Best series ever? Bulls-Celtics series evokes memories of '09
The Bulls-Celtics playoff series of 2009 is easily the greatest first-round playoff series in NBA history. Would anyone even challenge this statement?
The seven-game series featured seven overtime periods, plenty of late-game drama and a long list of memorable plays. The Bulls still feature Joakim Noah's steal and slam in the third overtime of Game 6 in their pregame hype highlights.
So with a rematch set to tip off Sunday, this is a good time to look back at the time Vinny Del Negro, John Salmons, Linton Johnson and an injured Kevin Garnett came together to create some special memories:
The Tyrus Thomas game
Sure, Derrick Rose scored 36 points in his playoff debut, but Game 1 of this series might have been the high point of Tyrus Thomas' Bulls career.
Thomas wasn't a bad guy, but he could get a little surly sometimes and before the game, he snapped at reporters who continually tried to ask him about growing up with Celtics forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis in Baton Rouge, La. "Why don't you just look at somebody else's story," Thomas said.
Later on, though, Thomas scored 6 points in overtime, including the go-ahead jumper with 50 seconds left as the Bulls won 105-103. This also helps explain why Thomas didn't last that long in the NBA. He wanted to be a jump-shooting small forward, while everyone else saw a hyperathletic power forward.
The Rondo smack
It's easy to forget, but the Bulls nearly won Games 2 and 5 in Boston. Did we mention the Bulls were the No. 7 seed and the Celtics were the defending champs? Garnett's injury was the great equalizer, obviously.
The Bulls led Game 2 late in the fourth, but Ray Allen knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the final 25 seconds, including the game-winner with two seconds left.
In Game 5, the Bulls led late in regulation and overtime before Paul Pierce hit a jumper with two seconds left to put Boston ahead 106-104. After a time out, Del Negro drew up a brilliant play to get Brad Miller and open path to the basket. To stop the lay in, current Bulls and former Celtics guard Rajon Rondo swung his arm and smacked Miller in the mouth. The Bulls wanted a flagrant foul, didn't get it and Miller missed the free throws.
Goodbye BG
This series marked the end of Ben Gordon's career with the Bulls and he went out in style. Gordon scored 42 points in Game 2, added 33 in Game 7 and helped make the endless drama possible by knocking down a tying 3-pointer at the end of the first overtime in Game 4.
Before the season, the Bulls offered Gordon a long-term deal, he turned it down, then changed his mind the next day. The Bulls said, "Sorry, offer rescinded," and Gordon took the one-year qualifying offer. He got paid by Detroit the next summer, but his career was never the same and he never reached the playoffs again.
It was a sad listening to Gordon after the Game 7 loss, talking about how much he wanted to stay with the Bulls, knowing it wasn't going to happen.
A walk in humble city
Gordon was the Bulls' leading scorer in this series, but Rose, then a rookie, acquitted himself very well. He shot nearly 50 percent from the field while averaging 19.7 points and 6.4 assists.
One memorable moment happened behind the scenes. On the road, the Bulls practiced at Emerson College, which is in the heart of the city, across the street from Boston Common. After one session, Rose amiably chatted with some reporters in the lobby of the building, politely said goodbye, grabbed a pair of sneakers in his hands and walked solo back to the nearby team hotel. No one on the street seemed to notice him.
It was a different era in so many ways.
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