Bulls/Heat Game 5 Recap

Full credit for this goes to the awesome people at: http://hesaidshesaidfootball.com/

                I could cut and paste the Game 4 recap and make it the Game 5 recap because the story is the same: Finishing in the 4th Quarter.  Love it or hate it, that’s the story of the 2010-2011 Miami Heat in the post season.  At the most critical point in the game LeBron James has silenced all critics by finishing games in the 4th Quarter.  Here’s a post game quote from Joakim Noah that says it best: “You have to give credit where credit is due. They are Hollywood as hell, but they are good.”

                Say what you want about the Heat:  you hate them, they’re a manufactured team, THE DECISION made you throw up, etc…Whatever your reason for disliking them doesn’t matter–they are good.   They were better than the Bulls last night and throughout Eastern Conference Finals.  Not taking anything away from the Bulls (I believe they will have their shot again) but they were outplayed and out coached.  We already know that D Rose has no supporting cast, meanwhile the Heat, not only has a supporting cast, they all know their role: stay out of the Big 3’s way. In Game 5, the Big 3 combined for 69 points, more the Bulls whole starting line-up. The other two starters for the Heat combined for 3 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. The 3 bench players that played last night for the Heat had a combined 11 points.  3 All-Star players for the Miami Heat beat the league’s MVP.

                MVP Derrick Rose has fallen on his sword again: “At the end, it’s all me,” Rose said. “Turnovers, missed shots, fouls. The series is over.”  I’m a HUGE fan of D Rose .  Admittedly, it was disappointing to watch for the 2nd game in a row Rose miss critical game ending shots and miss a free throw with 26.7 seconds left…While he did not have a stellar game (shooting 9 for 29, with 25 pts), it was not ALL his fault.  It was the CHICAGO BULLS’ games to lose, not just D Rose’s.  His supporting cast was not in the game (literally and figuratively).  Carlos Boozer (the other “scorer”) was on the bench the entire 4th quarter due to foul trouble.  Boozer’s pine rider in crime, Noah (usually a reliable power player) was also a non factor in the 4th quarter.  Together, Boozer and Noah combined for 10 pitiful points. 

                The reason the Heat work is that the Big 3 have individually transformed themselves into supporting roles when needed.  In last year’s off season, the question was, “Who’s gonna be the man, Wade or Bron?” (Funny that no one asked if Bosh was going to be the man).  They have found a way to coexist and play together (at least so far).  The “real” supporting players DARE NOT step out of line (you see what happened to Michael Beasley).  It’s unfortunate that all of Miami’s success and swag has to come at the expense of the Bulls, who need to give D Rose the help that he desperately needs.  As much as I hate saying this, the Heat deserve to play for the NBA title.  They worked out the regular season kinks and are clicking on all cylinders.  With that said, “GO MAVs!!!”