@McLaren.
Golden State was exploited in that game in the paint. Same as what the Hawks and Cavs did. Only reason we escaped with a 2 point win is their 3 point shooting, in their house mind you. The Spurs also have the benefit of being amongst the best in 3 point shooting.
You'll have to explain that as Golden State outscored you in the paint, 58-52. You guys won because Rose hit a jump shot within' 7 seconds left of overtime, a missed shot by Rose in the final seconds of regulation, & overcoming a 7-0 run at the beginning of the 4th Qtr.
Whatever exploit your team had wasn't the winning factor. It literally came down to the wire & could have gone either way.
Kyrie had the benefit of a Rose who just came from not playing for two years. Yeah I know its a tired argument, but earlier in the season he was off his game. Then it didn't help he had to get that surgery to clean out his knee making lose even more games. I don't think Rose was present for the last meeting with Cleveland. Butler was also missing for two of those meeting and he is an all-star stud now. Noah also missed a game against them. Cleveland didn't face a full strength Bulls squad this season I think.
I would say neither has your team then, beyond the 1 game where only Varejao & Shumpert sat out the which was the same game you were without Noah, or Dunleavy. 2 games, half the team never played, & the 1 you did win, Love wasn't playing.
Your team was the underdog going into this series, but now that he's out & Smith is going to miss 2 home games, it evens out according to the statistics.
Again, Shumpert is an insult, and was never a major threat to Chicago in his career. Thompson may get his, but he's not gonna get many. Chicago just has to force Kyrie and Lebron to hero ball it. If Chicago's depth can come alive, I don't see Cavs having an advantage outside of Lebron mainly. I'm not saying he's gonna outplay our best, he probably will, but to outplay the entire team? With a Bulls that are sick of him? I don't see that happening over an entire series.
You're forgetting JR Smith who averaged 17 points over 3 of the 4 games; that's more than
Love did. They only have to force them for 2 games at most which is where Thompson & Mozgov will get more opportunities.
As for the Bucks, they are among the better defensive teams over the regular season according to stats, and it shown for the series. In fact they are the best at forcing turn overs in the NBA. Bulls luckily figured them out and ran them out to avoid a game 7. Cleveland would have probably dropped a game or two to the Bucks, who are much better opponent than the Celts, who shown were able to annoy the Cavs. You are right that its the playoffs, and it makes even 8th seeds play better than they should. I'm glad they served as a wake up call and made the Bulls bring their talents out in force. It's gonna be a 7 game war for sure.
In the 3-1 series where you won by 9, 8, 16, & only lost by 4 in the game without Rose? They may be the best at forcing turnovers, but they're also the 2nd to worst at committing turnovers as well. This wasn't the Bulls figuring them out. A team doesn't figure the other team out
after beating them 3-0. This was the Bucks figuring
you out in Game 3, & making the changes in 4 & 5. Game 6 was the Bulls taking advantage of a sloppy team.
The Bucks lost 3 of the 4 against the Cavs, the winning game coming from no James or Love. Meanwhile, the Celtics that had just rebuilt & got into a flow by the season end yet still swept finished 2-2 & only lost 1 of the games by 1 point despite a 41 point performance from James. Out of the 2, the Celtics were the ones that gave more trouble.
. Now to win the next 3 
.
