Schuster: Bulls Eliminated; 'It Ended In A Blur'
By David Schuster--
CHICAGO (WSCR) Funny how life can change on a dime. With four minutes to go and the Bulls up 12 , I was quickly making my travel plans to Miami.
No doubt the Bulls were thinking the same thing as they led 76-64.
The United Center was rocking and the fans were also probably thinking about Game 6 Saturday night. But much like a tornado, the Heat went on a rampage and finished the contest on a 19-4 run .
It was game, set, match and season in an instant. In fact, more than one player said, "It ended in a blur".
The Bulls still led by seven with with 90 seconds to go, but Derrick Rose inexplicably fouled Dwayne Wade on a three-point field goal, and the subsequent free throw cut the lead to three.
From there ,Lebron James proved once again why he is the best player currently on the planet by hitting a couple of baskets and played suffocating defense on Rose on the other end of the court.
Add in a couple of Chris Bosh free throws and it came down to Rose. Unfortunately the league's MVP was not up to the occasion as he missed one of two free throws which would have tied the contest and then failed terribly on a last-second three-pointer.
Rose scored 25 points but on just 9 of 29 shooting to go along with four costly turnovers. This series proved to everyone that Rose needs help--scoring help.
Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer and Keith Bogans each scored only five points, and no team with three starters scoring that little can expect to win no matter how great their defense is.
The players were down afterwards but still pointed to the fact that they had a chance to win each of the last four games in the series. That fact is true but so is the reality that they failed to put away the Heat in any of those games. Poor shooting and numerous mistakes did them in.
So now the off season begins and what will the Bulls do to improve?
After a few days off, the brass will congregate and make their plans but it's pretty simple. More scoring from the two guard is a must as is more scoring in the middle. And figure out what to do with Carlos Boozer who finished the season sliding quickly. Rose is great and he will get better but if they don't get him help he will age quickly.
That's just the way it is in the NBA and the Bulls know it.
