Chapman: Bulls being out-Bulled by Wizards
By JOSHUA CHAPMAN
ISL Correspondent
What…huh…how?!? The Chicago Bulls are down three games to one and need to rattle off three straight victories in order to keep their season alive. The Bulls were many “experts” favorite (including yours truly) to move on and face presumably Indiana (not going well for predictions so far). But what exactly has gone wrong for the Bulls?
They’ve been outhustled by the Wizards. Plain and simple. This is a rare occurrence, because the Bulls pride themselves on diving for every loose ball, for rotating sharply on defense and scrapping for every rebound. But that hasn’t been the case in this series. For every loose ball that the Bulls have collected, the Wizards grab two.
Chicago will need to fix it by 8 p.m. Eastern at the United Center, or the season is over.
The Wizards look like they want it more than the Bulls right now and are playing flat out better basketball. Nene has been a huge thorn in the Bulls’ side, with his passing ability, midrange shooting ability and ability to operate in the post. His presence draws Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah away from the basket, which spaces the floor for John Wall and Bradley Beal. But the Bulls are also showing their fatal flaw: they don’t have a legit number two scoring option. Whether it is Gordon Hayward, Lance Stephenson, Nikola Mirotic or Carmelo Anthony, that guy simply isn’t on the roster right now. They don’t have anyone to throw the ball to just to buy a basket in crunch time, and ultimately, that’s what’s going to get them eliminated.
What they need to do in order to win Game 5 is to put all the cards on the table. Pull out all the stops. They are in a role that they seem to thrive in – the underdog role. They need to play with the passion and energy that they showed throughout the course of 82 games this season. They have to want it more than the Wizards. They cannot go down without a fight. Their backs are against the proverbial wall and they have nothing to lose at this point. They need to own every loose ball, grab rebounds like it’s going out of style and defend like their lives depend on it. Then, and only then, will the Bulls have a chance to extend this series.
