Westerlund: 5 Thoughts After Game 5 Of Bulls-Bucks
By Cody Westerlund--
CHICAGO (CBS) – Few in the United Center on Monday night besides those on the Bucks bench wanted a Game 6 or envisioned a trip back to Milwaukee, but that's exactly what we're getting after the upstart Bucks pulled out a 94-88 win over the Bulls in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Game 6 is set for Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Bradley Center, where the Bucks will try to extend their season and the Bulls will face stare pressure square in the eye.
As for Monday, here are the observations and notes of the night.
1. Jimmy Butler downplayed the idea that he and point guard Derrick Rose need to "put the team on our shoulders," but this warrants repeating: The Bulls will only go as far as Butler and Rose lead them in this postseason.
That wasn't far in Game 5, as the duo combined to score 33 points on abysmal 10-of-41 shooting. Butler scored 20 points on 5-of-21 shooting, while adding 10 rebounds, six assists, four steals and two turnovers.
Rose really struggled, scoring 13 points on 5-of-20 shooting, while dishing out just two assists against six turnovers. After shining in the first three games of the series, Rose has faltered in the past two, averaging 13.5 points on 30 percent shooting and adding 4.0 assists against 7.0 turnovers.
What's the reason for Rose's inconsistency? Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau largely avoided a direct response.
"He'll bounce back," Thibodeau said. "He's not going to be great every game. We'll take a look at the film tomorrow, get ready for the next one. He's missed a lot of time. There's going to be some bumps. He's always bounced back."
Rose was more specific, admitting Milwaukee's aggressive defense has been a challenge.
"It's the trap," Rose said. "They run people at you. When two or three people are guarding you, there's nowhere to go on the floor. Just find ways through it."
Michael Carter-Williams scored a team-high 22 points for the Bucks on 10-of-15 shooting, with most of the damage coming at Rose's expense. Carter-Williams had averaged 12.0 points on 39 percent shooting in the first four games of the series.
"We hit a lot of tough shots," Rose said.
"It's the first game he hit that many shots. Tough shots, but he made it. So make an adjustment next time."
2. The Bulls were deep on introspection Monday, a sign of a team searching for answers. Following a roller coaster season in which the Bulls have shined against some of the league's best and then puzzlingly laid their share of duds, reserve forward Taj Gibson may have put it best.
"At times, we just think we're a little bit too good," Gibson said.
Gibson went on to explain that the Bulls haven't played with the defensive intensity needed to win more consistently because of their confidence in the improved offense of this season. Then when that offense falters, trouble ensues, he said.
"We just got lax," Gibson said. "To be honest with you, we thought we could walk in here into the game, I guess -- at the start of that game, I thought we weren't ready. I guess we just thought we were going to walk in here and close this series out. That team has talent."
It's a refrain that Gibson has echoed on several other occasions earlier in the year. In Butler's mind, the defensive turnaround has to start with himself and Rose.
"We can't guard the way that we're guarding and expect to win," Butler said. "I think it starts with myself and (Rose) to be the leaders on the defensive end. If we set that tone from the very beginning, it's going to be that tone for the rest of the game."
Butler then took himself to task – not for his poor shooting night but for his defense.
"I'm supposed to be the primetime defensive guy, and I haven't been guarding a soul," Butler said. "I've been worried about offense too much, and I need to change that quickly, or it's going to be my fault."
3. There was some fool's gold in the first four games of the series for Chicago, as it made a combined 48 3-pointers and shot 41 percent from behind the arc. On Monday, the Bulls returned to earth with a 4-of-22 showing. It was part of an abysmal 34-percent shooting night.
The series has essentially been a game of risk for the Bucks, who have constantly double-teamed in the post and blitzed screen-and-rolls. When the Bulls hit their outside shots and avoid disaster when it comes to taking care of the ball, they've won. When they falter in one of those areas, they've lost.
The Bulls had 13 turnovers Monday after a season-high 28 on Saturday.
"I want to look at them again," Thibodeau said when asked if he liked the shots Chicago got. "I thought we moved the ball."
4. Two beliefs are being carried in the respective locker rooms right now.
The Bucks believe they can this series, though no team in NBA history has rallied from a 3-0 deficit like Milwaukee faced just a few days ago.
"These guys have a lot to lose," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said of his own team.
"We got Game 6. We didn't just come down here because we won one game. We want to get better each time. We've said that. Some people look at it as house money … You can always talk about the future, but we don't really understand what the future holds for us. We got to stay in the present."
On the other side, the Bulls aren't expressing worry about the Bucks – they're concerned about their own play.
"I'm not concerned," Butler said when asked about Milwaukee gaining confidence. "We're confident. We're a good team. I think we're going to show it in the next game."
Added Rose: "We got to put one game together."
5. On the bright side for Chicago, Joakim Noah showed signs of life on the offensive end Monday. For the first time since March 15, Noah scored in double figures, recording 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting and adding 13 rebounds and six assists in 32-plus minutes. He's been slowed by knee discomfort much of the season.
Still, Noah was a liability at the worst of times as Chicago attempted a comeback. He missed layups on back-to-back possessions under the eight-minute mark, and prior to that he failed to convert a tip-in that he expects himself to make.
With the exception of a 37-second cameo for defensive purposes, Noah didn't close the game, as Pau Gasol played center down the stretch and Nikola Mirotic saw time at power forward. That was a necessity, as Chicago was trailing and needed its most dangerous offensive players on the floor late.
In other rotation tidbits, Tony Snell played the entire fourth quarter while starter Mike Dunleavy sat. Kirk Hinrich clocked just 1:32 of playing time, his second straight game of barely being used. Mirotic logged 7:55 in the fourth quarter after not playing in the third quarter.
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
