The Eastern and Western Conference Finals have been … well … anti-climatic.
The Miami Heat stole the first two on the road in Boston to take command of the series. Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets went into their first game in Los Angeles and looked even more comfortable than they did in Denver. They’re now one win away from sweeping LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
So, if all goes according to plan, we’re headed toward a Denver Nuggets-Miami Heat NBA Finals matchup. Knowing the alternative would be the historic Lakers-Celtics rivalry, though, I guess we can’t put it past Adam Silver rigging the crap out of these next few games!
Jamal Murray did it again, folks. After scoring 23 points in the 4th quarter of Game 2, the Nuggets’ point guard dropped an absurd 30 points in the first half to help pace Denver to a 119-108 victory. We talked about it earlier this week, but every single team in the league wishes they had someone who thrives under the spotlight like Murray does. He and Jokic have been absolutely mesmerizing to watch.
Is that good?
Jamal Murray is the 3rd player since 1997 with 30 points in a playoff half against the Lakers, joining Devin Booker (33 in 2021) and Allen Iverson (30 in 2001) pic.twitter.com/b8wpN1Dt13— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 21, 2023
Nikola Vucevic likes what he’s seeing from the Nuggets. And I bet these are the exact things he wishes he saw more of in Chicago!
It’s very impressive how disciplined Denver is, everyone sticks to their role, their spacing is really good, always in the right spots when Jokic gets doubled. Unstoppable in transition too— Nikola Vucevic (@NikolaVucevic) May 21, 2023
While I don’t think Vucevic is trying to subtweet the Bulls here, the use of “discipline” stands out to me. Remember those rumors about the big man being frustrated with the team’s “finger-pointing?” Yeah, well that definitely feels like an issue that would arise from a lack of discipline. The sheer inconsistency of the team also surely speaks to that problem.
You know what you’re going to get from the Nuggets every single night. And, as Vucevic said, everybody perfectly understands the role they need to play to promote winning. It felt like the Bulls were trying to figure that out all season long, especially the “Big 3.” Let’s not forget the trio spent more time together on the floor than any other three-man combination this regular season. So the fact the Bulls still finished as poorly as they did says a whole lot about the effectiveness of that core.
Thanks for reminding us, Tim!
Alex Caruso had a 3-pointer which would have given Chicago the lead with 1:55 left in a play-in elimination game at Miami five weeks ago.
The Heat are now two wins from the NBA Finals.
(I don't think many of the 19,600 fans in Miami's building at that moment saw this coming.)— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) May 20, 2023
Again, as was mentioned yesterday, I live in fear of the front office putting too much weight into what Tim Reynolds mentioned above. I don’t care if the Bulls had a potentially Finals-bond heat team on the ropes … they still lost. And, very much unlike this Heat team, this Chicago roster has extremely little playoff experience. To assume that the Bulls could have made a playoff run if they got past the Heat is 100 percent the wrong assumption.
Justin Lewis shared some clips of himself putting in the work on Instagram. While I’m not going to sit here and pretend his availability would have changed anything, I do genuinely think he would have worked his way into some significant playing time during the season. His style of play lends itself really well to this era of basketball, and he would have offered the Bulls a level of physicality they were desperately missing at times down low.
Coming off an ACL injury is never easy, but I am hoping the Bulls keep him aboard next year and give him a chance to show what he can do. I’m also assuming we’ll see him back in Summer League with Dalen Terry this July. Since the Bulls have no draft picks, those two will once again be the main attraction!
ICYMI: Sam Smith – the man who works for the Bulls organization – stated that he believes some significant changes are coming. Don’t be messing with me, Sam!
Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.
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