Bulls playing with house money
It’s good to know your limitations. It’s better not to let them keep you down.
Led by a rookie point guard and a rookie head coach, the Chicago Bulls stunned the Celtics 105-103 in overtime in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoff series Saturday afternoon to take a 1-0 series lead. Game 2 is Monday night at TD Banknorth Garden.
“We feel like we have nothing to lose,” said Bulls guard Ben Gordon. “The pressure’s not on us. We just have to go out there and play hard. And that’s what we did.”
A .500 team in the regular season, the Bulls were decided underdogs before Game 1. The Celtics took the season series with Chicago two games to one, winning both games in Boston by an average of 17 points. If the Bulls were expected to mount any kind of challenge in this series, they weren’t expected to do it before returning home in Game 3.
“We were definitely fired up,” said Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich. “People were talking about all year how we were going to come in and lose in the playoffs.”
The veterans Gordon and Hinrich had solid offensive and defensive games respectively, but rookie point guard Derrick Rose stole the game for Chicago. Rose carved up the Celtics defense all afternoon, blowing past Rajon Rondo and contorting himself around Boston’s backline defenders for lay-up after lay-up. Rose’s 36 points tied an NBA record set by Lew Alcindor on March 25, 1970 for most points by a rookie in an NBA playoff game. The 20-year-old also dished out 11 assists in 49 minutes.
“Somebody asked me before about him having playoff experience,” said Gordon. “He doesn’t need it. He’s poised beyond his years. He already carries himself like a veteran.”
Rose wasn’t the only young Bulls player to play beyond his experience level. Second-year forward Joakim Noah converted his unlimited energy into 11 points and 17 rebounds. Tyrus Thomas, former teammate of Celtics forward Glen Davis at LSU, chipped in with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots.
“We’ve got to do a better job starting the games and not giving a young team like the Bulls some confidence,” said Pierce. “And that was one thing we said, a young team like that, once they get their confidence, they can start rolling. And that’s what happened.”
First-year Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro is aware of his team’s expectations. He knows his team isn’t supposed to go any higher. But he knows now that his team has one more game of playoff experience than it did Saturday morning.
“All of these experiences are only going to help us,” said Del Negro. “It definitely helps as the games go on, and the moments get bigger. And what it does to a young team like us, it builds confidence, shows you that the level that we can play at… and we know what it takes to get to that level.”
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