BROOKLYN — Nate Robinson navigated a Joakim Noah ball screen near the top of the key, kept his dribble alive and exploded down the right side of the paint with just over 5 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of Game 7.
Robinson’s floater missed short, but Joakim Noah finished his roll to the front of the rim and hustled to beat three nonchalant Brooklyn Nets for an offensive rebound.
Catch.
Turn, in mid-air.
Kick-out to Robinson, who took a dribble into the paint from the right side and passed to Marco Belinelli, who knocked down the catch-and-shoot triple opportunity from just left of the top of the key.
“Unbelievable,” said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau as he helped to explain the energy Noah played with last night in Brooklyn in the Bulls’ 99-93 Game 7 victory. “There are plays that he makes that are multiple-effort type of plays. He can get quickly to a second and third challenge. There aren’t a lot of guys that can do that.”
Noah’s dominance was a site to behold: He’s now the second player in NBA history to score at least 24 points while shooting 70% from the field, collect at least 14 rebounds and swat at least 6 shots in a playoff game (see: Shaquille O’Neal).
Noah’s omnipresence on both ends throughout the game was astounding, especially considering that two weeks ago he barely played during Game 1.
“We’re also asking him to do a lot, basically to be everywhere in our defense,” Thibodeau continued. “Defend the pick-and-rolls, protect the basket, close-out, block out, pursue the ball. Every aspect of our defense… He’s exerting a lot of energy. He’s in very good shape and he can make plays that very few can.”
And while Noah’s grit and determination set the tone for the rest of the team, the starting backcourt of Nate Robinson and Marco Belinelli made crucial shots to keep Chicago in the driver’s seat throughout the evening.
Robinson scored 12 points, including two big-time 3-pointers in the first quarter, to go along with 4 assists and 4 rebounds.
Belinelli hit his first shot of the game, a deep 3-pointer from the right side of the arc, and didn’t look back. He converted 8-of-14 field goal attempts for 24 points and didn’t commit a turnover in 41 minutes of action.
“I wanted to win this game so bad,” exclaimed Belinelli. “I have never been to the semifinals, conference finals. I’m going to be the first Italian guy that is going to play in the second round. I’m happy.”
Belinelli was reflective following the first Chicago Bulls road win in a Game 7 in franchise history.
“I remember when I was in Golden State and a lot of people told me, ‘You can’t play in the NBA,'” explained Belinelli. “A lot of people think that I can’t play in the NBA, so that’s my motivation every day.”
Despite averaging 13.6 minutes per game during the first five games of this back-and-forth series, Belinelli embodied the Bulls’ spirit by making the most of his 87 minutes (43.5 minutes per game) during games 6 and 7.
“Marco was fantastic,” said Thibodeau. “With Lu going down – he’s such a big part of our team – we needed people to step up. I think at the start of the season with Derrick being out, we knew we couldn’t replace Derrick individually and our only chance to have success would be to do it collectively. As our guys have gone down there’s a belief that the next guy will get in there and get the job done.”
Which helps to explain how Belinelli thrived in his expanded minutes.
“I think that’s part of my art and my mentality,” said Belinelli, explaining how he kept such an even-keeled approach despite such a pressure-filled environment. “It was something amazing tonight. We played together on defense and offense and we wanted to win so bad that we just kept going.”
It’s certainly not supposed to be as easy as Belinelli’s 3-for-6 from distance and 5-of-5 at the free throw line, including four of them to ice the game down the stretch, made it out to be.
“I think you have a tendency in a Game 7 where you play not to lose,” explained Steve Kerr, the former Bulls sharpshooter and current TNT analyst who has played in his fair share of meaningful playoff games.
“I think you’ve gotta find the right balance of aggression, comfort and relaxation,” continued Kerr. “It’s a tricky thing. I think as you go through your career you find ways to calm yourself and put yourself in the right frame of mind. Some guys will get a little tight. I think I did early in my career in these situations. I didn’t want to make a mistake. It’s tough to make shots when you have that approach.”
As anxious, excited or nervous as one may be, going through a pre-game routine and doing the things that are normally done before a game play a major role in the success of a shooter’s performance.
“Before every game I always used to take 30-to-40 shots from 5-feet just to reinforce the fundamentals, the basics,” explained Kerr. “You can’t really think as a shooter when the game starts. You don’t want to, so you go through your checklist [before the game] – elbow in, knees bent, follow-through, hold the follow-through, all that stuff – but you do the work beforehand. Just like anything else, you put the work in early and you hope for the best.”
Injured Chicago Bulls shooting guard Rip Hamilton echoed Kerr’s sentiment.
“You’ve got to treat it like it’s any other game,” said Hamilton. “You can’t get caught up in hype, you can’t get caught up in the pressure of the game. You’ve just got to relax and just tell yourself it’s just like any other game. The only thing that’s different is that you could go home.”
At the end of the day, though, though, sometimes you can’t control whether the ball ends up swishing or caroming off the rim.
“Sometimes it’s just up to the gods,” said Kerr. “I’ve had games where I’ve felt great going in and I was totally relaxed and confident and couldn’t buy one and I’ve had the opposite, too. Sometimes the ball goes in and sometimes it doesn’t. You can’t always explain it.”
On this evening, the basketball gods rewarded the Bulls effort and defiance with just enough buckets to keep their season alive, though they’ll be playing the best team in the NBA next round, the Miami Heat.
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Does anybody outside the Bulls locker room truly think they can take the Heat out?
Probably not too many folks believe it’s possible…
But, as if it needs to be made even more clear than it already is, this Bulls team couldn’t care less what anyone outside of their locker room thinks.
“I see them every day,” said Thibodeau following the win. “I know they have the belief. We’ve dealt with adversity all year and I think our team has responded well. There are a lot of things that we can correct and do better. We’re gonna have to be at our best in the next series.”
Jeremy Bauman is an aspiring shooting coach and scout who writes columns and blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter.