Bulls @ Pacers, 3/18/11, 6:00 CST, CSN Options

[Balta1701-B]

Bulls riding an 8 game winning streak, their longest since a 9 game streak in 2005.

[rockren]

Don't fret over tonight's game too much. Yeah it's upsetting to know we could be a full 1.5 up on Boston, but thankfully the Celts got stomped in Houston tonight nothing changed other than the season getting another day older. Hats off to the Pacers as the were great this evening.

*That is the softest game I have ever seen Joakim Noah play. I'm not even commenting on his lack of rebounds (3), but Hibbert really took it to him during a key run in the 1st quarter and late in the 4th. It's good to see Hibbert actually have a killer instinct as he looks to have his confidence back. I don't mean to make excuses for Jo, but he may still be suffering from effects from the flu. I hope so, otherwise if we get these guys in RD 1....we'll HAVE to see more of Asik on Hibbert. Hibbert did a great job on both ends tonight for Indiana.

*Luol outplayed Granger slightly overall, but not by much. That match-up could have been considered a stalemate, which the Bulls would usually take when these clubs meet. However, down the stretch- Granger was better. I believe on the 2nd of a B2B and with Lou playing 47 minutes tonight after Granger only played 31 due to follow trouble...that helped Granger in the late 4th and OT. The Pacers did everything they could to get Granger the ball in space, but the Bulls did a great job of taking that away with the bigs extending off of screen only helping Lou when he needed help, which wasn't that much of the time.

*I'll acknowledge Hansbrough had a great game for the Pacers tonight as well. If he had day light from 15 feet he was money every time. Perhaps the Bulls coaches acknowledged Hansbrough's monster efforts against the Knicks on back to back games this last week when he hit jumper after jumper to be a fluke? We need to make Hansbrough put it on the deck a lot more if we see these guys in the playoffs. Kurt Thomas logged way way too many minutes tonight. "Psycho T" doesn't guard anyone and we gave him the night off on that end tonight...Boozer could have put a lot more pressure on Hansbrough offensively, but probably would have gave it back to him on the other end anyway. Taj Gibson had a great game in my estimation- I loved his effort all game.

*With the Bulls being down 20 late in the 3rd- they could have easily packed it in. I NEVER turned this game off after knowing how much grit this club has and sure enough...they tied it at the end of regulation. If you didn't get the chance to watch this game, I'm sorry. You would have been so proud of the Bulls as they played like this was the last game they'd ever play in the final minutes. They pounded the glass and were relentless after loose balls. On a night where everything went wrong, the Bulls' effort stayed true. I don't even want to hear, "Where was that effort in the first 42 minutes?" The Pacers were breaking their backs with hitting tough shot after tough shot and great execution. The Bulls just kept fighting. While this game was a loss for the Bullies...it felt like a win to me.

*This game was similar to our loss in Toronto right after the All Star break....Derrick Rose did everything he possibly could to get the Bulls a win. He had 19 points in the last 18 minutes for those counting at home. He blew by Collison, dribbled through double teams off of screens routinely and drew contact at the rim with reckless abandon yet had complete control. In a game where there was extreme conflict...he was able to find clarity and steer our team in the right direction. The will on this team can't be put into words. We can win this whole thing.

[MB33]

no comment on the game