Did you hear that the last time the last time a reigning NBA Champ got knocked out in the first round (San Antonio vs Phoenix, 1999/2000), Scott Skiles was coach?

Sure, that will be true whether the Bulls defeat the Heat in this series or not.

But with last night’s comprehensive game 2 victory, they’re already halfway there.

Chucks

Ben Gordon

Lest you think Ben Gordon spent the game against Miami bombing away from outside whilst his teammates did all the real work in the paint, it’s worth appreciating that he lead the Bulls in rebounding as well as scoring in their game 2 blowout.  Hitting on 5 of his 8 threes on his way to 27 points, Gordon was indeed a key part of Chicago’s merciless long-range assault, as the Bulls shot 55% from the field, and an amazing 65% from beyond the arc.

Amare Stoudemire

Although LB finished the game with 26 points, let’s face it, this one was over long before the final buzzer.  And it was Stoudemire’s 20 points, 9 boards and 4 blocks, in 24 minutes, which so emphatically put game 2 out of reach of the out-classed Lakers.  LA’s bigs looked like children against the active, confident 7-footer, and although Stoudemire is still prone to foul trouble, even when he wasn’t on the court life wasn’t much happier for the humiliated Mr Brown and friends in purple.

Anthony Parker

Everywhere you look these playoffs, there’s a Parker.  If it’s not Smush being torched by Barbosa, it’s Tony splitting time between preparing for games and his upcoming wedding.  And if it’s neither of those two, then it must be the 6-6 shooting guard for the Raptors.  Rescued from Europe by Brian Colangelo over the summer, the game’s lowest profile Parker had his best game as a pro – a 26 point, 8 rebound, 4 steal spectacular against Vince Carter and the Nets.

Chumps

Vince Carter

For one of the modern game’s most unstoppable scorers to put up another sub-standard offensive effort, yes, the marking is going to be harsh.  Carter made his 5 of 19 game 1 troubles seem like a holiday in comparison to his awful 8 of 24 shooting last night.  And we all know he spent years playing in this building, with its sightlines and its rims, so there’s nothing physical at play here.  Carter needed to put the ball on the floor and attack this young Raptors team which, let’s face it, were overawed last Saturday.  Instead, VC settled for jumpers and runners – not even getting to the line until the 6:26 mark of the second quarter.

Kwame Brown

Maybe we should re-name these the “Kawames” afterall, as the Lakers starting C was once again reprehensible in his team’s 28 point rout.  And you can’t blame inexperience, as 19 year old Andrew Bynum was able to come on and at least demonstate a willingness to bang bodies and get his hands dirty, although by this time much of the damage had already been done.  Kwame ended the game with a line that included more fouls than field goals, and 7 points, 4 boards, 1 block and zero assists overall.

Jason Williams

With Gary Payton unavailable for game 2, the full responsibility of running Miami’s offense – and defending Kirk Hinrich – fell upon Williams.  And fall it did.  Whilst Hinrich was scoring with impunity down one end, the Heat were passing up open jumpshots early in posessions and taking low percentage ones later.  Williams himself shot 1 of 7, scoring only 4 points, and three of those came in the game’s final minute with his team down 20.

Ruminations

Maybe it’s time the NBA considered a mercy rule?

Phoenix at least did need to come out after 3-quarter time – they were down 25, and the Lakers scored 28 points in the 4th, so they erased that defecit at any rate.

Barbosa was simply unguardable again – 26 points in 26 minutes.

Kobe had no fouls, which is either a sign of great defense, or no defense.

Shawn Marion had 18, 10 and 4, with no turnovers.

Kobe scored only 15.  And we’ll learn more about him with regard to how his ankle bothers him, or not, in the leadup to game 3.

Bynum had 12 rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.

Nash had 14 assists to go with his 16 points on 7-11 shooting.

In a sign the Lakers have no idea how to deal with this defeat, Kobe said the big defecit was just ‘ a loss, either way you cut it’, while Lamar Odom called it ’embarrasing’.

Phoenix had 30 assists on 50 made field goals…

…and only 1 turnover in the entire first half.

It was a good day to get awards – Barbosa picked up the 6th Man, and Sam Mitchell COY, prior to their respective games.

Both Toronto and New Jersey shot 31-76 from the floor (.408).

Chris Bosh played the type of game the Raptors needed if they were going to square their series – 25 points on 10-20 from the field, plus 13 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.

The fans at Air Canada Center were so loud (both cheers and jeers) that not even the courtside announcers could hear the officials’ foul calls during a particularly stimulating second quarter sequence.

Vince’s poor shooting night included 1-7 threes.

Jason Collins, 2-2 last night, is yet to miss in this series.

Carter and Kidd both had 11 rebounds.

The good?  Bostjan Nachbar continued his impressive play for the Nets with 17 points off the bench.  The bad – he missed a 3 to tie it with 8 seconds left.

Jason Kidd has made just 1 free throw over the first 2 games.

Richard Jefferson returned to earth after his game 1 performance with 13 points on 4-16 shooting.

There were 49 total assists in the Chicago v Miami game, compared to 26 in New Jersey v Toronto.

Shaq and Wade had 7 turnovers.  Each.

Shaq shot 5-5 from the field and 6-14 from the line.  Sorry, that’s actually the other way around.

The Heat were down only 3 at the half, but Pat Riley was forced to call 3 timeouts within the first 5 minutes of the third period to try and get some cohesion and effort into his squad.

Jason Kapono played 33 minutes without a single rebound.

James Posey had 5 steals.

Neither Hinrich or Gordon needed to get to the foul line, obviously.  They combined to score 41 points without any free throws.

Wade is obviously playing hurt, but he’s still being prevented from playing well.

Deng and Gordon both shot 11-19 from the floor, whilst PJ Brown and Ben Wallace both shot 4-6.

Wallace had no turnovers in 38 minutes. 

Whilst Posey and Antoine Walker both played well off the bench (and either, or both, may start in game 3), Chicago’s reserves were also a factor.  Andres Nocioni’s energy and outside touch were vital, and I spent about 10 minutes after the game making sure I could pronounce ‘Thabo Sefolosha’ with a South African accent.

In last year’s NBA Finals, Miami were down 0-2, and came back to win the next 4 games.  So you never know.  But, as Jerry Seinfeld said, sometimes, you know.