NBA Eastern Conference Semi Finals Preview: Bulls vs Hawks

By Mike Misek

The Bulls got through the opening round quickly, and for the most part, easily. While four of the five games were close, there apparently needs to be an annual reminder that most playoff wins do not come easily. The Pacers were an energetic team that outhustled the Bulls in those four games and had a solid defensive strategy. They wanted to rough up Derrick Rose, and they did. Derrick RoseUnfortunately for them, putting Rose on the line for the tune of 12 free throws per game is not sound strategy when he is hitting 87 percent of them. Regardless, the hustle and physical play kept them in games. In the one game Indiana won, Tom Thibodeau had a rookie coaching lapse that proved critical. With the Bulls mounting a late rally, he made a pair of personnel errors that cost Chicago the game. First coming off a 15-2 run to close the lead to three with 18 seconds left, Thibodeau inexplicitly left Kyle Korver in the game for a defensive sequence after a dead ball when the Bulls needed to get a steal or foul. Korver ended up fouling Mike Dunleavy before the ball was inbounded. It was clear that Thibodeau realized he was wrong because on the next defensive possession after a Joakim Noah layup and-one he remembered to insert Ronnie Brewer. The alertness did not help his decision making when the Bulls then got the ball back down three with 14 seconds to go because he had both Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer on the court following a timeout despite the fact that they combine to have 1 career three point field goal. On the bench were Keith Bogans and CJ Watson. Bogans was 9-18 from three in the first round. While a great deal of praise has been heaped upon Tom Thibodeau and he won Coach of the Year honors, he was not the best coach in that series. Much like Larry Brown in 2001 and Mike Brown in 2009, Thibodeau has had the fortune of coaching a dynamic superstar at the peak of his abilities. Up until Game 4, he had not screwed it up. Then again, those moments are going to become more frequent as the playoffs continue.

Beyond Thibodeau’s mishap, the other two concerns for the Bulls coming out of the first round were the health of Derrick Rose and the play of Carlos Boozer. Rose sprained his ankle in Game 4, and had a pain numbing shot prior to Game 5. While Rose will have had five days of rest, it is still an issue worth monitoring. Carlos Boozer was never able to get going in the Pacers series. The length Indiana had upfront with Roy Hibbert, Jeff Foster, and Josh McRoberts caused him fits. Boozer has never been the longest or most athletic power forward in the league, and when the referees do not afford him the luxury of pushing off or using an arm bar it really comes back to bite him. Not only does he pick up the offensive fouls, but it turns him into a mediocre jump shooting power forward who does not play defense all that well. When that happens, the Bulls are better off with Taj Gibson or Kurt Thomas in the game. The Hawks matchup is again going to be determined by what Boozer can get away with. Atlanta has a great amount of length and athleticism up front. Over the past two seasons against the Hawks, Boozer has only scored 35 points on 16-37 shooting in 4 four games. If the referees keep him from using that arm bar, the Bulls will be again be lacking production from one of their most important offensive players.

Hawks First Round Review

Following a year where Atlanta failed to show up against Orlando in the playoffs, the Hawks not only showed up this time but picked the Magic apart. The season long struggle for the Magic to get anyone other than Dwight Howard to play defense continued. Jamal Crawford and Joe Johnson used the Magic as props. J.J. Redick was targeted a matchup they wanted to exploit and they did so repeatedly. Jameer “See you in the second round” Nelson was completely could not have stopped Crawford with a taser. Larry Drew decided to single cover Dwight Howard, and while he averaged 27 per game in the series it was not enough for the Magic. What will be interesting is how Larry Drew schemes to slow down Derrick Rose. He cannot make the same decision to play Rose straight up. Kirk Hinrich is their best perimeter defender, but he is doubtful for the series with a hamstring strain. They are going to need to turn to Jamal Crawford, Jeff Teague, Damien Wilkins, and possibly even Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams to guard Rose. While the primary defender is important, it is even more important that the Hawks are able to successfully trap Rose and get the ball out of his hands.

The concern with Atlanta is that while they are a solid defensive team in the half court, they do not get back on defense all that well. If Drew cannot instill into his players the importance of keeping Derrick Rose from getting out in transition, they have no chance of winning the series. Even if the Hawks can trap Rose and force the other Bulls to beat them in the half court, they still cannot afford to let Rose get the same kind of easy transition points the Magic were able to get throughout that series.

Key Matchup

Joe Johnson vs. Keith Bogans/Ronnie Brewer/Kyle KorverJoe Johnson

For Atlanta to have a chance in this series, Joe Johnson has to dominate the shooting guard matchup. Joe Johnson’s ability to dominate Jason Richardson and J.J. Redick in the first round has to create concerns for the Bulls. With Carlos Boozer’s offense MIA, Chicago leaned heavily on Kyle Korver’s shooting against Indiana especially late in games. While Korver is a respectable positional defender, he is by no means an ideal candidate to be isolated with Joe Johnson. If the Bulls switch Luol Deng onto Johnson, the burden then falls on Korver to guard Jamal Crawford, which is no better, or the likes of Marvin Williams or Josh Smith who both can go to the low post and take advantage of that mismatch. Ronnie Brewer is a much better defensive player, but his sporadic midrange shot is his limiting factor. If one assumes that the Bulls will already have a non-threat in Joakim Noah on the floor, adding another player who can be left in order to get the ball out of Derrick Rose’s hands is problematic. The best candidate to guard Johnson is Bogans who, while starting, plays less at the end of the games than the other two.

Prediction: Bulls in 6