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Random thoughts while wondering whether “Iron Man 3″ is the latest superhero movie starring Robert Downey Jr. or whether it describes the latest efforts by Chicago Bulls budding star Jimmy Butler in his last three playoff games:
One of our favorites — Stephy C (also known as Mariela Henderson) — is a Bulls fan.
* In the Bulls’ Eastern Conference semifinals Game 1 victory Monday (May 6) at Miami, Butler played the entire 48 minutes in a 93-86 victory vs. the Heat. It was Butler’s third consecutive game in which he has played all 48 minutes. On the bright side, postseason games have longer time for timeouts — and more frequent ones — than regular-season contests. On the brighter side (for Bulls fans), Butler’s defense on LeBron James and Dwayne Wade was impressive. Let’s see Robert Downey Jr. do that. Or score 21 points and grab 14 rebounds while he’s playing tight defense, too.
* For all those who thought the Heat-Bulls series would last only the minimum four games, well, that possibility does exist.
* If the Heat had won, rest would have been cited as a factor. In that the Heat lost, rust could be cited as a factor. Missing the first seven shots means nothing — as in points and in proving anything other than they missed their first seven shots.
* All those folks whining about Derrick Rose not returning from anterior-cruciate ligament surgery might want to reconsider all that. Unless they think the Bulls could perform at a comparable level or better with him rather than what an apparently undermanned team has been able to accomplish without him — and without Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng. Or unless those folks think what they have to say will sway Rose, which seems unlikely at this juncture.
* Speaking of Rose, Bulls center Joakim Noah had this to say after Game 1: “Derrick’s a brother. “To see him go through this is tough but at the end of the day it’s really funny how quick people are to judge. But people don’t know what it’s like to lead a team, especially after you tore your ACL. If you tore your ACL and you have to be the starting point guard and have the expectations that Derrick has, then maybe you can judge. But everybody who hasn’t been in that situation before should really shut up because I feel like it’s just so unfair to him and to this team. We’re fighting, and everybody’s going to just shit on somebody who’s been giving so much to this organization. It’s crazy to me.”
* Miami has to figure out a way to win. Nobody asked, but giving the ball to James and telling his four teammates to get out of the way might work. Especially if the Bulls end up with Nate Robinson guarding him. Something says the Heat might not employ that approach, and Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau definitely will not have Robinson on James. The diminutive Robinson did come up big with 27 points and nine assists — only the third Bulls to have at least 25 and 9 in the same postseason game. The others: Michael Jordan (27 times), Rose (five) and Scottie Pippen (two).
* Robinson did record a double-double — if you’re counting points and stitches needed to close a cut on his lip after James landed on him in a scramble for the ball.
* The Bulls closed the game with a 10-0 run with Robinson scoring seven points and assisting on Marco Belinelli’s three-point field goal. Look for both players to receive substantial raises for next season — not necessarily from the Bulls. Oh, well. Enjoy this postseason run while it lasts, Bulls fans.
* Nobody asked, but if Comcast SportsNet wants to improve its Bulls postgame show, it might want to think about having recently departed Susannah Collins making a cameo appearance by walking through the set in a Luvabulls outfit — but only with the approval of Rocky Wirtz and friends in the Blackhawks front office.
This is where we go for our daily dose of non-gratuitous video (a reminder that the editorial and video departments at elliottharris.com are yet to encounter anything approaching “gratuitous” thanks to a rather broad definition of the word):
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