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Derrick Rose had as many field goals and as many points as Nate Robinson did for the Chicago Bulls on Monday (May 13) in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinals at the United Center. Which isn’t saying much. In fact, it is saying zilch. Nada. Nothing. Zero. Not to be confused with hero — something no Bulls player was on this night.
Have we seen the last of Luvabulls Kari-Lynn and Brazhal this season? Let’s hope not.
Robinson went scoreless on 0-of-12 field-goal shooting (0-of-5 on three-pointers) in 32:04 on the court in an 88-65 loss that gave the Miami Heat a 3-1 best-of-seven series advantge, as the teams travel to Miami for Wednesday’s Game 5. Rose, recovering from anterior-cruciate ligament surgery from a year ago, watched in street clothes from the Bulls bench. Rose did participate in pregame shooting practice, as he has recently. If it’s any consolation to critics who believe he should have been playing even before the postseason began, Rose wasn’t all that sharp in his shooting before Game 4.
Not that it matters. With Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich still unable to play, the Bulls really are no match for LeBron James and his teammates. That the Bulls have one victory in the series is one more than many thought they would have. Not that it matters — unless commissioner David Stern starts handing out consolation prizes.
The good news for the Bulls? They will be hard-pressed to perform as poorly Wednesday as they did Monday. Their 65 points were a franchise playoff low (previous mark was 69 at Detroit on May 5, 2007). The Bulls also set franchise playoff lows for points in a quarter with nine in the third (previous low was 10 in the fourth quarter vs. Miami on May 18, 2011), fewest field goals with 19 (previous low 23 at Detroit on May 7, 2007) and lowest field-goal percentage with .257 (previous low .311 on 28-of-90 accuracy at Detroit on June 3, 1990).
The Memphis Grizzlies defeated Oklahoma City in overtime Monday im their Western Conference semifinal. Which seems reason enough to run this photo.
Miami shot 48.5 percent from the field in an efficient — if not exciting — effort. James led with a game high-27 points. Chris Bosh scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half.
Of his Game 4 performance, Robinson said, “I just didn’t make no shots tonight. That’s all.”
If anyone is looking for a reason why, well, Robinson did injure his shoulder during a Heat double-team that ended with him on the ground.
“Yeah,” Robinson said, acknowleding the injury. “But you have to play through it. You have to figure out a way to get the job done.”
As poorly as the Bulls played in the first half (and indeed they played poorly as 11-of-41 shooting and eight turnovers attest), they trailed only 44-33 after two quarters. A third quarter in which the Bulls went 2-of-13 from the field and were outscored 17-9 pretty much put the game away. And had Robinson looking to another day.
There is no tomorrow for the Bulls. Well, there actually is — provided that you are reading this the day before Game 5.
“We have another crack at it,” Robinson said. “You never know. I might go 12-for-12. We’ll put this game behind us. But you have to play all together, and the shots will all. You have to believe and keep your confidence up. It will be a test for us. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. We have to continue to play. They said we couldn’t win the series, but we believe we can. We just have to muster up. The same with Brooklyn. They won the first game and took it to Game 7. We can do the same.”
“Nate had a tough game,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. :They were very aggressive out there. He didn’t make shots tonight, but he is a shooter and he will.”
“They did a good job of defending, but I had a lot of open shots that I missed,” Robinson said. “A lot of floaters that I usually make that I missed. You can’t make every shot. At the same time, you just got to know when it’s not your night, and it was not my night tonight.”
Some pregame and postgame video — as well as some in-game (Luvabulls and Swingin’ Seniors) — from the Heat-Bulls game:
As if today’s effort doesn’t have enough videos already, here are some from the non-gratuitous file (as the editorial and video departments at elliottharris.com like to think of it):
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