May
18
THE PRINCE
Filed Under Chicago Bulls
WITH A CHANCE TO SEIZE THE DAY, THE BULLS FALTER!
Chicago’s dream of becoming the first team in NBA history to come back from an 0-3 deficit and win a best-of-seven NBA series came to a crashing thud Thursday night as the Detroit Pistons locked in for a 95-85 victory at a silent United Center. After building a five-point halftime lead thanks to the inspired play of veteran P.J. Brown, Chicago came out flat in the second half. On the other hand, the Pistons used halftime to refocus their energy and opened the final 24 minutes with a 12-1 run. Detroit would not look back the rest of the way.
Chicago had its chances to make a dent in the fourth quarter after stopping the Pistons on five straight possessions. However, none of Chicago’s big three — Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich — stepped up and put the team on their shoulders in the fourth quarter. In an eerily similar second half to its Game Three collapse at home, the Bulls looked in over their head late, tightened up and confirmed the need for this team to get a legitimate #1, go-to-scorer in such situations.
Here’s a breakdown of the key figures in Game Six of the Pistons’ series-clinching victory.
Game Six Aggressors:
? Tayshaun Prince: Was a force all night and all series on the boards with his length. Finished with 21 points and notched 45 effective minutes. Had several key offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter, including one in which he legally went over Deng and followed with a one-hand slam. That play was symbolic of how Detroit has three or four guys who’ve got the guts to get the big basket late in the game while Chicago still is looking for that player. Got on the block all night and used his long wingspan for his patented lefty half-hook (note to the Bulls: Prince is left-handed and likes to go to his left hand for that turnaround shot; it’s not that hard to know which side he’s going to). As if it wasn’t known already, Prince really showed what a great player he is throughout the series.
? The Detroit Coaching Staff: Great adjustments were made from Game Five to Game Six. After Hinrich got free off the screen and roll in Game Five and consistently got into the teeth of the Pistons’ defense, Flip Saunders and crew had his big men hedging Hinrich hard all night. The trade off proved to be leaving Brown, who was hitting the mid-range shot with great effectiveness in the first half. With that said, Detroit’s aggressive hedging had Hinrich off his guard all night. The Bulls’ point guard did not look comfortable and Chicago’s starting points on offense were extended past the three point line.
? Rip Hamilton: Aggressive from the get-go and was locked in with his jump shot coming off screens. Got off to a quick start against Gordon in the first quarter and came out looking for his shot in the second half. Another guy who is hard to defend when he is focused and constantly moving. Finished with 23 points and bounced back after two sub par games (at least for his standards). Is such a big game player, it’s ridiculous.
? P.J. Brown: If that was his last NBA game, he sure played with all of his heart and soul. The 14-year-vet notched a playoff-career high 20 points, all of which came in the first half. Kept Chicago in the game in the first half and worked hard on the offensive glass as Chicago’s Ben Wallace was ineffective with his back problems. His great effort was best represented in the second quarter when he followed two straight missed shots with offensive rebounds and then converted on the third shot. The crowd temporarily got going after that play, which helped spark the Bulls to the halftime lead. The Bulls came out in the second half as if Brown was going to carry them. A bad move to say the least as Brown gave it his all in the first half. Brown only notched five minutes in the second half and took one shot. But the Bulls wouldn’t have been in this game without Brown’s amazing first half.
? Chauncey Billups: Poor shooting night from the field and had an ineffective first half on 1-for-7 shooting. With that said, helped Detroit get off in the second half by moving the ball. Got to the line often in the second half and went an amazing 14 for 14 from the free throw line. Helped seal the game in the final minutes with his work at the charity stripe.
? Antonio McDyess: Just liked his aggressiveness on the boards. Only five points but 10 rebounds. Did a great job throughout the series with his energy, ability to hit the mid-range shot, and rebounding; a facet of the game where the Pistons really took it to the Bulls.
Game Six Jokers:
? Kirk Hinrich: In his fourth year, Hinrich needs to learn that the role of the point guard is to get the offense going. Hinrich was successful in doing this in only two of the six games in this series. He is such a different player when he is aggressive. Tonight he wasn’t aggressive and it showed. He was flustered by Detroit’s hedging. When he had opportunities to get into the lane, he stopped and went nowhere. And when he did get into the lane, he stopped (surprise…surprise) or passed out while at the rim. Pounded the ball into the floor all night and failed to get Chicago’s offensive sets in motion. Unnecessarily picked up his dribble many times tonight, and the Bulls offense was stagnant outside the three-point line for much of the second half. Struggled with his shooting all night, once again validating the point that he is only a so-so standstill shooter and a much better player when he’s moving and keeping the defense off-balance. Chicago’s offense didn’t have much flow all night, and the blame here goes to its point guards, the indecisive Hinrich and brutally inconsistent Chris Duhon, who hopefully will be shipped out of town this summer.
? Ben Gordon: Quiet 19 points and didn’t come out aggressive tonight (making that four of the six games in series). While Detroit obviously keyed on him this series, Gordon still needed to step up and didn’t do so. The fourth quarter would have been a prime time for Gordon to do so but he wasn’t looking for his shot. Disappointing to see a guy who’s had so many big-time fourth quarters in his career shy away tonight. This series showed that Gordon is not a #1. With a good post man on this team, Gordon would be an excellent second scoring option. I hope the Bulls keep Gordon and don’t package him. He’s such a dynamic scorer and needs some help.
? Luol Deng: Was aggressive in the fourth quarter, but certainly not effective. A lot of this had to do with the fact that Hinrich never got the offense going. Deng is at his best when he can sit at the baseline and get fed the ball for his jump shot. In the fourth quarter, Deng had to work at times with his back to the basket, which is certainly not a strength of his at this time in his career. Also seemed out of control in the fourth when attacking the basket, but once again, at least he was taking it hard unlike Hinrich and Gordon.
? Andres Nocioni: I love Nocioni’s game but he was ineffective all series. He seemed a step slower all series long because of his plantar facititis. Was thinking too much for most of the series. With that said, he had a lot of open threes and couldn’t hit anything. Tonight he notched 10 points on 2-for-7 shooting and had six rebounds. Yet was unable all series to give the Bulls the spark or energy that he’s been so accustomed to doing. A free agent this summer, Nocioni wants to stay in Chicago and he’s been good in his three seasons with the Bulls. I’m hoping this series was an aberration because of his injuries.
? Ben Wallace: Back pains limited him throughout the game, so I’m not going to put too much blame on him. Even when he had prime rebounding position tonight on guys like Chris Webber, he couldn’t get the board. The Bulls were dominated on the glass all series, and some but not all of this blame can be attributed to Wallace. Wallace’s first season with the Bulls can still be considered a success, but time’s ticking in Ben’s career. With three years left on his contract, he may only have one or two effective years left.
? Rasheed Wallace: Had 17 points and 13 rebounds, but once again was a hothead. Got a stupid technical in the fourth quarter when the game should have been over. Chicago didn’t capitalize but even Wallace’s normally supportive teammates were yelling at him for the dumb “T.” His emotions have to be a worry as the playoffs continue. Rasheed needs to harness his energy positively. He is so talented that he still had a big impact on the game despite his crying. He started off the game by getting on the block but once again settled too much for the three. Detroit should institute a rule in which Wallace can’t take the three ball. While he can hit it from the outside, he falls in love with the shot when he can be so dominate and effective down low with his length and over-the-top shot.
? The Officiating: I’m a Bulls fan, and I thought the referees kept Chicago in this game with some very poor calls tonight. Thus, I can see why Rasheed was frustrated at times, yet he needs to control himself. Hinrich and Gordon seemed more interested in flopping when getting hedged off screens tonight and playing that type of cheap game than with playing with aggression. Even the officiating couldn’t keep the Bulls in it tonight as they missed some important free throws in the second half.
? The United Center Crowd: I expected it to be loud tonight and it was at times. While the Bulls didn’t give them much to cheer about in the second half, the crowd didn’t give Chicago any feel of a home court advantage, especially at the start of the fourth quarter when the Bulls could have needed a lift.
? Scott Skiles:I have Skiles way down on the list. I thought he tried tonight but couldn’t find a good combination. I did not like his use of Duhon at times, especially in the fourth quarter. You can tell when Duhon is going to give you something and when he isn’t. Usually when he comes out aggressive and looks for his shot, Duhon will be a solid contributor. Tonight, he didn’t look confident in himself and it showed. Why Skiles had Duhon out there at the start of the fourth quarter was a bit baffling!
Final Analysis:Chicago didn’t get much out of Wallace on the glass (7 rebounds tonight) or anything consistent offensively from Gordon, Deng and Hinrich, and only lost by ten. This game was more of a matter of Chicago not being able to seize a winnable game despite not playing well. Detroit certainly played hard and with intensity but were far from what they were in the first two games of this series. The Bulls should have took this game and have no one to blame but themselves. They’ll have all summer to think about this game and the entire series, as they could have one the final four games if they were more consistent and aggressive.
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