Prime time, national TV NBA basketball on a Wednesday evening??? Yes, I couldn’t believe it either, but I guess that’s going to be a thing this year on ABC. And lo and behold, who was the first matchup? Bulls vs Knicks at MSG. Ding, ding…
Before it was Bulls Knicks again, it was Bulls Sixers again the previous night, and… it wasn’t pretty. I kind of saw that one coming, with the Bulls beating the Sixers twice already this year; that wasn’t going to happen again, the only question was by how much. The Sixers were up by almost 30 before they pulled their guys; game ended up being a lot closer than that, but only in the final score. The game was over early. OK, chalk it up, and jump on the bus to NYC. Madison Square Garden here we come.
I fell for it too… the whole Bulls Knicks thing. Once they started showing those old MJ in the Garden highlights… man, the blood started pumping. How many great memories have the Bulls made against the Knicks? Really brought me back in the day. Those Bulls Knicks playoff games back in the day… wow. Those were made for TV movies. The way NBC set it up, lead into each game… the drama around each of them… the greatest in the mecca of basketball against the bullies… yeah buddy, those were the days. Of course, it helped to have the greatest wearing a Bulls uniform, which lead to many big time wins against those boys. Of course, we won’t mention Hubert Davis and Hue Hollins… one of the few bad memories. Yeah, the one that comes to mind was that Game 5 with the series tied, and Charles Smith, and the blocked shots… one of my favorite games ever. It wasn’t just postseason games either… the double nickel, MJ’s debut in the garden, his last game there with the original Jordans, the All Star game… I could go on. Yeah, I fell for it like I said. Got all fired up and bet on the Bulls to cover those 8 points… sucker.
The Bulls started off well enough, with DeRozan having one of his vintage performances; unfortunately, that only lasted one half. His picture was on a milk carton in the 2nd half… horrible. Coby White played well, but still seems reluctant to be the man, because let me tell you… out of our options out there, there isn’t anybody I’d rather see shooting the ball than Coby. Not only down Lavine, but Vooch and Torrey Craig who had been coming on lately, the undermanned Bulls eventually wilted down the stretch. The nice run without Lavine was great; I still think we could keep it going, but… down those other guys too?!?! And the 20 points Lavine’s no passing/no playing defense ass brings to the table… it all adds up.
OK, let’s move on, but before we go… Thibs… seeing him on the sideline still gets me upset; I loved him. Since he’s been gone, I don’t want to tell you what our record has been… and what his record against us has been… you get the picture. I still think the Knicks are a bit overrated, even after the trade with the Raptors. Don’t think they’re on the same level as the Celts and Bucks, and even Sixers. Much more NBA season to go…
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