The Bulls jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead in game two. Towards the end of the game it was looking like they’d blow it completely after leading most, if not all, of the game. After tying the series up at a game a piece it appeared the Bulls could steal the series thanks to the Middleton injury when news came out on Thursday that he was done for the series.
It did not take long for the Bucks to step up in his absence and perform like the defending champs that they are. They jumped out to an early lead of their own in game three and never looked back.
DeMar DeRozan led the charge in game two scoring 41 points with 7 rebounds and 4 assists. He barely scored 15 points in game 3. Vučević and LaVine combined for 44 points with 14 rebounds and 5 assists in game 2, then in game three were held to 34 points with 11 rebounds and 8 assists. The moral of the story here is the defensive game was completely off for the Bulls in game 3 and they were taking some horrible shots causing the Bucks to run away with it and win by 30.
If the Bulls want to have a chance to force a game six in Chicago they are going to need to jump out to an early lead the next two games and hold on to that lead better than they did even in game two. I realize they do not have a strong defensive game. However, they need to bring what they can on the defensive side of the ball if they want to give themselves a real chance. Whether or not they steal the series management will need to go out and pick out at least one top defender this summer if they want to make a deep playoff run next year.