12/2/12
The 76ers were coming off a win against the Charlotte
Bobcats and had to play the next day against the Bulls. This is the first time
the two teams have met since last year’s playoffs. The Bulls are a physical
team that is defense oriented. They are not an offensive minded team, but they
know how to execute plays on offense. They also are a top 10 rebounding team in
the NBA. The Bulls are fourth in the NBA in points allowed per game allowing
92.3 points per game. I expected the 76ers to show fatigue in this game since
they were playing a second game in a row on the road. Nick Young was a late
scratch for the 76ers with a hyperextended great left toe. The Bulls have been
without their star point guard Derrick Rose for the beginning of the season. He
is recovering from surgery on his ACL in which he injured against the 76ers
last year in game one of the playoffs.
The 76ers got off to another quick start in the first
quarter leading by seven at the most, but let the Bulls get back in the game.
The Bulls did the same when they had an eight point lead in the second quarter.
It was a back and forth half and very defensive minded. There was a scrum that
occurred in the second quarter when Joakim Noah was frustrated with Evan
Turner. Noah was frustrated because Turner elbowed him in the face and the
referee’s whistle was silent and they let the two teams play. After that play
happened both players were standing face to face and trash talking one another
and the referee had to separate them and he gave both players technical fouls. Both
teams were good at sharing the ball and letting everyone make baskets. No one
in particular stood out for the half on both teams. The game was tied at 41 at
halftime.
The offense started to pick up in the second half. Shots
were starting to fall in for both teams. The Bulls were really physical and grabbed
rebounds like it was their job. Jason Richardson and Turner did not have an
effective second half. Both of them shot a combined 3-16 in the half including
0-6 from three-point range. Thaddeus Young and Jrue Holiday scored 34 of the
teams’ 47 points in the second half. Luol Deng took over the second half for
the Bulls scoring 16 of his 25 points in the game. Both Noah and Carlos Boozer
recorded double-doubles. Both collected 12 points, but Noah snatched 13
rebounds whereas Boozer grabbed 12 rebounds. Rip Hamilton had 15 points and Taj
Gibson scored 11 points off the bench and collected eight rebounds. Turner
finished with 12 points and seven assists in the game. Lavoy Allen had 10
points and snatched eight rebounds. Holiday finished with 23 points and dished
seven assists. Thad Young ended with 22 points and seven rebounds in the game.
In the end, the Bulls won the game 93-88.
Overall, the 76ers were lagging and needed to rest. They get
a two day break until they play on Tuesday. I do question Doug Collins’
handling of the 76ers bench. If they were getting abused on the rebounding
edge, why didn’t he play Kwame Brown? He’s a player who can play well on the
defensive side of the ball and get rebounds. Would Nick Young have made a
difference if he were in the game? Not really. He may be a scorer, but he’s
been having an inconsistent year so far. The 76ers also needed to run plays
that had them cut to the basket instead of running pick and roll plays or pick
and pop plays. The Bulls easily knew how to defend the pick and roll and pick
and pop plays. The Bulls may be ineffective on offense without Rose, but
defense has never escaped their minds. They will be a solid team once he comes
back. The 76ers fell to 10-7 in the standings while the Bulls are 8-7.
Would Nick Young have
been a factor in this game if he were healthy? Sound off and stay tuned to my
next entry on Tuesday when the 76ers host the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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