NEWSLETTER
With the score locked at 87-87, Coby White let another 3-ball fly. Not only did it end up being his third make of the quarter, but it gave Chicago the lead with only 3:47 left to go. Miami’s Eric Spoelstra abruptly called a timeout.
On the next possession, Jimmy Butler attacked Alex Caruso off the dribble and headed toward the rim. The moment he left his feet to get a shot off is the moment Caruso swatted downward. The ball came loose and landed right back into the Chicago Bulls’ hands. Just normal All-Defensive First Team things.
Moments later, DeMar DeRozan started to back down Caleb Martin and head toward his mid-range sweet spot at the elbow. Tyler Herro showed the help, leading DeRozan to send the ball back to an open Coby White at the top of the key. A decent recovery by Herro made White put the ball on the ground. Attacking the closeout before beautifully side-stepping Martin, White rose for the floating bank shot off the corner glass.
In an alternate universe, that shot goes in.
Chicago goes up 92-87 with roughly 3 minutes to go. Tyler Herro doesn’t break Caruso’s ankles and hit a nasty 15-footer on the baseline. Jimmy Butler doesn’t follow that up with his own quick shot to regain the lead for Miami. The Heat don’t end the game on a 15-1 run.
In an alternate universe, the Chicago Bulls beat the Miami Heat in the second Play-In Tournament game and secure the 1v8 matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks. The rematch of last year’s embarrassing five-game sweep is set. And the Bulls take the court with a vengeance.
Round 1: Bulls vs. Bucks
Now 16-9 since the trade deadline, the Bulls are one of the hottest teams in the NBA. Game 1 in Milwaukee still sees Giannis Antetokounmpo suffer a harsh fall that injures his back. Behind another classic DeMar DeRozan performance in the Fiserv Forum, the Bulls take advantage of the Greek Freak’s misfortune and steal the game by a bucket.
Game 2 goes to a motivated Bucks team and the series heads back to Chicago. Billy Donovan hangs the box score from the previous year’s 111-81 home opening playoff loss in every single locker. He simply utters one question before the game, “does history repeat itself?”
A motivated Zach LaVine replaces what would’ve been the best game of his career against the Raptors in the Play-In Tournament with a 45-point effort in Game 3. The Giannis-less Bucks never stood a chance.
The two-time MVP returned for Game 4. While he led the Bucks to a 106-101 victory in Chicago, it was clear he wasn’t the same. Khris Middleton had to still do a lot of the heavy lifting, and the Bulls knew they had a chance.
This only felt more true when the Shams Charania tweet came out the next morning: “Brook Lopez ruled out for Game 5 due to Grade 2 ankle sprain suffered while walking through the tunnel after Wednesday night’s victory.” Some buttery popcorn from Benny the Bull’s stash must have landed in the tunnel during his iconic in-game fall. The Bucks were now down a DPOY candidate. And the Bulls would do the unthinkable.
Chicago wins two straight. The final Bulls bucket of Game 6 is scored on an Alex Caruso poster over Grayson Allen. The Bulls would now make their first second-round playoff appearance since the 2014-15 season.
Round 2: Bulls vs. Knicks
The TNT and ESPN broadcasts have 90s highlights galore. Two of the league’s marquee franchises were finally back under the spotlight, and each game felt gritter than the next.
Indeed, a reversion to the more physical game from two decades prior, Tom Thibodeau was in his element. Game 1 had a shoving match between Andre Drummond and Obi Toppin. Julius Randle was administered a Flagrant 1 for a harsh elbow to DeRozan’s chin. Still, New York came out on top thanks to a lights-out performance from Jalen Brunson and an unbearable MSG crowd.
The Bulls were bought in, though. Arriving in oversized suits with Walkman’s clipped to their belt buckles, Game 2 could have been given to Chicago before the ball even tipped off. This was also the Patrick Williams game. Seeking revenge on Mitchell Robinson for breaking his wrist two seasons ago, the youngster relentlessly attacked the rim and scored 23 points.
The series headed back to Chicago tied up, but a beast was awoken. Williams was now as confident as ever and averaging roughly 15 points per game. With the No. 1 ranked defense since the All-Star break, the backcourt tandem of Patrick Beverley and Caruso also began to dominate a one-dimensional Knicks offense that relied heavily on isolation ball. The Bulls would go up 3-1 by the time they headed back to Madison Square Garden for Game 5.
But then Thibs pulled out his secret weapon.
Derrick Rose – who clocked not a single minute of playing time during the series – checks into the game midway through the first quarter. A far-too-confident Bulls team didn’t pay it much mind, but it sure didn’t help that a collision between Quentin Grimes and Alex Caruso resulted in Caruso leaving the game with a concussion. Rose feasted on a caught-off-guard Bulls squad. Before we knew it, the Knicks had a 120-108 win. Bulls fans felt conflicted.
The Bulls knew they had to close it out at home. A Game 7 back in MSG spelled trouble, and the team’s two best players knew it. While LaVine and DeRozan combined for 68 points, it still came down to the final possession largely due to the absence of Caruso’s defensive leadership.
With Ayo Dosumu inbounding, DeRozan retrieved the ball, ran along the 3-point line, and left his feet in the same exact spot Rose did when he sunk his buzzer-beater in Game 3 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Joakim Noah ran down from the stands and hoisted DeRozan in the air. Rose made eye contact with the air-born DeRozan, giving him an emotional nod of approval.
Round 3: Bulls vs. Boston
This would be the Nikola Vucevic series.
Remaining relatively quiet throughout the playoffs thus far, Vucevic reminded everyone of his worth in Game 1. He averaged 15.3 rebounds per game against this undersized Boston team during the regular season, and he landed just over that mark with 18 rebounds to go along with 22 points. Not only was he nailing his turnaround hook shots with confidence, but he popped off the screen for three huge 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
After leading the Bulls to a 1-0 start, the Celtics knew they had to find an answer for the big man. Robert Williams started to clock a few more minutes, while team rebounding became a far greater focus. Behind a strong Jayson Tatum game, the Bulls found themselves tied again heading back to Chicago.
What happened next was shocking. With rumors swirling that the Celtics could look to trade Jaylen Brown in the summer after he’d earned an All-NBA nod and was thus supermax eligible, Brown was a no-show. But that wasn’t all.
Known for watching the Ben Affleck film “The Town” four times per week, head coach Joe Mazzulla started to go insane. While a fake Boston accent started to shine through earlier in the playoffs, no one thought that he would ever take it as far as planning a heist of Fenway Park. The police arrested him on his way to the ballpark.
The Celtics locker room was now in shambles, which led to the Bulls winning the next three games by an average margin of victory of 22 points.
NBA Finals: Bulls vs. Lakers
Yes, you read that right.
Just like the Chicago Bulls, the Los Angeles Lakers did the unthinkable and became the West’s first Play-In Tournament team to make the NBA Finals. LeBron James chugged some of the Secret Stuff stashed in his wine cellar from 2012 and went on an absolute tear. He was on the brink of averaging a triple-double in the postseason with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists per game.
With Anthony Davis also performing at an elite level defensively and Austin Reaves averaging nearly 20 points per game, the Lakers were the heavy favorites. The Chicago Bulls’ Cinderella story was about to come to an end.
The first game was a dog fight. Davis and Reaves paced the Lakers with 22 points apiece, while James finished with 19 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds. As for Chicago, they were shockingly led by Patrick Williams, who scored a career-high 36 points. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough in a back-and-forth affair, and the Lakers won a slim 93-91.
Before Game 2, head coach Billy Donovan made a significant adjustment. Instead of having Patrick Williams attempt to guard LeBron James, he gave Dalen Terry the assignment. The move didn’t just lead to a 107-96 victory for the Bulls, but it led to four-straight wins and the organization’s first NBA championship since the Jordan Era.
The duo of Patrick Williams and Dalen Terry were largely responsible for ending what would be a legendary run by LeBron James and the Lakers. With the Larry O’Brien Trophy in his hand, head coach Billy Donovan couldn’t help but look at his team and ask …
“Does history repeat itself?”
