At the end of the 2006-2007 NBA Season, the Bulls final game of the season was against the New Jersey Nets. Their mission was simple, win, and they get the second seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls ended up losing that game 106-97, and became the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.

This year, a similar scenario was in play. If the Bulls were to beat the Toronto Raptors tonight, they would get the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. Similar to that game against the Nets, the Bulls choked this one away, losing 109 to 98.

It still looked like the Bulls might get into that sixth seed, as Cleveland took Philadelphia into overtime. But the 76ers prevailed in overtime, giving the Bulls the seventh seed, and what some might consider a death sentence against the Boston Celtics.

The encouraging thing from this game was the play of Derrick Rose, who finished with 20 points and 11 assists. Rose has been great all month and hopefully he will continue this great player in to the playoffs.

Ben Gordon has a bit of a rough night, scoring 23 points, but on 9-22 shooting. Not a good game from Gordon, but getting 23 points in one of your bad games isn’t the worst thing in the world. The Bulls will need Gordon to score both in volume and with efficiency if they hope to take out the Celtics.

The Bulls got “good” production out of their big men. Joakim Noah had 17 points and 9 rebounds, Brad Miller 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Tyrus Thomas had 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks. The reason I put good in quotes is because their stats are good, but I don’t think their impact was quite as good as their stats. This group collectively is way too soft on the boards. If they let the Celtics kill them on the boards like they let the Raptors do to them tonight, they will not last very long in the playoffs.

The Bulls got virtually no production from John Salmons and Kirk Hinrich. John Salmons had 5 points on 1-7 shooting. He is clearly still hurting from his groin injury.

Kirk Hinrich scored 0 points on 0-6 shooting. This is ridiculous, you cannot come this unprepared to play in a big game. Hinrich continues to live up to his reputation as a player who shrinks in the big moments.

Shawn Marion had 34 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors. He just couldn’t miss, shooting 15-18 from the field.

Chris Bosh added in 21 points and 19 rebounds. The Bulls needed to do a better job of keeping him off the boards.

Jose Calderon had a nice 14 points 14 assist game as well.

With the loss, the Bulls fall to 41-41 on the season, and are doomed to the seventh seed, which means they will play the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.

Closing Comments

I am very angry over this loss. The Bulls need to step up, seize the moment, and get the win in these big games. They let game 5 of the 2006 playoffs slip away, when Wade was clearly banged up. They let the second seed slip away in 2007 when they lost to the New Jersey Nets. And now they let the sixth seed, and a favorable matchup against the Orlando Magic slip away by losing to the Raptors tonight. There is no excuse for losing to a team that plays Patrick O’Bryant for 27 minutes.

The Celtics are not a good matchup at all. Since the current team was assembled, the Bulls have only been able to be eek out a 6 point victory in a game in which Kevin Garnett did not participate. Every other game the Celtics destroyed us. If Garnett is in any type of playing shape, the Celtics will likely make quick business of the Bulls.

Still, the Bulls have been one of the best teams in the East since making the trade for John Salmons and Brad Miller. If John Salmon’s groin can heal up before the Bulls first game, the Bulls might be able to make this series interesting, especially if Kevin Garnett is hampered by his knee injury.

Go Bulls!

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Tags: Ben Gordon, Boston Celtics, Brad Miller, Chicago Bulls, Chris Bosh, Cleveland Cavaliers, Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, John Salmons, Jose Calderon, Kirk Hinrich, New Jersey Nets, Patrick O'Bryant, Philadelphia 76ers, seventh seed, Shawn Marion, Toronto Raptors, Tyrus Thomas

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