On this date in 1984, Isiah Thomas and Bernard King engaged in a great playoff shoot-out in Game 5 of the first round matchup between the Knicks and Pistons. King scored 12 of his game-high 44 points in the final five minutes and change in the fourth quarter but Thomas stole his thunder by tallying Detroit’s final 14 points in a span of just 1:34 to send the game into overtime where each star had four points. Ultimately, New York went on to win 127-123.
Do you have a great basketball blog post that you want featured on Hoops Rumors? Send it to me at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. This week’s look around the basketball blogosphere..
- Sheridan Hoops previews tomorrow’s stars, including 14-year-old Udoka Azubuike.
- Sports Injury Alert looks at the Bobcats with and without Al Jefferson.
- The Daily Dribble says the Bulls are just one player away.
- All Sports discussed the first round.
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As a Bulls fan, I can say without hesitation they are one player away – a first option on offense. It’s impossible to say what Rose is going to contribute next season, and even if he’s on the floor for somewhere near 82 games, I think they still need to get a guy who can find his own shot on a regular basis and be trusted to carry the offensive load in the 4th quarter. Until they find that player, they are going to continue to be a fantastic regular season team that just burns out come playoffs. Once the postseason starts, every team at least starts playing some semblance of a defense. The Bulls offense, as is, simply can’t execute on a regular basis once this happens.
As a Bulls fan, I say they’re NOT one player away. If that’s what people think they weren’t watching that first round smack down at the hands of the Wizards. Carmelo Anthony wouldn’t have stopped the onslaught by Gortat and Nene in the low post. He could’ve scored more points, but the Bulls didn’t have an problem scoring until Game 5. They put up enough points to win, more than they averaged in the regular season (93.7 ppg) through Game 4 (95.25 ppg). It was their defense that fell apart on national television. They couldn’t guard anyone effectively because they looked gassed from yet another exhuasting Tom Thibodeau season. Is it any wonder why this continues to happen? Every post season the Bulls show up in the playoffs, injuries catch up and they’re run ragged. This team is out of contention at the moment. They’re not one player away. They’re multiple players away.
And until Tom Thibodeau learns how to run an rotation, this will continue to happen. He killed Rose, Deng, Noah, Nate, and now he’s doing it to Butler. And frankly this first round loss is mainly HIS fault for not going to the bench… at all. Any other coach in the playoffs makes adjustments. Not T2. After going down 3-1 what was his response? Shrug his shoulders and do nothing. Try something Tom, anything. Even if it’s wrong. How about starting Augustin and Fredette alongside Butler Gibson Noah, and bringing Kirk, James, Brewer Boozer off the bench? It’s like he tried to win with the current rotation despite the front office providing some help in Brewer, Fredette, Amundson, and Smith. He cut off his nose to spite his face, and that’s the bigger problem this team has.