The Bulls are a team without a center–literally and metaphorically. They’ve lacked a true man in the middle since they dealt the recalcitrant Eddy Curry to the New York Knicks last fall, just before the start of the NBA season, and for a lot longer they’ve lacked a marquee star, a focal point for both the players on the floor and the fans in the stands. John Paxson has put together a terrific supporting cast with no one to support.
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The Bulls have actually turned their lack of a go-to guy into a strength. From game to game–and even moment to moment–Skiles shuffles the lineup to find the group with the right chemistry at this time against that opponent. The other team never knows where the Bulls’ attack is going to come from. Though Gordon, Hinrich, Nocioni, and Deng constitute the team’s core, Chris Duhon and even Jannero Pargo can squeeze themselves into key roles on good nights.
So the Bulls’ first-round playoff series against the Heat was a clash of their new, multifaceted approach to basketball and coach Pat Riley’s old-school emphasis on star power. The Heat offense went through two players, center Shaquille O’Neal and guard Dwyane Wade, who have very much the same dynamic that Shaq shared with Kobe Bryant when they were winning championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. In the first two games they were too much for Chicago. The Bulls rallied to make both games close in Miami, but they looked ready to be swept.
“When we go down there,” Gordon said, “we’ve got to keep the snowball rolling.” But last Sunday in Chicago the Bulls put up 31 free throws to Miami’s 5, and nothing like that was going to happen in Miami, not with the league counting on the Heat and their marquee stars to advance deeper into the playoffs. In game five the Heat shot 41 free throws and won going away, 92-78, as the Bulls fell apart in the last quarter. But win or lose, the Bulls have shown us not only their own future but possibly the NBA’s: team play ascendant over stars.
