Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Boy this one was ugly wasn’t it? Having a hard time wrapping your head around this performance? The Chicago Bulls who are basically in a dead heat with the Toronto Raptors for the third seed in the Leastern conference, fell flat losing 91-74 to the Portland TrailBlazers. My parents actually called me last night to say that the Bulls looked so bad they changed the channel to watch another game. Who can blame them? When the Bulls play like this there are plenty of other things that are more interesting to do like…
1) Calling to make amends with your worst enemy.
2) Cleaning out your attic.
3) Count your fingers and toes to see in they are still there.
4) My personal favorite, scrubbing the tub. At least it won’t stink like the Bulls did Friday night.
The Bulls at least showed some consistency on offense. They fell flat on their faces with the exception of one player (Breaking News to Pippen Ain’t Easy…more on him later) to start the game. Chicago scored 16 points in the first quarter on the strength of 8-23 from the field which is a shade below 35 % and followed up that putrid performance in the fourth quarter with 16 points….again. Ugh! The Bulls have scored less than 80 points 11 times this season. This just in, they don’t win a lot when they do stuff like this. Okay they don’t win at all, the Bulls are 0-11 in games with offensive performances that are as cold as the polar vortex. Basketball is a simple game Pippen Peoples, you still have to score every once in a blue moon to win games. DJ Augustin had 15 points on 7-17 shooting but shot 1-7 from the land of three. Taj Gibson had 13 and Joakim Noah collected 11 points and 10 rebounds. Usually I have three lessons learned after each game. Not this time, I saw this one coming. In my preview, “Bulls Try To Blaze A Trail To #3 Seed Tonight” that you can find easily on the FanSided section of the Chicago Bulls team page on CNNSI, I mentioned some things that may happen if the Bulls didn’t come out with some act right. After you read this, compare the preview with the actual events that happened. Let’s break things down shall we?
1) The Bulls HAD to contain Damian Lillard, Wesley Matthews and Mo Williams. I also mentioned that Mo Williams was the X-factor.
Well the Bulls blew that one. These three combined for 45 points. I have said the same thing for months to the point I’m blue in the face. The Bulls cannot keep quick guards in front of them. Damian Lillard had 16 points four rebounds and four assists. Wesley Matthews had 11 points two rebounds and two assists. Oh the X-factor dude Mo Williams? He led everyone in the United Center in scoring with 18 points on 7-12 shooting. Couple that with three rebounds and two assists I would think that is proper support off a bench for a team trying to make a run in the playoffs. With DJ Augustin’s 15 points he added seven assists in the loss. Jimmy Butler had a pedestrian 10 points, six rebounds and two assists. What about Kirk Hinrich you ask? Who? Oh, the feast and famine dude. Let me put it this way, to all the Pippen Peoples out there, if you would donate 20 dollars for the “Hinrich Needs A Jumper” fund. It’s broken down to just about 66 cents a day to help this man buy a jump shot to help your team score. Pippen Ain’t Easy thanks you for your support. How did he do? Well close your eyes. What do you see? Nothing? Well that’s what Kirk Hinrich gave you last night. He was 0-6 with four fouls. Pippen Peoples let me introduce to you your point guard going into the playoffs. Good luck!
2) The Chicago Bulls have letdowns after big games.
Remember the MVP chants when Miami came to town. Joakim Noah was a star and everyone started talking a LITTLE bit about the Bulls being potential title contenders (they did…I paid attention, shaking my head.) Then the next night, the San Antonio Spurs came out and dismantled the Bulls to the point that Coach Tom Thibodeau fell on the sword saying that it was his fault for not having them prepared. Remember that? Well after the Indiana Pacers victory, I started reading about how the Bulls can play with anyone if they play well. So? If I had hair on my head, I could use an afro pick (I’m talking about the one with the fist on top.) The EXACT same thing happened on Friday night. The Portland TrailBlazers took the ball the Bulls got from their mama for Christmas and went home. Look the Milwaukee Bucks can win on any given night if they play well. They proved it by beating the Los Angeles Lakers this week! Look the Bulls are kidding themselves if they believe that they can be this inconsistent on the offensive end and beat any team four times in a week to advance out of the first round of the playoffs. Forget about Miami and Indiana, they’ll be awake and focused by then.
3) Carlos Boozer comes out like he cares, EVERY TIME he is reported of whining.
Breaking News to Pippen Ain’t Easy…Carlos Boozer was the best player on the floor for Chicago Friday night! He scored a team high 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in 24 minutes. How good was he? He shot 5-10 from the field in the first quarter. The rest of the team shot 3-13. If Boozer hadn’t been balling in the first quarter, the Bulls could have just forfeited the game. Carlos had 10 of the Bulls 16 points first quarter points. Get the picture? Hey Carlos, you have a back to back with the Celtics coming, start belly aching! You know something, let me get the ball rolling. The Chicago Bulls are treating him wrong! Wah! The Bulls are going to amnesty him in the offseason! Wah! The organization is trying to force him out! Wah! Okay Carlos, you can take it from there.
This is an example of why Chicago Bulls fans should log on to Pippen Ain’t Easy for their daily reports. We don’t claim to be polite. We are not known for bedside manner. What we will do is give you information based on what we think and spark debates. We told you basically what was going to happen against the Blazers and why. Then it happened. We don’t claim to be right all the time and if we are wrong, we have the Pippen Peoples to keep us in line. Just sayin.