April 28, 2009

Gordon / Game 5 Pre game notes

  • Gordon vows to play despite an MRI showing a strained hamstring.  BG is listed as day to day.  Without Gordon, the Bulls will be real thin and probably lose the "tired" advantadge they supposedly have.  Probably lose the game for that matter.
  • Speaking of tired, everyone needs to remember 3 of the Celtics starting 5 are young too- it's only a matter of Pierce and Allen playing through fatigue. I don't see this as an issue till at least game 6.  It's nothing to get excited about as Bulls fans. Remember the Celtics went through a lot more basketball last year, (granted with KG), but this is the playoffs and I'm sure the Garden will be rocking enough to energize them.
  • Watching the tape again from the game (First I digress, My first attempt to record the game on its original telecast on my dvr was a failure due to the length of the game, thus leaving me without the two overtimes to watch.  You can imagine my excitement when I heard they were going to replay the game on ESPN Classic Monday @ 5pm ET.  The RCN guide said MLB baseball, but I recorded it anyway and extended the recording for a half hour extra, but still got only till a minute left in the fourth! Yes I know, it's partly my fault (but mostly RCNs), so for now I've scoured the net for the most detailed highlights from the game so that I wouldn't miss many possessions.) But watching the tape showed me the Bulls did the little things.  For instance, with Rondo's missed shot at the end of 1OT, Rose skies for the rebound.  After Salmons blocks Pierce's three, Gordon lunges for the basketball.  Good to see the Bulls are hustling every second of play.  We've seen too many times during the regular season where other teams get a tip in or another last second shot to burn us.
  • Tyrus had several huge boards during the game that cannot be under appreciated. It makes up for his decision not to pass to Rose and hitting only 1 of 2 free throws giving Ray Allen the chance to tie at the end of regulation.  For those of you wondering, Thomas and Rose pretty much shot an identical percentage from the charity stripe this season. (.783 vs. .788 respectively)
  • I've seen a couple place now talking about how the Celtics won 3 game 5's last year at home on their way to the title.  In general, most of these made for tv stats mean jack.  There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.  However I think this one is actually relevant as it shows the resiliency of the team, and the ability to step up in big time high pressure situations with the crowd behind them.  Lets just hope they are past their time to get at us.
  • Less than 8 hours till tip off……

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