Bulls Overmatched by Pistons

So the Chicago Bulls lost again to the Detroit Pistons Thursday night at the United Center and are now poised to be eliminated when the two teams square off in Game 4 Sunday. I don’t think there’s a single fan in Chicago who expected this team to play as poorly as they have in this series — two blowout losses to Detroit by 26 and 21 points respectively and a loss last night after blowing a 19-point lead early in the third quarter.

It seemed the Pistons were toying with the Bulls during the first half last night before flipping a switch on their zone defense halfway through the third quarter. In a blink of an eye, the Pistons closed to a one-point deficit at the end of the quarter. The Bulls have no answer for Detroit’s zone defense, and obviously, the Pistons see some weakness in the Bulls that they are easily exploiting. At this point, a series loss is inevitable and disappointing considering how well the Bulls played against the Miami Heat in the first round.

In a post two weeks ago, I suggested that the Bulls might have put forth more energy into defeating the Heat and may not have much left for the Pistons. Apparently I was right because the Bulls just have been overmatched by the Pistons in just about every phase of the game. Just as last year’s brief playoff run gave the Bulls the incentive to beat the Miami Heat this year, this series against Detroit may be the very thing the Bulls need to push themselves further next season.