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Bulls come together, Cubs rebound and Sox tread water |
While
the Blackhawks have been disappointing in the playoffs, the Bulls
continue to confound their fans. Thankfully, it's been in a positive
way. The Bulls went up 2-0 after Monday night's 111-97 over the
Boston Celtics. Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade led the Bulls in
scoring with 22 points each, but there were other story lines that
play outed just as importantly.
Rajon
Rondo looked like the vintage Rondo of old, finishing with a line of
11-9-14. Robin Lopez continued his strong inside play with 18 points
and 8 rebounds. In game one, Bobby Portis came off the bench and
scored 19 points. In game two, it was Paul Zipser coming up big off
the bench with 16 points. Still, Rondo was the big difference maker.
Bulls no longer a plaid shirt with striped pants
After
number of seasons of looking like a collection of mismatched parts,
the Bulls actually looked cohesive. Everyone settled into their role
with Rondo being the ring master. Plus, the Bulls are just a tough
matchup for the Celtics. The Celtics are having a terrible time on
the boards and need to figure out something. In addition, the Bulls
defense on Isaiah Thomas has been good, though Thomas is still
getting his points.
But they could change into a striped shirt with plaid pants
In
summation, the Bulls two victories over the Celtics didn't look
flukish, but since it's the Bulls, I'm afraid to give way to full
blown optimism.
More please
Meanwhile,
after a couple of victories over the Brewers I'm feeling better about
the Cubs. Both Tuesday night's and Wednesday afternoon's victories
had the same recipe: Shaky starting pitching, strong work by the
bullpen and late inning offensive heroics. Addison Russell had the
decisive blow in the Wednesday's 7-4 Cubs win. Russell's 3 run
homer with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th capped another
Cubs comeback.
Russell
looks like a genuine threat to drive in 100 runs this season. He's
setting at 12 now. Albert Almora Jr. hit his first homer of the
year. There have been questions about Almora's bat, but it looks
like it will play to me.
Is Renteria already paying dividends?
The
White Sox temporarily slowed the Yankees down Tuesday night by a
score of 4-1. Miguel pitched a great game, going 8.1 innings and
allowing 1 run. Avisail Garcia once again had the big blow, a three
run homer. Is it possible that Ricky Renteria should get some of the
credit for Garcia's surge? It's a possibility.
Well, maybe not that many dividends
As I'm
writing this, the Yankees are up on the Sox 9-1. I don't think the
Sox are coming back.
More
next time.
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