Having just watched game three of the Eastern Conference Finals my prediction after game four of the Eastern semifinals was confirmed: That this Bulls team does not have what it takes to win it all, not this year.
The Bulls were up 2-1 against the Hawks and were in a close game down the stretch of game four with the chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead. Due to a lack of urgency, they let that game slip away.
That's the difference between a championship team and a very good team. A championship team has that ability to smell blood in the water, and as much as I hate to admit it, the Heat have a couple of sharks just waiting to feast. The Bulls are now down 2-1 heading into Tuesday's game four which is a must win. There's obviously a big difference between being down 3-1 and being tied 2-2.
The Bulls can say that they are still confident all they want but they're mentally exhausted and it's clear as day. Just their body language alone shows their emotional fatigue. Give the Heat credit, everything is a struggle for the Bulls offensively and that attack mode mentality just isn't there.
This team is a championship team, it's just not ready yet.
Let's not forget that this team is way ahead of schedule. Nobody, and I do mean nobody, expected the Bulls to be the winners of 62 regular season games, have the best record in the league, and be in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Right now the Heat are doing to Derrick Rose what the Celtics used to do to LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. They load up on him so that no matter where he tries to cut into the defense he's seeing three defenders at all times. To make things worse, that wall of defense also blocks off the player's vision which causes turnovers and bad shots. Rose is struggling with it the exact same way Wade and James used to. Forcing bad shots and becoming indecisive as a result.
The Bulls are one player away from being a championship team. Everyone talks about them needing a shooter. They do need someone, not a shooter but a scorer. Nobody major, just someone that can create their own shot (not Ben Gordon). If they have someone like that (Manu Ginobli in a perfect world) then the defense can't load up on Rose. That would leave a four on two situation with open threes for Deng or Korver all game.
Next year, I think the Bulls will win it all, and I've been saying that since game two of the first round. The pain of losing is something that really drives Derrick Rose and having sniffed the Finals once, I think he'll be a man on a mission, even more than he has been this year. The inexperience of this team shows. When James or Wade brings the ball up the court in a big situation they look calm and excited, they've been here before. When Rose or Deng brings it up, they have a look of fear as if they're thinking, "I really hope I don't screw up".
This is where the sharks analogy comes back. James and Wade look like they're going in for the kill at the end of the game, a certain quality that Bulls great Michael Jordan possessed once upon a time. Make no mistake about it, Rose is a shark, he just doesn't have the experience yet to relax himself in those situations. He's come up big many times down the end of games this season which earned him the MVP but the playoffs are different. Jordan went through it, James went through it, Kobe Bryant went through it, and now Rose is going through it. In a way it's like a rite of passage for a young superstar.
This time next year, if the Bulls roster stays similar to what it is today, I will be writing about how the Bulls are on the brink of a championship. This experience will teach them what it takes to be a championship team. Unfortunately, I think losing to the Heat is the only way they're really going to learn. Bulls fans should be upset but not discouraged, this team has a bright future with several rings for years to come.
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