Chicago Bulls-Return to Glory: NBA 2k13 Association

Capt. Serious said:

I'm not a thanks kinda person.

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The Raptors tried. That's really all anyone could have asked for against the Bulls. Though the Raptors put together perhaps their best overall game of the series, it was not enough as the Bulls charged their way to another Eastern Conference Finals appearance. DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 26 while Kyle Lowry had 23 points and 11 assists, but the rest of the team struggled against Chicago's suffocating defensive pressure. The Bulls on the other hand were able to remain hot from the field even when their jumpers were not falling. Though just 27% from 3, the Bulls shot 51% overall, opting for attacking the paint instead of settling for jump shots. Derrick Rose had 22 points and 7 assists and Carmelo Anthony flirted with a triple double with 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. Taj Gibson also stepped up with 10 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks on the night.

"We're another step closer," said James Harden. "There's just two more teams standing in between us and our goal. We're going to get it. Indiana better watch out."

Indiana, the 6th seed, completed their sweep of injury riddled Cleveland just a couple days ago and will be the Bulls' opponent in the ECF.

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Capt. Serious said:

Rage quitting like fisch are we?

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Capt. Serious said:

I know. I probably just wanted to see ya rage quit to make jokes.

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clonetrooper264 said:

fixed

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Capt. Serious said:

:lol: I made my joke(s) already.

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It would seem that the Bulls have crash landed back to Earth. Meanwhile the Indiana Pacers are cruising after their sweep of the 2nd seeded Cleveland Cavaliers. Indiana shot a blistering 54% while holding the Bulls to barely over 40% in the 2nd half as they cruised to a near 20 point victory in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers were led by Gerald Green's 26 points and DJ Augustin's 25 points. It seemed like the Pacers could do no wrong as they dominated the game from start to finish holding the lead every second. Derrick Rose had 28 points for the Bulls while Carmelo Anthony added 24, but they were the lone bright spots for the Bulls who could not seem to get it together after halftime.

"We're pissed," said Joakim Noah, who had 8 points and 10 boards in the loss. "We should not have lost...and definitely not like that. Indiana better watch out in game 2."

"It was just one of those games," said Tom Thibodeau. "We did a lot of things right defensively, but they made some really tough shots and after awhile, it seemed like everything was going in while we couldn't buy a basket. There were a lot of drives to the basket where I felt we could've gotten more foul calls, but it is what it is. We had a really tough 3rd quarter shooting the ball, but I think we took the right shots. We'll just have to come out and do the same things next time around. They won't shoot that well again."

Amidst the taunts of Pacers fans scattered throughout the United Center, the Bulls looked anything but defeated after the game ended. Faces grim with determination and anger for some were seen as they headed back to the locker room. If anything's for sure, Chicago will not let this loss hinder them. Game 2 will prove to be pivotal for the Bulls, who are down in a series for the first time since their Finals defeat last year.

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The Bulls bounced back in a big way after their game 1 defeat at the hands of the Pacers. Tom Thibodeau opted to match Indiana's athletic small ball lineup by starting Jimmy Butler in the place of Taj Gibson and moving Carmelo Anthony over to power forward. Butler responded by holding his matchup, Paul George, who had 14 points in game 1, to just 6 points. Meanwhile, the rest of the Bulls team, which struggled from the field in game 1, responded by converting many of the same shots that wouldn't go down in game 1. David West, who was just 3-8 for 6 points in game 1, scored 14 points on 5-5 shooting and 4-4 from the line. Carmelo Anthony led all scorers with 27 points while adding 7 assists, leading the charge for the Bulls once again. Gerald Green had 24 points for the Pacers while Danny Granger added 21.

"Jimmy was huge for us," said Tom Thibodeau. "With Indiana going small, our best counter to that was to have Jimmy out there. He's a great defender and it really showed tonight."

"I was just trying to do little things to help my team win," said Butler. "Thibs told me before the game that he was gonna start me so that gave me a little confidence. I'm just trying to play my game and help us get the win."

The Bulls will likely have Butler starting the rest of the way in this series as Taj Gibson appeared to have issues guarding the athletic Paul George and Danny Granger in game 1.

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There need to be stricter gun control laws in Indiana because both the Pacers and the Bulls were letting loose way too much firepower in game 3. It was clear that both teams wanted the win, but the offense on display was something out of a video game. Both teams shot near 60% for the game in one of the highest scoring non overtime games in playoff history. Behind 29 points from Carmelo Anthony and 22 points and 16 assists from Derrick Rose, the Bulls wrestled away the pivotal game 3 victory. Gerald Green led all scorers with 37 points while Danny Granger had 23 points on 10-14 shooting. Andray Blatche had 16 points on 8-9 shooting off the bench for the Pacers.

"I've never seen anything like that," said Frank Vogel. "Both teams clearly wanted the win...they were really going at each other. Both teams were really hitting some crazy shots."

"I've never seen a team hit so many contested jumpers," said Tom Thibodeau, who was surely frustrated by the lack of defense...or the lacking effects thereof. "There's just nothing you can do with you got guys hitting jumpers with hands in their faces. We tried a lot of different schemes to slow them down, but they somehow got everything to go down."

The Bulls will look to close out the series on Wednesday in game 4.

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clonetrooper264 said:

That game might have to come tomorrow...

Homework sucks.

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The Indiana Pacers had given the Chicago Bulls all they could handle through the first 3 games. Behind awe inspiring performances by Gerald Green and DJ Augustin in addition to the steady play of Danny Granger and Roy Hibbert, the Pacers were able to keep the Bulls within reach all series. That came to an end in Game 4 as the Bulls' defense finally found a way to slow down the Pacer offense that was giving them so much trouble. Gerald Green scored 24 points, but on far more shots than in the first 3 games after Tom Thibodeau opted to switch Jimmy Butler onto him instead of Danny Granger. Joakim Noah was also able to hold Roy Hibbert to 9 points and 2 rebounds while none of the Pacers' role players were able to get anything going. The Bulls bench on the other hand was on fire, scoring 54 points on the night with every player getting a chance to score. Carmelo Anthony led all scorers with 30 points while adding 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 4 assists. 7 players scored in double figures for the Bulls with Ben McLemore and David West leading the bench effort with 14 points a piece.

"It was the definition of a team effort out there," said Derrick Rose, who shot just 3-9 on the night, but added 6 rebounds and 8 assists to help his team to the win. "Our bench was awesome. Ben was lights out tonight and Big Dave was doing his thing down low. They were huge.

"You could tell Melo wanted the win," continued Rose. "He's had a lot of doubters throughout the years and now he's getting a chance to prove them wrong."

The win signals the Bulls' second straight Finals appearance. They will get another chance at the title after a disappointing loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder last season. The Thunder, who were hampered by injuries to both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, did not make the playoffs this season.

Out West, the Timberwolves and Spurs are tied at 2-2 and will play the deciding game 5 tomorrow. The winner will be the Bulls' opposition for championship number 7.

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