Game 2 aftermath thread

Links (6)

NBA Playoffs: Wow, We Get Another One Of These Series, Apparently
Published 5/8/2007 at Deadspin

Ballin’: Own the Glass, Own the Game
Published 5/8/2007 by TheBigLead at The Big Lead
... Bulls 87, Pistons 108: That’s two ass-whippings in a row for Chicago, which has looked less-than-ordinary after pounding Miami in the first-round. Are the Bulls intimidated by the Palace? Have they forgotten how to play defense? The Pistons shot 52 percent, dominated the glass (51-30) and despite 21 turnovers, never were seriously threatened in grabbing a 2-0 lead. We’ve got the Bulls winning game three, but Game 4 we’re not so sure about. Chicago fans sound as if the white flag is on its way up, while Pistons fans seem

The Detroit Pistons Are Excellent Matadors
Published 5/8/2007 by Ian C. at Sweaty Men Endeavors
... But this time, Detroit is kicking the opponent down, and keeping them on the floor. It's been like watching a kickoff return in football, when a linebacker zeroes in on a smaller wide receiver and keeps blocking, shoving, and pummeling him to the turf until the play is over. Perhaps even more demoralizing for the Bulls is that there's not even a respite when Flip Saunders empties the bench. Jason Maxiell, Lindsey Hunter, and Carlos Delfino have been almost equally as relentless as the starters. Getting back into the game just hasn't been an option for Chicago.

Tuesday Bullets
Published 5/8/2007 at ESPN.com - True Hoop - Blog
... Matt from BlogaBull: "Everything was bad tonight, yet again." Ben Gordon is getting to be one of those players who makes you sweat, as a fan. A friend of mine has a theory that to be a superstar you don't have to be great every time, but you can never suck. Not sure Ben Gordon will ever get there.

The Big Story: Bulls Are Shit
Published 5/8/2007 by The Feed at The Feed
... Everything was bad tonight, yet again. At least we don't have to read that the team wasn't properly prepared or didn't play with energy. Nope, they're just not as good. Especially worrisome that the 'core' is getting destroyed by their counterparts. Hinrich, Gordon, and Deng have to outperform Billups/Hamilton/Prince, or at least come close. (Blog a Bull)

I Won’t Be Fooled Again and Land-o-Links for 5/9/2007
Published 5/9/2007 by Frank the Tank at FRANK THE TANK'S SLANT
... As you can tell, I have schizophrenic mood swings about the Bulls going from loving their tenacity one moment to despising the fact that they still need a low-post offensive presence and/or a go-to playmaker the next minute. This week, after two awful and despicable games against the Pistons in the NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals, I’m finally resigned to the latter. Don’t get me wrong - I’ll continue to cheer for the Bulls like crazy until the bitter end and still think they can take a couple of games at the United Center, but I won’t be fooled again into thinking that this is a championship-caliber ball club. Some people might be content with a nice team with good character guys that play really hard every night. You can definitely count me out of that group - I was spoiled by growing up with the greatest player that ever lived in Michael Jordan and a dominant dynasty in the 1990