predictions for seven games. It seems like no matter who anyone thinks will win, they think they will do it in six. I think if it does only go six, then the loser will have disappointed and played below what they should have. Not to say I wouldn't love to see that on Chicago's side of the fence ...


Thing is, Wizards got the record they have now with an average of 2 starters missing. Bulls got the record they have now with two starters that they are now missing. So objectively speaking the Wizards are the much more talented team now.

Only question is will Bulls' advantage in heart and Wizards inability to play defense push the scales over to the Bulls. So... if the Zards win the first game, Bulls suddenly realize they're overmatched and lose in 5 or 6. If Bulls win first two games, Zards will collapse. The only way this series would make it to seven is if the first two games split, then Bulls battle back to win one in DC. Then it might go the distance.


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## One on One

I don't think there's any question we have more talent. We just had a lot of injuries and guys wouldn't be completely locked in at times. Now, sometimes it's a problem if your team doesn't put forward effort every night, but I think we're just immature and we want to win really bad so we'll step our game up to the next level in the playoffs. I mean, c'mon, a locked-in Gilbert Arenas is freaking unstoppable. The Bulls have nothing like that. Also, if Kwame is playing with confidence, that's like us creating a 15 and 10 guy out of thin air. I have a feeling some of our players got bored by the regular season at times and we'll take it to another level this series.

My prediction remains Wizards in 6.


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## Shanghai Kid

I think Chicago will come out with alot of momentum in the first half, and we'll turn the ball over and take bad shots, but we'll get out our groove back in the 2nd half. Whether we win or lose, I think we'll have some momentum to carry over to game 2.


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## DaBullz4Sho

One on One said:


> I mean, c'mon, a locked-in Gilbert Arenas is freaking unstoppable. The Bulls have nothing like that. 6.


I could argue a "locked in" ben gordon is much more dangerous than a locked in Arenas....if the two are both completely locked in that is, gordon is just an unbelievable scorer when truly locked in


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## Shanghai Kid

DaBullz4Sho said:


> I could argue a "locked in" ben gordon is much more dangerous than a locked in Arenas....if the two are both completely locked in that is, gordon is just an unbelievable scorer when truly locked in


Sorry but Arenas is one of the most unstoppable players I have SEEN when locked in. He's had games this year where entering the 4th quarter its just an average game for him and than you look at the clock with the minute left he suddenly has 43-44 points. The difference is Arenas plays 40 minutes and still has energy to dominate in the 4th. 

I expect Gordon to have a good showing at home, but don't be surprised if Larry Hughes makes things difficult for him.


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## 7thwatch

If the Bulls had Curry and Deng I think the Bulls would take the series. As it is, its a tossup . . . I think homecourt advantage will tip things in Chicago's favor in the 7th game. Defense wins in the playoffs, which is why Chicago will win this series.


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## jazzy1

Glbert is a much more dangerous scorer than Gordon is. Arenas can dunk on guys, hit 3's, pull up , get to the line 25 times in a game. He's gives you everything. 

As for the Curry Deng thing, I think Curry is the player they really miss. Jarvis Hayes double figures scoring cancels Deng in my mind. I think Curry would help the Bulls for sure but I still think the Wizards would and could beat them. 

To me this series is gonna be razor thin however you slice it. 

Almost game time, man the anticipation is exciting.

I love it playing for something. 

*Lets go Wizards*


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## twinz2gether

So far this game is awesome!


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## Moto

Larry is AWESOME!


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## jazzy1

Kwame and Larry are carrying the team. Gotta get Arenas and Jamison going quickly. 

Our perimeter defense is terrible. Gotta step it up.


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## twinz2gether

twinz2gether said:


> So far this game is awesome!


i think you have to give the bulls some credit. i mean look at ben gordan's size.


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## The_Franchise

jazzy1 said:


> Glbert is a much more dangerous scorer than Gordon is. Arenas can dunk on guys, hit 3's, pull up , *get to the line 25 times in a game*. He's gives you everything.


What? That's his career high, surely you don't expect him to reciprocate those stats more than once in the playoffs?


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## Weasel

The game tempo is really fast right now, sometimes sloppy but still very entertaining. Hughes is having one great game.


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## twinz2gether

Arenas is eating *some nasty stuff*

Please remember that even masked swearing is against the community standards 


Thanks! Loyalbull


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## jazzy1

unselfish play by Arenas Kwame was open and he wouldn't give it up. Gotta hsare the ball. Arenas is just forcing the issue tonight. 

Kwame made a nice oenetration and dish to Haywood for a bucket I would go to Kwame. 

Gotta stop the perimeter shooting of the Bulls and gotta stop the unforced turnovers.


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## jazzy1

Lucky break on Gordon's airball and Davis's basket.


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## jazzy1

Larry and Gilbert were terrible in the 4th quarter. They were selfish turning the ball over and trying to draw fouls instead of making baskets. 

The Bulls were alot more aggressive in the 4th. 

We didn't get kwame but 2 shots in the 2nd half. We stopped sharing the ball. 

Bulls defense on Jamison was key and something I worried about coming into this game. Nocioni's toughness really hurt Jamison's game. 

Our perimeter defense has been horrible and has lead to our rebound disadvantage.


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## jazzy1

Oh man I hope Kwame hasn't gone down with anything serious we need him. 

Man the Bulls wanted this game more than we did . They outsutstled us but more importantly their perimeter defense really hampered our Supposed Big 3.

Only 1 game though .


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## One on One

....we don't knwo a damn thing about playoff basketball...was that Arenas going up to shake a guy's hand after the game, this is game 1 kid. We just keep forcing shots trying to get fouls, that's not playoff basketball. The Bulls D is nothing to be afraid of, we just need to deliver a couple sharp elbows to Nocioni and Hinrich. We can't let them get the mental edge. We have to be more tough and stop finessing it....that and pray for Kwame.


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## afireinside

I'm not worried. 

Arenas doesn't have that many bad games. It was competitive all game without 2/3 "Big 3" contributing next to nothing. 

If Kwame is done for the playoffs, I think our chances are too. EJ doesn't trust Haywood enough to feed it to him when we need it so there goes our inside advantage.

Hughes tried too hard. He was great in the 1st half but when you start missing shots you don't keep shooting with hands in your face.

Our defense is key down the stretch. And since we have none we will lose close games down the stretch. So we need to blow out good defensive teams to stay safe.

Bulls lead 1-0 and once again I'm not worried.

Go Wiz! :wiz:


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## One on One

Jamison needs to get inside. He's a liability handling the ball on the perimeter. If he gets a spot-up shot, that's fine, but he shouldn't be handling the ball at all. Obviously we need Kwame to be OK, which I don't think he is from the looks of it...wouldn't surprise me if he tore his MCL or something. I don't know what to say about Arenas...he's bounced back before so hopefully he'll do that again. We have to be tougher and stop trying to just draw fouls.


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## dkg1

One on One said:


> ....we don't knwo a damn thing about playoff basketball...was that Arenas going up to shake a guy's hand after the game, this is game 1 kid. We just keep forcing shots trying to get fouls, that's not playoff basketball. The Bulls D is nothing to be afraid of, we just need to deliver a couple sharp elbows to Nocioni and Hinrich. We can't let them get the mental edge. We have to be more tough and stop finessing it....that and pray for Kwame.



Give the Bulls defense some credit, they did lead the NBA in opponents field goal percentage. The Wizards are a tough matchup for the Bulls. Their speed and athleticism poses a lot of problems for the Bulls. I think that was evident by the amount of fouls the Bulls had, particularly early on.


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## dkg1

aftermath said:


> I'm not worried.
> 
> Arenas doesn't have that many bad games. It was competitive all game without 2/3 "Big 3" contributing next to nothing.
> 
> 
> Bulls lead 1-0 and once again I'm not worried.
> 
> Go Wiz! :wiz:


Some of the Bulls didn't exactly bring their "A" game either. It seemed Tyson committed more fouls than minutes played. Harrington was off and Hinrich's shot was short all game long. As a Bulls fan, I'm hoping the officials swallow the whistle more as the series goes on and let us muck it up. I'm looking for a huge game out of Arenas Wednesday. Hughes was awesome in the 1st half. His J is so smooth.


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## One on One

dkg1 said:


> Give the Bulls defense some credit, they did lead the NBA in opponents field goal percentage. The Wizards are a tough matchup for the Bulls. Their speed and athleticism poses a lot of problems for the Bulls. I think that was evident by the amount of fouls the Bulls had, particularly early on.


Bulls D is really good...I give them credit, but I'm saying the Wiz can't let them know that. This is where some sharp elbows come in. If Nocioni knows he might get a bloody jaw if he gets too close, then he might think twice. It's not the regular season. We can adjust to the Bulls D.


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## VincentVega

The Bulls are just a better team, even without Curry and Deng.


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## One on One

VincentVega said:


> The Bulls are just a better team, even without Curry and Deng.


Then why is the season series 2-2?


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## BG7

One on One said:


> Then why is the season series 2-2, .


Well because we were missing Nocioni (the guy that gives your team the most trouble), Curry (same as Noc), Deng, and Curry only played a whopping 4 minutes I believe in the last one.


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## Tersk

Well Deng and Curry will be playing a whopping 0 minutes this series.


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## One on One

sloth said:


> Well because we were missing Nocioni (the guy that gives your team the most trouble), Curry (same as Noc), Deng, and Curry only played a whopping 4 minutes I believe in the last one.


A guy named Larry Hughes was out the other time you beat us. I was just pointing out how Vega's baiting was a stupid argument. It's obvious we're pretty evenly matched and if we played 100 times, it'd probably be 51-49.


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## dkg1

There's a long ways to go in this series, I think every game is going to be a back and forth blood bath. Nocioni is one tough SOB, it will take more than an elbow to slow him down. He has taken a beating this whole year and has continually bounced back. Guys, if you hear anything about Kwame's injury let us know. He was playing like a #1 pick today. He was as aggressive as I've ever seen him.


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## One on One

"Everybody can't be Superman every game." - Gilbert Arenas

He'll bounce back. I"m not worried.


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## jazzy1

No reason to get into the who's better conversation we'll find out when this series is over with. 

Please Bulls fans stop using the Deng and Curry excuses please. If you win this series it'll be because you are better if you lose this series its because we were better. 

You're trying to have the argument both ways using the Deng and Curry excuses. If Deng plays Nocioni probably doesn't have a big game. If Curry plays Wizards probably win the battle on the boards which give us a shot to win. If Hayes plays we have another bench scorer capable of getting 20+ in any given night. 

So to me its all excuses. 

Bulls defense had alot to do with Jamison and Arenas sturggling. 

But this is gonna be a long series. 

All the Wizards have to do is win the next game. 

Nocioni isn't gonna have that sorta game again this series. He was fortunate tonight.He plays hard he's a warrior. 

Arenas isn't gonna struggle this badly either come Wednesday night.


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## afireinside

dkg1 said:


> Some of the Bulls didn't exactly bring their "A" game either. It seemed Tyson committed more fouls than minutes played. Harrington was off and Hinrich's shot was short all game long. As a Bulls fan, I'm hoping the officials swallow the whistle more as the series goes on and let us muck it up. I'm looking for a huge game out of Arenas Wednesday. Hughes was awesome in the 1st half. His J is so smooth.


Tyson Chandler having an off day compared to Gilbert Arenas having an off day. Which is more important to their team?

Think about it and then come back to me.


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## byrondarnell66

sloth said:


> Well because we were missing Nocioni (the guy that gives your team the most trouble), Curry (same as Noc), Deng, and Curry only played a whopping 4 minutes I believe in the last one.


LOL Deng average a whopping 5 turnovers against us this year, and Curry lol ( god bless him) ave 10 points and 4 rebounds against us. You Bulls homers failed to mention that we are missing Jarvis Hayes 10ppg and 4.5 rebounds on par with Deng.


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## MJG

Did not see the game, have it taped and ready to roll. Sadly, overheard the results from some people just before I was about to come home. Arg. Will probably have more to comment on after I watch it myself ...


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## VincentVega

jazzy1 said:


> You're trying to have the argument both ways using the Deng and Curry excuses. If Deng plays Nocioni probably doesn't have a big game.


...and Jamison probably doesn't, either, as he wouldn't be defended at times by the 6'1" Duhon and the 6'3" Hinrich.



> If Curry plays Wizards probably win the battle on the boards which give us a shot to win.


...but the Bulls probably score more points, giving us a better shot of winning.



> If Hayes plays we have another bench scorer capable of getting 20+ in any given night.


...as is the case with Luol Deng.


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## One on One

VincentVega said:


> ...and Jamison probably doesn't, either, as he wouldn't be defended at times by the 6'1" Duhon and the 6'3" Hinrich.
> 
> 
> 
> ...but the Bulls probably score more points, giving us a better shot of winning.
> 
> 
> 
> ...as is the case with Luol Deng.


Let's just let them decide it on the court.


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## VincentVega

One on One said:


> Let's just let them decide it on the court.


We are. The Bulls are deciding it.


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## BG7

One on One said:


> Let's just let them decide it on the court.


We are, so far so good.


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## MJG

I'd just like to note, any baiting or attacking (from either side) I see, I'm just going to remove it, simple as that. I have little interest in dealing with it in any nicer or more time-consuming manner, so if you want to keep your post, keep things nice.

Not talking about anything in particular up to this point, but I see some people who seem willing to take it to that level. Just letting everyone know ...


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## afireinside

MJG said:


> I'd just like to note, any baiting or attacking (from either side) I see, I'm just going to remove it, simple as that. I have little interest in dealing with it in any nicer or more time-consuming manner, so if you want to keep your post, keep things nice.
> 
> Not talking about anything in particular up to this point, but I see some people who seem willing to take it to that level. Just letting everyone know ...


Thank God. The Bulls moderators let flaming go way too far in their threads. I post that Kwame has the potential to be big and I get flamed by every Bulls fan who has fingers to type.


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## byrondarnell66

aftermath said:


> Thank God. The Bulls moderators let flaming go way too far in their threads. I post that Kwame has the potential to be big and I get flamed by every Bulls fan who has fingers to type.


Well if you are smart you will stay away from the Bulls forum being a 
Wizards fan.


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## VincentVega

Kwame definitely has the potential to be big. Huge, in fact. What he showed tonight was extrememly impressive.


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## Chicago N VA

All I know is this.. tommorrow.. I will have a very good day at work!!

:banana: :banana:


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## f22egl

It's just one game, if they can shut down Arenas again, then this is going to be a short series. But honestly, Arenas will show up with a better effort next time. I hope it isn't anything serious to Kwame.


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## f22egl

By the way, what were the Bulls fans chanting when Kwame went down?


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## UMfan83

^^ NO-CI-OH-NI! was what I heard from the 300 level of the UC


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## Coatesvillain

In this series, I suppose you could call me Switzerland. I like players on both teams, and really like how they play one another, this should make for a fun series. What grates at me is the fact that Gilbert Arenas is just forcing shots at will, and these guys forget at stretches at a time that getting touches in the post will help make things easier for them.

And what makes things worse, is that once you take Arenas or Hughes out, Dixon is jacking them up as well. Kwame played great, I think, and if they would give him the touches he could dominate the Bulls front line (good to hear he should be back for the next game). What surprised me today, is Kwame's passing, I had no idea he was that good in that facet of the game. He's going to be a player, people who called bust screamed too soon.

You know when I think about it, I think the Wizards offense reminds me of Villanova's offense, like Nova the Wizards seem to be at their best offensively when they're attacking.. so why in this were they settling for so many jumpers?


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## jazzy1

I don't have a problem discussing with Bulls fans. But they wanna use the excuse of guys not playing when its irrelevant to whats going on .

All I say is that the dynamics of the Bulls team would change had those guys been playing. kwame can and has defended Curry real well so I don't think he would have had a huge advantage there .

All the false bravado and stuff means very little. 

It'll all play out I just don't want any Bulls fans whining about the guys not playing when we win we're hearing it already. 

Lets be straight up men about it.


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## Captain Obvious

Judging by that first game I think the Wizards will win this series. If Chicago was healthy though they would win.


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## dkg1

aftermath said:


> Tyson Chandler having an off day compared to Gilbert Arenas having an off day. Which is more important to their team?
> 
> Think about it and then come back to me.



The fact that we had to play Reiner and Funderburke in the first half because Chandler was in foul trouble really hurt. We also had to play the Polish Rifle at 3 more than we would like because of foul problems (sliding Nocioni down to the 4). Tyson is a future NBA All Defensive team player and averages almost ten boards a game, he's very valuable to the Bulls. I'm not saying he is more valuable than Arenas, but he is an important player for the Bulls. Also, give Duhon and Hinrich credit for the job they did on Arenas, they had a hand in his struggles. That said, he'll bounce back Wednesday and probably have a much better game.


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## dkg1

jazzy1 said:


> I don't have a problem discussing with Bulls fans. But they wanna use the excuse of guys not playing when its irrelevant to whats going on .
> 
> All I say is that the dynamics of the Bulls team would change had those guys been playing. kwame can and has defended Curry real well so I don't think he would have had a huge advantage there .
> 
> All the false bravado and stuff means very little.
> 
> It'll all play out I just don't want any Bulls fans whining about the guys not playing when we win we're hearing it already.
> 
> Lets be straight up men about it.


Curry seems to struggle playing against Haywood. However, I would much rather have Eddy in there than the likes of Funderburke and Reiner. Antonio Davis has also been overextended as a result of the Curry injury. Without Deng, the Bulls are forced to play Piatkowski more at small forward than I care for. The Bulls simply do not have another athletic 6'8 player that can do what he does. They also have had to play more three guard lineups than I care for. They had Duhon trying to guard Jamison a couple times today. I don't care how many T.O.s he had against the Wiz, I would much rather have him on the court guarding Jamison than one of our small guards.


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## The Krakken

aftermath said:


> Thank God. The Bulls moderators let flaming go way too far in their threads. I post that Kwame has the potential to be big and I get flamed by every Bulls fan who has fingers to type.


Not all of us....... :angel:


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## MJG

aftermath said:


> Thank God. The Bulls moderators let flaming go way too far in their threads. I post that Kwame has the potential to be big and I get flamed by every Bulls fan who has fingers to type.


 Heh I don't mind inter-team discussion, or even some good-natured back-and-forth exchanges, so long as everyone is having fun with it. When it gets to the point where people start acting angry or smug or annoyed or whatever with it though, then it just needs to be cut off.

As for what goes on in the Bulls forum, well I don't have much control over it. I'd recommend not posting over there for the time being though, specifically if you want to say something pro-Wizards. You open yourself up to flames over there, and more importantly, leave an opening for some of their less mature members to come over here and cause trouble. If you've got something positive to say about them though, I certainly don't see the harm in that.

On a final note, make sure you (not just you, all Wizards posters) do your job as well. Don't cause trouble on their board, don't respond to trollers visiting here, etc. I find our board to be one of the very best year-round in terms of me not having to actually moderate people's posts, so let's not let that slip in the playoffs.

This has been MJG's guide to playing nice during what will almost certainly be a very heated playoff series


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## Zalgirinis

One on One said:


> ****.....we don't knwo a damn thing about playoff basketball...was that Arenas going up to shake a guy's hand after the game, this is game 1 kid.


Whats up with that? Why you, and by "you" I mean not only you, but also I saw same thing in Bulls board, say so?

Shaking hands with opponent team after game shows that each player who does it respects the opponent. Whether its preseason, regular season, playoffs or finals, hands must be shaken after every game. Dont know about miscreated NBA, but in Europe everybody do so. And if you dont that only shows you dont respect your opponent. Also in such circumstances as playoffs, not shaking hand would mean a bigger motivation for opponent team to beat you in the next game, because you dont show respect for them.


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## Sir Patchwork

dkg1 said:


> Curry seems to struggle playing against Haywood. However, I would much rather have Eddy in there than the likes of Funderburke and Reiner. Antonio Davis has also been overextended as a result of the Curry injury. Without Deng, the Bulls are forced to play Piatkowski more at small forward than I care for. The Bulls simply do not have another athletic 6'8 player that can do what he does. They also have had to play more three guard lineups than I care for. They had Duhon trying to guard Jamison a couple times today. I don't care how many T.O.s he had against the Wiz, I would much rather have him on the court guarding Jamison than one of our small guards.


I agree. We're not so deep that we can lose two starters and replace them with players who are just as good, without losing any firepower off the bench. 

The bottom line is, with Deng and Curry healthy, the Bulls would probably handle this series fairly easily. That's just the reality. Since they aren't healthy, it's a closer series that the Wizards can win. It's just common sense. If the Wizards were without Jamison and Hughes, would that be irrelevant? If the Wizards could beat a Bulls team at full strength without those two guys, it would only make sense that the Wizards would be considerably better at full strength. Same logic applies with the Bulls losing two of their best starters. 

I have a hard time believing that Wizards fans wouldn't use the injury as an "excuse" if they were really banged up. It's not an excuse if it's legitimate, and hell, we won the 1st game. It's just worth pointing out. 

Regardless, I think the Wizards have a good chance to win the series. I hope the Bulls can take game 2, but if they don't, Wizards stole home court and did their job. It's amazing, people do this every year, when the playoffs start they always go overboard with game 1, not realizing that a 7 game series is long. One game is one game, the next game can swing things around just as quick. 

Go Bulls.


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## Shanghai Kid

PhillyPhanatic said:


> In this series, I suppose you could call me Switzerland. I like players on both teams, and really like how they play one another, this should make for a fun series. What grates at me is the fact that Gilbert Arenas is just forcing shots at will, and these guys forget at stretches at a time that getting touches in the post will help make things easier for them.
> 
> And what makes things worse, is that once you take Arenas or Hughes out, Dixon is jacking them up as well. Kwame played great, I think, and if they would give him the touches he could dominate the Bulls front line (good to hear he should be back for the next game). What surprised me today, is Kwame's passing, I had no idea he was that good in that facet of the game. He's going to be a player, people who called bust screamed too soon.
> 
> You know when I think about it, I think the Wizards offense reminds me of Villanova's offense, like Nova the Wizards seem to be at their best offensively when they're attacking.. so why in this were they settling for so many jumpers?



Good point, I think shooting jumpers is exactly what the Bulls want them to do, and their following suit. Arenas put absolutely NO pressure on the defense yesterday. All season long, his bread and butter has been driving to the hoop, and suddenly he becomes nothing but a jumpshooter yesterday, that's very stupid. If Gil doesn't drive early and keeps shooting jumpers the Bulls will win easy. I thought his passing game was fine though, he got others involved, he just couldn't score. 

And in the 4th quarter Arenas and Hughes suddenly expected the refs to start calling fouls for them. They didn't establish themselves as slashers early and they ended up getting no calls (they were hammered alot in the 4th tho). 

Kwame has to be made a factor, if anyone didn't noticed, he easily looked like the most talented big man out there tonight, nobody on the Bulls can guard him, so if he's healthy we gotta use that.


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## One on One

Zalgirinis said:


> Whats up with that? Why you, and by "you" I mean not only you, but also I saw same thing in Bulls board, say so?
> 
> Shaking hands with opponent team after game shows that each player who does it respects the opponent. Whether its preseason, regular season, playoffs or finals, hands must be shaken after every game. Dont know about miscreated NBA, but in Europe everybody do so. And if you dont that only shows you dont respect your opponent. Also in such circumstances as playoffs, not shaking hand would mean a bigger motivation for opponent team to beat you in the next game, because you dont show respect for them.


You're supposed to shake hands after the series is over in the NBA.


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## LoyalBull

This series has been great so far.

Neither team is giving in. No one is being pushed around.

You know its close when both sides complain openly about calls and non-calls.

Playoff basketball baby!

Suffice to say, I thought the refs WERE inconsistent last night. Its obvious that through 3 quarters they were calling the game very tight... then in the 4th just "allowed them to play."

"Allowing them to play", is more the Bulls style. I never thought of our guys much as bruisers, just hustle/energy guys. You don't see them going under anyone's legs on a jump shot (ala Bruce Bowen). 

Im just glad that in the fourth quarter the refs realized that this was on Chicago's home floor and not vice versa. 

Refs in the NBA stink and seem to get into the emotion of the game.

But this has been plenty good already to get into the emotion with.


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## jazzy1

LoyalBull said:


> This series has been great so far.
> 
> Neither team is giving in. No one is being pushed around.
> 
> You know its close when both sides complain openly about calls and non-calls.
> 
> Playoff basketball baby!
> 
> Suffice to say, I thought the refs WERE inconsistent last night. Its obvious that through 3 quarters they were calling the game very tight... then in the 4th just "allowed them to play."
> 
> "Allowing them to play", is more the Bulls style. I never thought of our guys much as bruisers, just hustle/energy guys. You don't see them going under anyone's legs on a jump shot (ala Bruce Bowen).
> 
> Im just glad that in the fourth quarter the refs realized that this was on Chicago's home floor and not vice versa.
> 
> Refs in the NBA stink and seem to get into the emotion of the game.
> 
> But this has been plenty good already to get into the emotion with.


I agree with this Bulls fan. 

I think the ref's correctly swallowed their whistles in the 4th quarter. There should have been some fouls calls on some of the Wizards players drives but it wasn't the deciding factor our mindset was. Arenas and crew drove in the lane trying to draw fouls instead of making baskets. You can't expect to be bailed out in another teams building. 

Our inexperience really showed in last nights game. 

I thought the ref's were allowing the Bulls to establish a very physical style especially on the perimeter. We don't have really rough guards except Arenas and when the pressure was cranked up we didn't handle it well at all. 

Just hope we get the same respect at home is all.


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## f22egl

I would like consistency from the referees. I bet in future games Arenas will get those calls. He only had 2 free throws even though he was taking a lot jump shots. The referees by not reacting to how Arenas and even Hughes were fouled were bailing out the Bulls.


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## VincentVega

f22egl said:


> The referees by not reacting to how Arenas and even Hughes were fouled were bailing out the Bulls.


Paxson is paying the officials $12,515 a crew for favorable calls in the 2nd and 4th quarters.

Clever.


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## afireinside

aftermath said:


> Wizards in 6.
> 
> Bulls :rocket:


Feels good to be right.

Now we get swept by Heat. :biggrin:


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## UMfan83

Dude, just want to say, you have one hell of a team. Arenas may have had his struggles in the series, but when he needed to, he proved that he was a great player. Don't be so hard on Jordan, he clearly made the adjustments that the Wiz needed to win the series. Your team continually suprised me despite the kind of comments that were coming out of your player's mouths early on. I really hope that you guys, despite a few bad games, earned a bit of respect for our team as I feel we showed our true grit in games 1,2, and 6. 

Anyways, I always believe in cheering for the team that knocks you out, and I hope the Wiz can put a good showing against the Heat. Go Wizards!


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## dkg1

Congrats to the Wiz on their win. You guys have a fun team to watch, I'll be cheering for you guys against the Heat as well. Good luck guys.


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