Derrick Rose And Chicago’s Defense Do Work

We’re convinced the Hawks just don’t think. It’s like Atlanta came into Chicago last night with everyone telling them they wouldn’t win, and even the Bulls echoing that by going up 15 in the first half, and yet the Hawks just played on pure basketball instinct. They played hard, unselfishly and cohesive, with no one really caring who got the shots and everyone helping to try to stop Derrick Rose. The old Hawks would’ve gotten blown out and ruined an entire night of basketball. But these guys…these guys weathered the storm with just simple, fundamental basketball. But you know what? None if it mattered. Chicago rode Rose and some relentless fourth-quarter defense to a 95-83 win and a 3-2 lead in the series … With Chicago on a run and threatening to open up a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, Josh Smith (16 points) nearly had three blocks in about five seconds. First, he caught Rose’s layup before it hit the glass. Then after an outlet pass was stolen, Smith had back-to-back stuffs against Luol Deng and Ronnie Brewer right at the front of the rim before the second was called a goaltending. Insane athleticism. Still, it couldn’t kill the Bulls’ spirit, and they were the much more aggressive team in the fourth quarter, controlling the paint. Interestingly, it was Omer Asik and Taj Gibson (all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter) who made the difference, finishing the game as Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer (11 points, 12 rebounds) cheered from the bench. How many other coaches would trust their subs during the biggest stretch of the biggest game of the year? Chicago was so good that the Hawks were 4-for-16 in the fourth quarter after previously shooting 53 percent … We were channel surfing last night and during timeouts, we kept flipping to check out The Wrestler on FX. First of all, Marisa Tomei. Second, instead of Mickey Rourke playing that role, imagine if it was Zaza Pachulia. Zaza would fit; if anyone in the whole league were destined to be the next Snitsky, it’d be him. No way Georgia’s finest wouldn’t win an Oscar … Deng (23 points) was feasting off the attention being paid to Rose (33 points, nine assists). Every time Rose got anywhere near the rim, half of Bankhead converged on him. Nearly every one of Deng’s shots was either a wide-open jumper where his man left to help, or a cut to the hoop to find an opening. With the way Deng came out, scoring 11 points and showing his whole repertoire during the first quarter, we did some research and realized Chicago is undefeated all-time when he scores 40 points. They are also undefeated all-time when he scores 452 points … Remember when Atlanta refused to play Jeff Teague over Mike Bibby? Yeahhhhh, about that. In the third quarter, Teague (21 points, seven assists) came out and scored a number of quick buckets, showcasing the smooth finishing ability that seemed to morph out of thin air during these playoffs. He was hitting floaters and finishing in the lane all night. Miami should 100 percent trade for Teague, and then give all of his minutes to Bibby … Some of the Dime crew remembers checking out Keith Bogans (who actually scored eight straight points for Chicago in the first quarter) WAY back in the day when he was at DeMatha Catholic High School. It’s crazy knowing that he survived while Joe Forte, his high school teammate, didn’t. Did even Keith Bogans himself believe he could do this? He must’ve met up with Rick Brunson along the way and exchanged tips on “how to make it in the NBA without being able to jump higher than T.J. Sorrentine or shoot better than Bugaloo from Above the Rim” … Interesting thoughts circulating around Twitter last night about the Lakers and just how dead they are. We’ll paraphrase what a lot of people were saying: every G.O.A.T. has their down year. Just look at NaS with Nastradamus … Speaking of the Lakers, the league came down harshly on Andrew Bynum last night for his Game 4 takeout of J.J. Barea. He’ll be suspended for the first five games next year and was fined $25,000 for Dennis Rodman-ing his jersey on the way out. Bynum will lose upwards of $700,000 for the games he’ll miss. We aren’t sure whether to feel just appalled or insanely appalled at that info … Former McDonald’s All-American Wally Judge announced yesterday that he’s going to transfer from Kansas State to Rutgers. He had been pinned to go to Maryland earlier this week until Gary Williams‘ abrupt retirement … In the world of so-crazy-contracts-that-no-one-is-quite-sure-if-serious, apparently the same team in Italy that signed Brandon Jennings has offered the 5-6 Baltimore YouTube sensation Aquille Carr a contract worth $750,000. If we’re ‘Quille, we jump at it. Who needs to finish high school? Actually going to school in Baltimore is basically like not going to school at all. Carr might as well bounce … We’re out like that random screaming thing on Kenny‘s “Wall.”