Don’t you just hate when injuries come into play, especially when it impacts the outcome of a playoff series? It sucks; we should know. We don’t need to relive 10 years ago, but we all understand how an injury could effect a team, not only for that series, but the future of the franchise. Losing Derrick Rose in the first game of the first round of the playoffs essentially ended our season, and ended up ruining our future. Not sure many, if any, had an injury happen to their team with such a profound effect. So when I heard Khris Middleton is probably out for the series, excuse me if I didn’t feel sorry for the Bucks. You never like to see a player get hurt, especially in the second season, but…shit happens.
In fact, let’s not forget how injuries have hurt this year’s Bulls team. Lonzo Ball would most certainly have made a difference in where the Bulls got seeded, and of course, how they performed when they got there. Not having him on the court could limit how far this Bulls team will go. And what about Zach’s knee? He hasn’t been 100% most of the year, right? Having our 2nd best player at less than his best could have the same impact on the Bulls 2022 playoffs. Dealing with injuries is part of the game. The Bucks aren’t just going to fold without Middleton are they? They still have Giannis; they’re still the defending champs. The Bulls certainly shouldn’t feel bad; they shouldn’t play any less hard. There is blood in the water; act accordingly. Speaking about blood…
Did you see Bobby Portis’ face in Game 2? Again, can’t say I felt bad. I liked Bobby Portis when he was with the Bulls, but when you break your teammates’ jaw in practice by punching him… bye bye. There is absolutely no excuse for that; he had to go. Yet, seeing him do well in another team’s uni kind of irks me. It kind of irked me in Game 1 when he started yelling into the crowd to pump them up, after a missed basket no less. He plays that physical, emotional leader role, or tries to, for this Bucks squad; bully for him. The Bulls on the other hand had to acquire some help in that department by the name of Tristan Thompson. He hasn’t done much, but when he was flailing away going for that rebound and caught Portis in the face, I had to smile. It wasn’t on purpose, and yeah, don’t want to see anybody get hurt, but yeah, had to smile. How do they say it, sangre por sangre? He’ll be OK; he’s a big boy.
My wife asked me if I would feel bad now if the Bulls beat the Bucks without their second best player. I said hell no! Did the Sixers feel bad in 2012? Did the NBA feel bad this year when the Bulls dealt with their stuff? Do we get some extra points at the start of each game because we’re down Ball? It’s only the first round after all; it IS only their second best player. It’s not like losing Giannis in the Finals; that would suck worse for them. So, no, heck no, I wouldn’t feel bad for one millisecond if the Bulls beat the Bucks because of this. Who said they wouldn’t beat them with him? Who said the series is now in the bag our way because of this? This is why you play the games.
There will be a game on Friday night at the UC and we will be there. I was feeling pretty good already, and now… well, the Bulls still need to take care of business. Nothing should change surrounding our defensive effort. We still need to make shots too. Game on man. Go Bulls!!!
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