So there were the Bulls Friday with the start to the NBA playoffs in Boston clearly ahead, and the Bulls ready to step off the curb of their erratic regular season and cross over to the elevated competition when they apparently didn’t realize there was one of those contra lanes with traffic coming from the opposite direction.
We sure didn’t see that one coming.
Because the Bulls were flattened and their season basically run over and left for dead in a disastrous 112-91 loss to the Miami Heat even lacking their big wheel, Jimmy Butler.
The Heat was on, and to paraphrase Glen Frey it was in their heads and on every beat; the pressure was high to stay alive. And yes, the Bulls felt it. But the Bulls could do little and go home for the summer as Miami got 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists from Tyler Herro, 21 points from rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr., and 19 points off the bench from Kevin Love and absolutely overwhelmed the Bulls, outplaying them from the start during a 19-0 first quarter run and then burying them in a 12-0 late third quarter Bulls comedy of errors that left the Heat — did anyone mention without injured Jimmy Butler — dancing away with a lead that got up to even 29 points during the fourth quarter.
Miami led for all but the first four minutes of the game and by double digits for all but about three minutes in the third quarter when the Bulls eased within 49-42 early in the quarter and 63-54 with five minutes left. But the Bulls then absolutely imploded in what looked like a clown car doing a Keystone Cops scene. There was an inbounds pass turnover that led to a three, three Miami offensive rebounds on one possession when the Bulls tried a small lineup, Andre Drummond making a steal and throwing the ball away on a two-on-one break after an offensive foul, Coby White dribbling the ball away, and suddenly it was 82-60 Miami going into the fourth quarter, and South Beach look out here they come.
Not so the Bulls, who for the second consecutive season lost the final play-in game in Miami after winning the first to fall just short of a playoff series. This year, however, it was settled much more quickly. Miami opens the playoffs in Boston noon Sunday.
"They came out and did what they were supposed to do,” said DeMar DeRozan, who led the Bulls with 21 quiet points. “Played extremely hard, played together, physical, impressive, more hungry. Came out the gate, we got it down to 10, 11 a few times and we just couldn't pull away from there. It was tough. Missed a lot of easy shots, couldn't find a rhythm offensively or couldn’t really get anything going. They had rhythm offensively, hit shots when they needed.”
But more significantly despite no one much wanting to admit so — Bulls coach Billy Donovan and players talked about shots just not going in — the Miami players were more physical from the start with Miami making a nice adjustment using center Bam Adebayo to defend DeRozan. There were some traps, but Adebayo’s presence and size left DeRozan unlike against Atlanta Wednesday off to a slow start. When the Bulls did make their one run in the second quarter it was pretty much all DeRozan, who was 3-of-4 on threes. But Adebayo’s size enabled him not to react to DeRozan’s pump fakes and DeRozan was just 3-of-4 on free throws.
And while the Bulls talked afterward about shots rimming out, shots are more difficult to make when defenders are closing fast, wearing you down picking up in the backcourt as Miami did, pressuring and getting over screens. Bulls broadcaster Stacey King likes to talk about five Javontes; for Miami it was five Carusos.
“They came out a little more desperate,“ agreed Caruso. “They had the mental advantage coming off a loss. Coming back home, they just came out with more aggression than us. But even then I thought we did a good job of minimizing damage. But we didn’t make a couple of shots and that was the theme of the night. Every time we needed to cut it to a two-possession game, something manageable, they'd get it to 10 and we just didn’t make the timely shots to give us that energy boost to get over the hump and they’d make a couple of plays and it would get back to 15, and it was just an uphill battle from there. We gave offensive rebounds (at the end of the third), I had a bad turnover on the baseline. We’re already down 10 points, you give those things up you get to that point in game and you have such little margin for error. We just didn’t do a good enough job setting ourselves up to win late in the game.”
And as much as everyone likes to diminish, the Heat could have a last laugh about that culture they talk about all the time, especially with Butler unable to play. Caruso said creating that sort of desperation is vital for the Bulls.
“Not being satisfied and having an end goal and seeing the vision for where you want to be,” said Caruso. “Some of that (being satisfied) is human nature. It’s easy to have a few wins in a row and have a good stretch, but having that desperation from the start to game 82, that’s got to be the vision of where you are and where you want to be.”
DeRozan didn’t get much help other than from Nikola Vučević with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Coby White after his 42 points against the porous Hawks defense was stymied by the Miami pressure along with Ayo Dosunmu. They combined to shoot 8-for-31 (4-for-19 on threes) as White has 13 points and Dosunmu 10. Javonte Green off the bench had a dozen, but Miami’s reserves also were too much with a 42-24 edge.
The Bulls shot a dismal 38% overall, 27% with 37 first-half points, were out rebounded 47-38 and outscored on the fast break 20-7 with Heat players constantly dunking in transition. It was a shockingly uncompetitive game for a Bulls team that did show unusual resilience and competency even during the worst of times, and even when they got behind 22-1 against the Heat earlier in the season and then won the game.
“Earlier this year we were down to them 22-1 and came back and won that game, so I’m pretty sure they talked about that before the game started,” said White. “Especially in this game with this intensity and playing with everything on the line, once you dig yourself a hole it’s a different type of hole than the regular season. It’s a different type of desperation for both teams. In that second quarter, we dug in defensively and got some stops, but we still didn’t shoot the ball well. So sometimes in this league it’s make or miss. We knew they were going to come out physical. They call it the Heat culture for a reason.
“Coach harped on it they were going to come out aggressive, especially after a loss in Philly and physical, and I feel like even in those moments we still got some good looks,” insisted White. “They protect the paint really well, but we got some spray outs and kick outs and when they were really closing in on DeMar he was making the right plays and we just didn’t hit shots and they hit shots at the beginning of the game and came out strong.”
Which perhaps you would expect for Miami back home, and without Butler it had many frankly packing for Boston. OK, me. And you also; admit it.
Especially the way the Bulls absolutely dominated the Hawks, and then learning Butler was out, and for good measure also Terry Rozier, and the Miami starters included rookie Jaquez, Nikola Jović and Caleb Martin. Who the heck was going to score?
And them after the Bulls took a 11-6 lead making three consecutive threes, and you were sure they had this one, it was a dizzying 19 straight Miami points as suddenly the Bulls shots were much more difficult with a defender right there, picking up in the backcourt, constantly chasing and no DeMar to bail you out with Adebayo casting a long shadow.
“We have not been a high volume three-point shooting team,” agreed Donovan noting Miami made 14 threes to 13 for the Bulls, though Miami shot 42% and the Bulls 30. “I kind of liked a lot of the shots we got. DeMar and Vooch score, but we always need a third or fourth guy to help out with the load a little bit. It was a game I thought we had good looks and didn’t shoot the ball well. The defense in the first quarter was not great, but as poorly as we shot it in the second quarter we outscored them by seven and held them to 13 points.
“This is the part for Coby and Ayo, consistency wise, they're at this level against Atlanta and then you have to be able to come back. Not score 42 points again, but keep coming back,” said Donovan. “We gotta do more of that. We did compete. The game was physical. I thought at times they drove the ball through us; I didn't like that. I thought we were battling and trying. Scoring for us was coming harder than it was for them. Give them credit that their defense was great. Don’t want to take anything way from them, but all that being said it's a 10-point game (at half) and then we come out and get it down to (seven). There were a few (bad) possessions and to their their credit they really capitalized on that and blew the game open. I liked the shots Coby got, really liked the shots Ayo got. We gotta make some of those to keep staying in the game. And when you aren't shooting well and you have that stretch in the third quarter it becomes a really difficult mountain to overcome."
Certainly when you are following the rainbows to find your dream. It still remains out of reach for the Bulls. And, c’mon, didn’t anyone see that bus coming?
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