Still Gotta Come Through Chicago

The Russian is Cut: Game 3 Preview

Good Morning Chicago!

YEAHHHHHHH. YEAHHHHHHHH.

At 8 p.m. on Wednesday night, the Bulls odds to win the series were at +1200. This morning, they sat at +230.

What a difference a night makes. The defending champions just got their ass kicked for six straight quarters on their home floor.

A completely lifeless team at the end of the regular season, I knew the Bulls and Billy Donovan had a switch to flip. I sensed it was coming.

With the Bulls, I am like a husband who experiences physical pain when his wife is going through labor. My body senses their ups and downs, and it makes me clairvoyant. I just knew this series wasn’t going to be a shit-pumping, even though the numbers, the resumes, and everyone else said it would.

From the last newsletter:

Now here comes the optimism. The Bulls are still 10-point underdogs today. They are still massive underdogs to win the series.

Do you think I give a shit??

That’s not a rhetorical question. Answer before proceeding.

Correct. No, I do not. Because did anyone think that team looked remotely like the team that lost four out of their last five in the regular season in embarrassing fashion?

It was a whole new ball club, an entirely different attitude. Caruso is due a lot of that credit.

And Caruso’s defense, paired with Donovan’s game plan, which consisted of much more blitzing at opportune times and doubling the best perimeter players when need be… worked!

The Russian was cut!

Now, we’ve won just one game. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. (I’m more so telling myself this). Billy Donovan told us to enjoy Game 2 briefly and put it past us, so I had (2) Coors Lights to cap off the night and then took the recycling out.

Did I want to go to the Cubs game on a beautiful Thursday night? Yes. But I could not use an off day to distract myself. I am singularly focused right now. I can’t be singing Go Cubs Go! and spending $12.50 on beers next to a guy in the bleachers with his shirt off and a backwards hat on.

That’s exactly what the Bucks would want me to do. And this isn’t just a dumb anecdote, I actually did make the decision to stay at home Thursday, write this newsletter for the people, and get seven good hours of rest ahead of tomorrow’s contest.

Sometimes I cannot even tell what is a bit and what is reality. I’m kidding, but really, I’m not.

And do you know why? We put up a great fight in Game 1, but the Bucks won. They air raided our city like the Germans did London. Just as the Germans did, the Bucks thought they’d kill our morale. But we came out of our houses, picked up the pieces, and danced in the streets. In the end, we’re the ones who hurt their morale.

Everyone knows the “Russian is Cut!” reference from Rocky 4, one of the six best movies ever made. (One of the clear distinctions between the baby boomer generation and millenials is their taste in Rockys. The old heads swear Rocky 1 is the best, but it’s actually kind of dog shit. I want roided up Sly Stallone fighting a guy twice his size, against all odds. I want montages, not good dialogue. In the burning fire…)

The Russian (the Bucks) has been cut. We hurt ‘em. They’re human. The only difference between Rocky 4 and our plight is that, in the end, we’re not going to end the Cold War.

But a win over the Bucks in a seven-game series beforehand was considered as unlikely as a fighter ending the Cold War with a speech at the end of a boxing match.

“If I can change, and you can change…”

Damn, what a great movie.

Anyway, where were we?

The Bulls came out on Wednesday night and not only proved that they belonged in the series, but that they have been the better team. Had DeRozan and co. not had historically bad shooting nights, they would have won Game 1. Really, they should have anyway.

DeRozan proved me wrong. Him shooting more than he did the other night was not a bad thing. He was absolutely fantastic, and again put up a great effort on the defensive end.

On just about everything else, I hit the nail on the head. I said we’d lose Game 1, by 7, in devastating fashion. I said in Wednesday’s newsletter that the series was not over, that the signs the Bulls showed in Game 1 were not an anomaly. This is, again, because I invest way too much time merging my personality with a basketball team.

This is not to brag. It’s more me wanting to tell everyone who dismissed this series — as all media types across the country, and half of people in Chicago, had — to go fuck themselves. But because that is not my modus operandi, I won’t tell them to go fuck themselves. But they should be told that.

The defensive strategy in Game 1 worked, and I could tell it had staying power. The Bulls got good shots and missed them, the Bucks just didn’t get good shots. Later that day, I saw the data to back that up.

From Game 1:

On the other end, Jrue Holiday and Kris Middleton? They stunk again offensively. Middleton had 18, but needed five threes to get there. He also had four turnovers. Jrue Holiday had 15 points on 16 shots and turned the ball over 6! times.

And to all the morons who will come in and say, ‘Well Middleton was hurt!’, just be ready to tell them he couldn’t do shit for two straight games and the Bulls were up 15 when he went out with his injury.

And on that note, I don’t root for injuries. I wish Middleton, a speedy, two-week recovery from his sprained MCL. And I hope the next activity he does on it is go down a slide in the Wisconsin Dells.

Alex Caruso, for my money, is the best perimeter defensive player in the NBA. Yes, I’d take him over Marcus Smart. Yes, I’d take him over Mikal Bridges. (On the defensive end). The impact he has on the game, while rarely scoring 10 points, is simply ridiculous.

He has the IQ, toughness and athletic ability to be the star of a game in which he makes three shots. Not only did he lock up some of these guards in the first two games, but he even stymied Giannis toward the end of the game, multiple times. That’s an MVP versus a guy who makes $9 million a year, a 6’11, 245 lb guy against a 6’4, 185 lb. guy.

You just can’t say enough about him. I may chant MVP! with the rest of the losers at the UC in Game 3, but I’ll be doing it unironically.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say he had as much of an impact on that win as DeRozan, if not more.

(And that’s right, your boy will be in the house for Game 3 and 4. No time for Cubs games.)

If Alex Caruso is not playing in this series, the Bulls get swept. Their defense simply does not operate the same without him, which is even evident when Donovan goes with some Caruso-less, questionable rotations mid-game. With him, they have a chance to win it.

The lesson from the story of David and Goliath is not what many people think it is. Like many other upsets in history, whether in general society or in sports, it’s not much of an upset at all when it happens. David, like the Bulls, attack the fight from a completely different angle, knowing they can’t rely on their pure physical attributes or abilities. And that’s why the playing field is level — because the perceived underdog works harder to overcome their shortcomings.

The Bulls knew they needed to be better around the details to stick with a team that chalked them up as an afterthought. Thus far, it has worked like a charm.

Vucevic and Caruso made their threes, which was the difference between Game 1 and 2. Three for Caruso and four for Vuc. (Vuc played his ass off, and made all of us feel bad for all of the slander we’ve thrown at him over the last month). LaVine, despite another bad game, hit his threes as well — including a crucial one off of a terrific Caruso pass in the fourth.

Caruso also had 10 assists.

DeRozan shot 8 for 9 when Giannis was his primary defender, according to ESPN stats and info. Simply put, Giannis does not know how to guard him. DeRozan’s uniqueness in today’s game has once again proved an asset, as Giannis — who can guard anyone — hasn’t yet figured him out.

I could use a little less of the Russel Wilson-esque “Hey, here I am shooting after dark in the gym,” from DeMar, but we’ll cross that bridge another day. It’s not entirely his fault.

If you read the last two newsletters, you were more in tune with how this series was going to go than if you were reading anything else. For once, I can genuinely say that. So tell your friends to subscribe, even if that means they have to deal with the obscure introductions and metaphors.

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Now that I’ve dislocated my shoulder for the 9th time in my life, this time from patting myself on the back, I’ll give you my thoughts on Game 3.

Here they are: I’ve got no fucking clue what’s going to happen.

The Bucks didn’t lose Giannis, they lost Middleton. By no means is that a nail in the coffin. As I mentioned above, the Bucks are still relatively heavy favorites to win this series.

They are also 2-point favorites in the United Center on Friday.

I legitimately just got a shiver down my spine thinking about how electric the crowd is going to be in that building tonight. I may cry during the introductions. Hell, I may cry during the Power Clap.

These are the types of games where beers don’t even affect you. They are strictly to (somewhat) neutralize your nerves. Your body is so adrenaline surged that depressants only bring you closer to your normal self.

At least that’s what I tell myself when I have my shirt off and am swinging it around my head telling Mike Budenholzer he looks like a distressed, divorced dad with drinking problems that eats hostess snack cakes for breakfast.

Here are my concerns for tomorrow night:

The Bucks actual mismatch advantage is Giannis and Brook Lopez against our guys. We simply don’t have the size and toughness down low to guard those guys around the rim. And either of those guys can play on the perimeter, too, which means it’s hard to get a guy tough enough — and agile enough — to neutralize them. They’ve both played well in Games 1 and 2.

What I’m really worried about, though, is one of these dumbass games from a Grayson Allen or a Pat Connaughton from three. The Bulls have seen this time and again in the playoffs. Iman Shumpert — who I cheered for endlessly against everyone not the Bulls, despite his inability to nail down a consistent jump shot — all of a sudden was Ray Allen for the Cavs in 2015. He killed us.

The guys around the edges are oftentimes the difference in tight series. The Bulls can’t let their defensive guards down just because Middleton is out.

Instead, they need to find their edge guys that can make a difference. Pat Williams answered the call and played fantastic on both ends on Wednesday. But how about Coby? A burst from Coby White would mean the world to a team that’s going to have to win three more games in three slightly different ways.

My other concern continues to be LaVine. He can’t just be a decoy. He needs to forget about his knee for the next two weeks and play the way he’s capable of playing. Easier said — from my bedroom with a candle lit — than done, I know, but it’s absolutely crucial he gets going and takes pressure off of DeRozan, who the Bucks absolutely will have a game plan for in Game 3.

Don’t say it, don’t say it… Can you imagine if the Bulls had Lonzo Ball??

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For a guy that makes fun of weather talk a lot here, I sure do talk about it a lot, huh?

Well it turned Thursday, and it led to a spiritual crescendo of the Bulls realizing they were alive and had a shot, and us as Chicago citizens realizing that we are, in fact, also alive.

All I asked for on Wednesday was a chance for an even series headed back to Chicago. Boy, the ecstasy that would bring, I thought.

Well, it’s here.

Other people think about the day their children were born or their job promotions when they think about their best moments.

For us sports fans, we’re in the midst of one of these moments. And they’re fleeting. Treat it like it. Live in the moment. Enjoy it.

The last time the Bulls were in the playoffs was five years ago. They got their first playoff win since on Wednesday. We don’t know if they’ll win another game (they will). We don’t know if they’ll advance to the next series. We don’t know what next year entails.

But for now, all that’s certain is this: the Bucks have still gotta come through Chicago.

LETS GO BULLS! #LOCKIN

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Thank you all for reading. You make this playoff ride so much more fun and fulfilling.

I meant to write about the Sox and the Cubs on each of the last two newsletters, but again, I don’t have the time or mental capacity right now. They play 162. And I’m only focused on one game right now: Game 3.

We’ll let the summer usher in the consistent baseball talk. For now, you’re stuck will meandering Bulls words.

Leave a comment — and have a great weekend.