Bulls Left With Egg on Their Face After Game 1 Loss

April 21, 2014 @ admin → No Comments

It would be too easy to say the Chicago Bulls laid an egg on Easter Sunday. And possibly too cliche. Not to mention too accurate. So we won’t do that.

Not totally sure how this photo fits in with today’s effort, but who cares?

Instead we merely will observe the obvious: The Bulls lost Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series to the Washington Wizards 102-93 at the United Center.

It would be too easy to say the Bulls had as much trouble hunting for a scorer in the fourth quarter (on their own team) as some kids had difficulty finding hidden Easter eggs at various gatherings. And possibly too cliche. Not to mention too accurate. So we won’t do that either.

Instead we merely will observe the obvious: Washington outscored the Bulls 30-18 in the final period.

The homecourt advantage that the Bulls had worked all season to have vanished after one game of the postseason. On the bright (?) side for the Bulls, it is a best-of-seven series. Which means if the Bulls play the way they did in the opener, their season will end in three more games. Of course, every Bulls fan knows coach Tom Thibodeau will find a way to shore up the defense, especially against forward Nene (game-high 24 points). Not to mention against Andre Miller, the veteran guard who had eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter.

“He [Miller] struggled a little in the first half,” Wizards coach Randy Whittman said. “But having coached him before and having him back in his 15th year, I know what he is capable of and I know he is going to try to do the right thing. … He is pretty crafty still at his age to get to the basket.”

“He [Nene] is a terrific player,” Thibodeau said. “He gets to his spot; he is very good. He is unselfish, makes plays and plays away from the basket. If you allow him to get an open 15-foot shot, he will make that as well.”

Whether Thibodeau can figure out something to help his offense (other than improving the defense) remains to be seen. Or dreamed about.

“Up 13 [in the third quarter], we exhaled and they came back,” said Bulls center Joakim Noah, who had 10 points and 10 rebounds. “Bad turnovers. They got some easy scores. We got to make our adjustments. This is chess. It isn’t checkers.”

We will see whether the Bulls can get the jump on the Wizards in Game 2 Tuesday at the United Center. And, no, that wasn’t an Easter Bunny reference.

“We have to be disciplined,” Thibodeau said. “Offensively, if we think a call isn’t going our way, you can’t allow that to take away from getting back and playing great defense. There is a lot of things you can do to help your team win. We are capable of playing a lot better.”

Well, if they aren’t, then they won’t be playing a lot longer.

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