Blame Game- Bulls/Heat Game 4

There's something we all need to remember while we watch the end of this series. The Bulls weren't supposed to be here. Before the season started, an Eastern Conference Finals appearance was the best case scenario. They almost did themselves a disservice by raising our expectations so much during the season, and playing so fundamentally sound that we didn't think of them like a young team that hadn't been past the first round before. But in the last three games (well, two games that I've seen, although I feel like this applies to game 2 as well) they've looked like a young team, and the Heat have looked like the guys that have been there before. And they have. So while this loss is as painful as a loss has been since Game 7 of the Celtics series from a few years ago, we should do our best to keep things in perspective. That being said, we should have won Game 4.

TT- 40%
I never finished writing a blame game for Game 3, but rest assured, TT would have received a good amount for his unwavering faith in Fredo down the stretch, despite the fact that he isn't hitting shots and even having trouble guarding Mario Chalmers. I just gave him credit in the Hawks series for his newfound flexibility. But for some reason he wasn't trusting himself, Sunday night with Fredo, and tonight with Big Sexy. Yes, I know I wrote this post back in January where I blasted TT for having too much faith in Kurt. But tonight he needed to have a little more faith in him. With Asik out, Boozer and Noah weren't able to handle the minutes they played (49 and 45, respectively), and were clearly gassed down the stretch. A little Kurt Thomas action in the middle there might have helped, and maybe he even stretches the defense out a little by setting good screens and hitting the open 17 footer. It's not like he's a rookie that would be shaken by the moment, or rusty from not having played in awhile. Kurt Thomas is going to be Kurt Thomas on November 1st or June 15th. There is a time and place for Big Sexy, and it was tonight.

The other beef I have with TT right now is the play calls. Standing around and letting Derrick work 1-on-1 is the type of thing VDN would have called, and you don't want to be compared to him when it comes to play calling. After the first try, I think it should have been clear that Derrick wasn't going to get the shot he wanted against LeBron. How about some creativity? Will suggested Korver sets the screen for Derrick, daring the Heat to leave him open again. I would have liked Deng with the ball up top, and Derrick trying to get free off an off-ball screen, with Deng maybe taking it to the hole against the smaller Wade if nothing opened up. But the number of forced shots and 24 second violations in the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter and overtime were a testament to not only the Heat's strong defense, but a lack of imagination in the Bulls offense as well.

Derrick- 40%
I love you, Derrick, but if you hit both your free throws with 1:09 left, we win the game. The 1-9 from beyond the arc, 8-27 from the field, and 7 turnovers (which could have easily been 10 if not for a few lucky bounces) did not help either.

But to reiterate the theme from the opening paragraph, Derrick is 22 years old. It's OK that he can't single-handedly win every game against the Heat just yet, even if we've seen him do it before. The Bulls will learn from this experience, and I bet Derrick never looks this...shaken?... in a playoff series again.

Korver- 10%
Make your open 3s, Fredo. What the hell do you want me to say? I'm on record as saying that 2 out of the 3 between Ronnie, Bogans, and Deng should always be on the floor when LeBron and Wade are, or there's a huge mismatch. While Korver never had to guard either of them this game, the fact that he's having trouble with Chalmers and Mike Miller suggests he should maybe start picking up DNP-CDs in the near future. Maybe see what Rasual Butler can do instead.

Mike Miller/Udonis Haslem (and the underestimation thereof)- 10%
Sometimes +/- is a stupid stat, and tells lies. But when the +/- looks like this, there must be something to it:
LeBron -1
Wade -10
Bibby -11
Anthony -14
Miller +36
Haslem +25

Look at that. +36 in a game you won by 8. I know Miller hasn't shot well, but that doesn't mean he can't shoot well. And you need to be prepared for that. The Bulls weren't.

Absolved:
Boozer- While I'm still mad about the rotational defense, I feel like some of it can be credited to playing 49 minutes as much as just being naturally bad at it, and the last two games he's been good on offense and is finally grabbing boards that aren't just over his teammates.
Big Shot Bogans/TBN- Terrible decision on a 3-on-1 aside, TBN pretty much shut down Wade, and Bogans did as well when he was in (Bogans led the Bulls with a +10). Not much else they can do.
Bennett Salvatore-We ripped him a new one when he made that ridiculous call in Game 4 of the Hawks series, so we should give him credit right now. It takes huge stones to call an offensive foul on the last play of the game against a superstar like James, even if it's the correct call. No one outside of Chicago would have complained that loudly if he had swallowed the whistle there. Good job, Salvatore (Crawford, on the other hand...)