Dreadful first quarter dooms lifeless Bulls, more toughness needed in Game 3
CLEVELAND — By NBA regulations it took 48 minutes, but Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals may as well have been over after just 12.
By that time, the Cleveland Cavaliers had already set a franchise record for the largest lead after the first period, a resounding pushback to the Chicago Bulls' confidence after their Game 1 win.
"The story of the game was the first quarter," Tom Thibodeau said curtly from the postgame podium after losing 106-91 on Wednesday night. "They smashed us."
With Tristan Thompson earning the start – a move that allowed LeBron James to shift back to his natural wing position – the Cavs outhustled the Bulls on the interior and exposed their suspect frontcourt on second chance opportunities. Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah combined for 11 boards, less than half of the 23 rebounds they averaged throughout the regular season. That might have been acceptable had Gasol's defense not been so porous or Noah's offense not so invisible.
James set the tone for the Cavaliers by driving incessantly at Jimmy Butler (who earned the judge's decision after Game 1), but Thompson brought a buoyant energy on the glass that Chicago simply couldn't match. Half of his 12 rebounds came on the offensive end.
Naturally the Bulls attempted to adjust by helping on James, who hit just two of his 13 field goals outside of the lane, but that only opened up uncontested looks from the perimeter. Mike Dunleavy was the primary culprit there, consistently sagging while Iman Shumpert drained three uncontested triples. Reserve James Jones added the first of his five 3-pointers and all of the sudden it was 38-18. The Bulls didn't come within single digits for the rest of the game.
"When you have great players, and they have two of them, it requires help," Thibodeau said. "But you can't do it recklessly."
The Bulls were reckless, lifeless and perhaps complacent after limiting James to 19 points on 40% shooting in Game 1. But by no means do the Bulls have grounds for complacency after dropping three of four regular season games to the Cavs.
This is, after all, the same team that barely knew its identity heading into the postseason, a product of injuries more so than anything else. Early in the year they sandwiched a win on the road against the Clippers in between losses to Indiana and Sacramento. And then on Jan. 27, they became one of just two eventual teams to beat Golden State in Oakland, only to commemorate that win with another confounding loss to the Lakers two days later.
"Who knows? We've been like this the entire year. We haven't put a finger on it yet," said Derrick Rose, who shot just 6 of 20 for 14 points and was ineffective on pick-and-rolls. "The way we came out it's like a nonchalant type of attitude. Defense was the key. We kind of let them go anywhere they wanted to go."
The onus was supposed to be on Butler — Chicago's best answer to James — but he finished with a game-high 33. James bullied him in the post or blew by him once his jumper was established. Up 58-39 with just under four minutes left in the first half, James baited Butler into face-up defense only to surge past him, elevate and crush a dunk, which essentially sent the message that James had promised after Game 1.
"It was easy for him," Butler said. "Got to the rim too easily. Lots of layups, reckless fouling … He did what he said he was going to do."
Once the Bulls regroup from Wednesday's poor performance, they'll have to avoid being content with the fact that they stole homecourt advantage against the favorites without Kevin Love or J.R. Smith.
"That sounds good," Rose said of the initial accomplishment. "But we was trying to win the second one."
Considering their abysmal effort, they didn't try nearly hard enough.