First Ever Blog Post

So for my first ever blog post, I figured I would write about the Blackhawks second round playoff series with Vancouver, and then maybe some NASCAR analysis. That Talladega sure is something, huh?

Don't worry, that was a joke. Lets talk about the Bulls. As if there's anything else to talk about. 

As a person who admittedly doesn't watch a ton of NBA basketball, watching the Bulls in the playoffs makes me remember that even though the season is too long and regular season games are pretty frequently boring, professional basketball at its highest level is some of the best . This series may have turned me back into a full-time NBA fan. I won't rehash all the amazing things about this series. You watched it, you know what happened. Instead, you can read what I think about this series, since I know you were curious. Lets start with the negative stuff

1. I don't care what Doug Collins says, the Bulls deserve no credit for their performance last night. At least three or four times, Collins said that the Bulls had shown heart by coming back from 14 down to make it a game, but I don't really see it. That game was 100% there for the taking in the fourth quarter, and nobody on the Bulls stepped up to take it. The only reason Game Seven was within reach at all was that as soon as the Celtics got their big point lead, they started playing just as terrible as the Bulls were. Yesterday wasn't a case of who wanted it more, it was a case of who didn't want it the least. Boston missed free throws, got careless with the ball, and got into foul trouble. It should have been a recipe for a W. Instead, Chicago stopped passing, dribbled too much, and missed the open shots they managed to get.
2. Ben Gordon is the most over-valued player in the NBA. He never passes the ball, takes almost exclusively contested shots, and continues to take those shots even if he hasn't made one all night, yet every analyst seems to think that Ben Gordon is where amazing happens. My friend Azim, who watches way more basketball than I do, often refers to him as "the black hole" because the ball never comes out of him. Everyone in Chicago pretty much knows and understands  this about Ben, but somehow Gordon has tricked everyone else in the universe into thinking he is a great shooter. For example, in his April 28th column for ESPN.com's page 2, Bill Simmons wrote a column where he (correctly) detailed after game 2 why the Bulls-Celtics series has the potential to be one of the greatest of all time. While I usually agree with Simmons, he had this little tidbit of information to share with everyone: "All I know is this: Only a few current players can win two games per playoff series by themselves, and he's one of them. If the goal is to win the title and not just compete for one, then I want Ben Gordon on my team. It's as simple as that." I didn't agree with that statement after Ben's huge game 2, and I don't agree with it now. The Bulls will lose just as many games because of Ben Gordon than they will because of him. If he could, he would take every shot in every game, even if he knew he would miss 90% of them. He is too streaky, too selfish, and too terrible at defense. Addition by subtraction: Lose BG.
3. I am tired of Ray Allen. He seems like a nice guy, and I think he does a lot of charity stuff, but I am still tired of him. I'm tired of his shiny head, of his silly arm sleeves, and of his ability to knock down clutch threes.

Now for some good stuff...

1. Everyone talked all series long about the emergence of Derrick Rose, and deservedly so. He played great. Not enough people talked about Joakim Noah, and they should have. Unlike Ben, I want players like Joakim on my team if I'm competing for a championship. Sure, he doesn't have a ton of offensive skills, but he hustles, gets rebounds, scores on tip-ins and gets blocks. Most of all, every one else hates him, which makes me love him. Any player who can make everyone else hate him must be doing something right. Nothing made me happier than hearing Celtics fans chant, "Noah sucks" and as far as I'm concerned his dunk in game 6 was the best play of the series.
2. As evidenced by T's posts, a lot of people think Vinny Del Negro made a lot of stupid decisions in the series, but Doc Rivers made just as many, and he won a championship last year. How many times can Doc bring in Tony Allen for crucial minutes at the end of a game when he hadn't played at all. Rivers has to be the only person in the world who thinks Tony Allen has skills. Tony Allen's mom thinks he should have stayed on the bench.

That's it for this series. It was a nice distraction from the Cubs being terrible and getting hurt, and a great way for me to vent some of my anti-boston feelings. The Cubs have started to turn it around, which is nice. Maybe they'll trade Kevin Gregg soon.