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The ills of a long NBA season seem to have caught up with the Chicago Bulls. Which has them in position for an exit from the postseason. With Kirk Hinrich hobbled by a calf injury that sidelined him and Luol Deng unable to play because of illness (and we won’t even bother to discuss the Derrick Rose saga of his non-comeback from anterior-cruciate ligament surgery of a year ago), the Bulls lost Thursday (May 2) to the Brooklyn Nets 95-92 at the United Center.
Say it ain’t so: Thursday’s loss could have been the Luvabulls’ last game of the season.
That result means the Easter Conference first-round, best-of-seven series returns to Brooklyn on Saturday for Game 7. Nothing quite as compelling as a Game 7. Unless, of course, a Bulls near-victory in Game 6 that featured Bulls reserve forward Taj Gibson and guard Nate Robinson suffering from some malady that rendered Gibson mostly ineffective and Robinson vomiting on the sidelines during the game.
“We’ve been doing that all year,” Robinson, who scored 18 points, said — meaning playing hurt and sick (not throwing up into a garbage can during timeouts). “Our guys have been playing through it and have been doing a hell of a job playing together.”
“Injuries are part of the game,” Nets guard Joe Johnson said. “Some of our guys are banged up, too.”
Johnson, Deron Williams and Brook Lopez each had 17 points for the Nets, who led 60-54 at halftime but scored onlt 15 points in the third quarter and 20 in the fourth as the Bulls played better defense in the second half.
“They had a big first quarter, and we’re concerned about that,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said of trailing 33-27 after the first 12 minutes. “To win in the playoffs, you have to play 48 minutes. That’s what we have to do.”
Maybe this photo of Kristen Nicole will make Bulls fans feel better.
That’s what Bulls forward Jimmy Butler did. He had 17 points. Marco Belinelli (46:23) had a game-high 22 points. Carlos Boozer (32:49), who fouled out after a 14-point/13-rebound effort, was the only Bulls starter to fall short of 41 minutes.
“Stuff happens,” he said of the team’s health issues. “We can’t worry about it. We just have to go out there and play with whoever is ready. We can’t cry about it. We just have to get it done.”
“We’ve been short-handed most of the year,” Thibodeau said. Guys have been called upon all year to get the job done. I feel we are more than capable. I thought tonight’s game was very winnable.”
As for Saturday’s possible seasone finale and the status of Hinrich?
“I think he made good strides today, so we’re hopeful,” Thibodeau said. “But there’s no guarantee. I’m hopeful it will be better tomorrow. If he’s not, we have enough.”
Either that or the Bulls will have had enough and call it a season — a thought that’s enough to make some Bulls fans ill.
Videos of the Luvabulls and postgame interviews with players and coaches:
As promised, Playboy Playmate Kristen Nicole (Miss May 2013) was on the May 2 edition of “Sports & Torts” on Talkzone.com with co-hosts David Spada and Elliott Harris. The highly acclaimed interview show (well, it’s highly acclaimed in the Spada and Harris households, among reportedly elsewhere) also had former Baltimore Colts receiver and New England Patriots coach (his 1985 squad lost to the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX) Raymond Berry (John Unitas’s favorite receiver).
To access the program, you can click here.
As usual, here is the place to go for non-gratuitous video (thanks in no small part to a broad definition of the word by the editorial and video departments at elliottharris.com):
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