Well now, that was just….

 LOL taj gibson is soooo good.

 D-Rose took care of business and the Chi-town bigs were awesome. Oh and Deng being "too african" didn’t keep him from containing LeBron tonight.

Can’t blame Chris Bosh for this one folks….

 Great win, I feel like a team who is crying like they won it all after a 2nd round win is going to have a hard time boucning back from a defeat like that.  BUT Lebron and D-Wade are amazing players.  The Bulls just have to get it done at home for game 2.

 I think Bibby’s minutes need to be cut first off, because he is not helping out with anything at all on either side. His so called  "playoff experience" just gets Miami raped on defensive switches and rotations….. Chalmers played ok I guess but I think Miami should go big if they want to win this series and let Lebron or Wade play the point and let James Jones or Mike Miller start……. BTW I love two-handed poster dunks…..

Chicago played amazing team defense and your right Deng and Noah were impressive and Asik a monster in limited minutes.  He did most of his damage against Miami’s 2nd unit, but shooting over him is like shooting over a 11 foot brick wall, having him as your backup to Noah is freakish.

Dominate the glass? Check.

Dominate second chance points? Check.

Keep your man in front of you and then build a wall in the paint? Check.

Get back in transition on defense? Check.

Derrick Rose aggressively attacking and taking what the defense gives him? Check.

Equals? 20+ point victory.

I’m going to sleep real good tonight lol. I want to thank Taj Gibson for giving me something to jump out of my seat for tonight lol.

Both these teams are great, but this series is obviously coming down to great coaching, and Thibs just outcoached the sh*t out of spolestra, not even funny. Though, if Miami wins game 2, we have a series. Great teams win on the road, let’s see what the Heat can do Wednesday.

Somebody should ask BTPH can Melo grab 10 offensive rebounds, protect the paint, defend the pick and roll and provide energy like Noah does. And ask him did Asik look like just a big body bum tonight lol.

Oh and ask him does Thibs deserve any credit for devising a defensive scheme that suffocated the Heat. His decision to use Kyle Korver in the pick and roll with Rose was genius. Try trapping Rose now.

And Rose > D. Wade.

And the Heat thought the most difficult part of the road was behind them…

Boy do they love pre-mature celebration.

You don’t seem to get it, the things that are done by Joakim Noah can be done by a lot of people. The things done by Omer Asik can be done by most 7-foot people. The job of being big on an NBA team is not insignificant, but what they are doing is not special. What Derrick Rose does is special. What LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Carmelo Anthony is special. Give me as many special players as possible and I trust a GM worth his salt to find the role players. You want to know where you should have learned that, the Jordan Bulls. Six titles and only two players were there for all of them. It wasn’t that they were the only guys who mattered, but everyone else was replaceable. We know that because teams around the league kept thinking like you are where the guys around greats are somehow special guys like Grant, Caffey, King, Williams, Dele, and Longley all got fat contracts and history shows that they never lived up to it elsewhere. You saw that with the Lakers when Houston thought Trevor Ariza was worth a big contract or Toronto thinking Jason Kapono and then Hedo Turkoglu were worth huge contracts.

And yes, Derrick Rose is better than Dwyane Wade at this point in Wade’s career. 2006 Wade would be close.

 People put the Heat as the favorite to win… The Bulls bench responded well… Look at the Miami bench: other than Chalmers and JJones, there’s no one other than those guys that can produce and Taj Gibson just ate them all alive… Jamaal Magloire, Z, Juwan and Mike Miller were crap tonight… 

Wade had to do everything and look at how he walked towards the Miami bench… You can see him EXHAUSTED!

 I will NEVER agree trading Joakim Noah for Carmelo Anthony… I don’t consider him special… 

 lol @ BTPH. What are you talking about man.. Asik is a great post defender who’s an athlete who we got in the 2nd ROUND.

Come’on maaaaan.  It isn’t that easy..

He was exhausted because he’s not being defended by Ray Allen, a 35 year old man who most known for shooting three-pointers, anymore.

He’s great, but the combination of Bogans and Brewer will make him work. And I thought Rose played great defense on him during a few possessions as well.

Was anyone else impressed with the Bulls’ big lineup on D where they ran 6’4” Derrick Rose at pg, 6’8” Brewer at 2, 6’9” Deng at 3, 6’10” Gibson at 4 and 7′ Joakim Noah at the 5?

Name five people who play hard and are routinely left unguarded when outside the paint? Tyson Chandler, Taj Gibson, Nick Collison, Joel Anthony, and Serge Ibaka. And those are just the guys who are still alive in the playoffs. Every team has that guy. Anderson Varejao with LeBron James is valuable. Anderson Varejao on the Cavs without LeBron is really overpaid. Joakim Noah prior to Derrick Rose’s arrival was spastic. Now that there is someone who can go 1 on 2 or 1 on 3 really well, he is energetic.

 Bogans and Brewer made Wade work for his points in some possessions… They have faster legs and a bit more athletic… I can’t wait for Game 2…

Noah was so special that when he went down with an injury, the team never lost a beat. He was so special that Kurt Thomas and Brad Miller have been inserted for him before and the team has been just as good. The chemistry Rose has/had with them was good too. Jordan had chemistry with Paxson, Hodges, Hansen, Kerr, Buchler… it was amazing how the greats can do that.

Noah has a role and the role is not insignificant, but it is not a position that is so special that others can’t play it just as well.

 I have stood by the Bulls management from the get go as far as refusing to trade Noah and later Asik for another wing.  If they really were expendable for the type of ball Chicago plays and the vision of the team then the deals would have been done.

Thibadeau’s scheme thrives on defense and giving up those pieces wouldn’t fit with the team and coach’s vision, I think that is what it comes down to and myself as a Bulls fan am 100% okay with that.

I love the current squad and I’m glad Melo is in NY and Courtney Lee isn’t wearing a Bulls uniform right now.

 WTF? Joel Anthony only knows how to block shots and grab boards but he’s never the energy guy that Noah provides… Nick Collison is not even on the same level as Noah… 

Noah is special in my book lol. Anytime you get your team ten extra offensive possessions, that’s special lol.

TEN extra offensive possessions. Think about that.

 Yeah, Its kind of hard for me to believe that someone is argueing that the guy who just tallied 8 offensive rebounds in the Eastern Conference Finals plays a role " but it is not a position that is so special that others can’t play it just as well."

Not a dime a dozen player.

BTPH you just don’t seem to understand that Noah was out for the REGULAR SEASON, this is the Playoffs it is much different playing without someone like him who brings defensive intensity, hustle, rebounding and toughness, Noah is a huge part of this Bulls team and the fact you think trading him and a few other energy guys for Melo would be a good deal you are completely off base. Look at the Knicks, they traded many quality role players and solid guys for a star and it destroyed their team chemistry. The Bulls won this game tonight on defense, if they traded for Melo a guy who you believe woulda been worth it, then I doubt the Bulls woulda won because defense wins championships and Melo is at best an average defender. They really limited the Heat offensively tonight because of those guys such as Gibson, Bogans, Asik and Noah who you think can easily be replaced. You really seem to underestimate guys who bring energy and think they can be replaced by a guy who brings starpower, you are sadly mistaken.

Any 7 footer can do what Asik did? Ok if we go by that logic Hasheem Thabeet could’ve been as effective as he was tonight, the answer for anyone who knows Basketball is no, sure you can’t teach size but Asik knows how to utilize every ounce of his body to defend the paint, and rebound the ball.

Collison is not on the same level as Noah defensively or brings the same kind of intensity, if you swapped those players, there would be a significant difference in how the Bulls play, and Joel Anthony are you serious? You clearly do not know much about Basketball, he isn’t even close to how good Noah is.

And the Bulls missed the playoffs and were in position to win the lottery to acquire Derrick Rose with who on their roster exactly? And the Bulls were not just as good when Joakim Noah went down?

It isn’t as if that same praise was heaped on Anderson Varejao the past few years or anything, right? Its not as if Ben Wallace was surrounded by four great offensive players in Detroit, and then signed a huge contract with the Bulls and saw his career change dramatically when Sheed, Billups, Prince, and Hamilton became Hinrich, Duhon, Deng, and Tyrus Thomas, right?. Tyrone Hill didn’t ride Allen Iverson to a big contract either. Nope, none of that happened.

 Every player always has to go through a rookie and sophomore wall.. Noah is no exception… He struggled to fit in in his early years… But he learned along the way, worked really hard and look at the result…

Rose is the flashy star running back who’s fast, can take it 80 yards and who has all of the endrosements… All of the fan love.

Noah? He’s just the left tackle who’s knocking the defensive end on his ass every play and keeping that running lane open.

You NEED that guy.

 Dude, I get what you are saying, but he is a valuable player to the 2011 Chicago Bulls.  No you don’t need to build your franchise around him, but with Thibs as your coach and this current roster then yes, he’s an amazing player to have on your roster, he does the same things as Anthony, Collison and others but at a higher level.

No one is crowning Noah the next Dwight Howard, but him with Deng on the wing is a MUCH better fit on this Bulls roster than Melo and some 7′ lane clogger.  

Like I said that was the Regular Season, they could of afforded for guys like Boozer and Noah to go down but in the Playoffs they need both of those guys, you can even argue with both of those two healthy the Bulls could of had a better record so your argument has no real support. You can’t expect Noah to do it all himself, I never said he was a star who was gonna lead his team to the Playoffs, of course he needs Rose to win games but you come on here completely discrediting role players and energy guys that bring intangibles that you believe can be easily replaced, I find that completely absurd. Noah did a tremendous job tonight and you believe a lot of guys can do what he did which makes you wrong. You claim most seven footers can do what Asik did which is completely off base, Asik is a good post defender and paint protector and has shown so in limited minutes all season. Guys like Bogans made Wade a top 5 player, work for every shot he had and did a great job. Gibson provided much needed scoring off the bench for the Bulls and really did a great job rebounding, scoring and defending. You act like what they do is nothing special when clearly they destroyed the Miami Heat on both the offensive and defensive end, each one of those guys making key contributions obviously Rose heading the show but he couldn’t of done it without them.

Rose actually provides little rebounding and just average/slightly above average defense…

Of course you have to put the ball in the basket and Rose does that as well as anyone, but if you look at the Bulls’ rebounding/defensive statistics throughout the entire season… That’s why they win games.

There I said it. I said it on draft.net ..He’s a better team player, plays a more valuable position, plays better defense, leader by example,…etc You can’t count the intangible energy he brings to this team, even when he was on the sidelines earlier this season. To win you need team chemistry, and players buying into a system. They way the Bulls played tonight shows that.

C.A. is a great scorer, but then what? He had a pretty good team in Denver and never won squat, and as improved as the Knicks look, most of their real improvement surrounded Amare stepping up his intensity and effort and some young role players like Douglas and Fields playing big roles. Anthony doesn’t bring it every night and the whole forcing a trade like a jerk shows where his priorities are.