[marcusfizer21Participant]

Atlanta Hawks guard Jamal Crawford wasn’t discouraged by the Chicago Bulls’ 86-73 win in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday.

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In fact, Crawford found reasons to be optimistic as the series — which is even at 1-1 — shifts to Atlanta for Game 3 on Friday.

“If that’s their best shot, we’re in good shape,” Crawford said. “As bad as we played, to be down six with four minutes to go, we had our chances. We’ll take some positives from it and watch some tape.”

The Hawks whittled a 14-point deficit to six in the fourth quarter, but the Bulls went on a 9-2 run to secure the win.

“It was a desperate game for them, and they played like it,” Crawford said. “Now we have to go home and take care of business.”

[JoeWolf1]

 Any game where Derrick Rose went 10-27 and Boozer went 4-12 for 8 points is clearly not Chicago’s best effort.  He’s a vet and isn’t going to back down from a challenge, but comon’ I don’t know why he’d think a game where Chicago shot under 40% was somehow their best effort.  

[marcusfizer21Participant]

 I don’t know what Crawford is talking about but I hope the Bulls can use that as a prime motivation to shut him up… Knowing DRose, he’s not gonna talk alot like that but I’m pretty sure they’ll let their game do the talking… The Hawks are pretty much beatable even during their series against Orlando… They weren’t that dominant anyway… Look at the Mavs, they talk with respect against their opponents and they are up 2-0… The Hawks and the Bulls are tied at 1-1 yet Crawford has the guts to talk smack…

[JoeWolf1]

 Yeah, Joe Johnson doesn’t go 5-5 from 3 in every game.  Atlanta is no slouch my any means, but this Bulls team is still growing and adjusting to the playoffs.  They haven’t played great in any of their first 7 playoff games (Good in a only 2, IMO), but they’ve got enough talent I don’t know why anyone would underestimate them.

[marcusfizer21Participant]

 Boozer HAS TO PLAY BETTER… I know that his toe is bothering him but he’s been a HUGE disappointment in my eyes… DRose is the leader but the least Boozer has to do is shoulder the load a little bit because he’s been playing like S#it all playoffs long…

[kngojcParticipant]

 The Bulls are learning on the fly. They haven’t made it past the first round in awhile. They’re just getting used to the playoffs and the certain toughness it takes to be a serious contender. But once they get into a rhythm, watch out for them because they can make some noise.

[Tongue-Out-Like-23Participant]

Cmon you two.. you guys know Jamal Crawford isn’t completely serious about the "If that’s the Bulls best, we’re okay".  He’s just saying that this Hawks team can hang with the Bulls.  They aren’t backing down.

[i’m jus so offendedParticipant]

 1 question, how do you get turf toe from playing on hardwood????

[WinterSoldierParticipant]

The Bulls are designed for regular season wins, not playoff wins.

[nath09Participant]

If you were coaching an underdog against the MVP’s conference leading team would you be happy if one of your players started talking themselves up at 1-1, I don’t think so.

[Chicago1980Participant]

I have no clue why he would say that like someone said boozer played bad rose had 8 turnovers and he shot bad and the bulls still won fairly easy.  that was in no way their best game and they still held atlanta to 72 points that was dumb for him to say. I know its good to have confidence but come on they shot like 51% the first game and hit over 50% in 3 pointers thats not gonna happen again.

[SwatLakeCityParticipant]

 @marcusfizer21, I’ve seen this act before from Boozer. He gets you to the dance but he never gets you the girl. He’ll get you to the playoffs but once there he plays horribly and you wonder what happened to that regular season success. I don’t know what it is but every year he does this. (Trust me I know, I’m a Jazz fan. I’ve watched numerous playoff series with him performing poorly.) Maybe he’s tired and he’s trying to take a break from a long 82 game season. Well if that’s it, he’s choosing the wrong time to take a break. Now do you all believe me when I said that Boozer would not play that well in the playoffs? Its not just his hurt toe, he does this every year. (cry-baby)

If Boozer keeps playing like this, then Derrick Rose is going to have be just spectacular. Not something he can’t do, but not just him so will Noah and Deng as well. Hopefully Coach Thibadeau will knock some sense into Boozer, because he cannot keep playing like this if he wants to get to the Finals and win a championship.

[ghettosermonParticipant]

Crawford is actually smart in saying this, he wants to instill confidence in this team. This isn’t a regular team. The Hawks have been atrocious in the playoffs recently. Last year vs the Magic they stepped on the court believing they would lose by 30. It’s good if the players believe what he’s saying, it will prevent them from being discouraged. In the past if they fell behind in the first quarter they would quit. Also I think it’s time to actually give the Hawks credit for playing great defense. Everyone can say that Boozer and other guys can’t play any worse. But look at the Magic series with the exception of Dwight Howard every Magic player was atrocious and far below season averages. In a 5 games series that’s beyond just fluke. That’s good defense. I still will pick Chicago to win the series in 6 because Drose is one of the best on the planet, but I have no problem with what Crawford is saying. People always overrate bulletin board material.

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

Jamal is kind of an idiot and he certainly thinks he is far better than he actually is. But he is also just saying what I’m sure every other team in the league is thinking, the Bulls are in big trouble. They are having a hard time getting a 1 to 1 split on their home court against the Hawk after struggling to handle the Pacers. I suspect the Bulls will still beat the Hawks and Jamal will have to shut up. But considering how the Heat are dismissing the much much better Celtics, I can’t see the Heat having any trouble with the Bulls if the Bulls keep playing like they have all playoffs.

The playoffs are another level of intensity. Some teams don’t have the ability to raise their game and compete there. Some players don’t have that ability. Boozer is probably a good example of a guy who doesn’t have that extra gear to switch into to use in the playoffs. The Bulls relied on a great second squad to get league leading wins in the regular season. But now the opposing teams have shortened their bench and the Bulls can’t feast on weak 9th, 10th or 11th man bench players. Those guys are staying on the bench and the Bulls have to deal with 40+ minutes from opposing starters and the 6th and 7th men.

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