Chicago Bulls turn to Morrow as Boston series turns
There's no tomorrow for the Chicago Bulls if they don't beat Boston at the United Center on Friday. Will they again turn to Anthony Morrow?
Morrow got his chance in Wednesday's Game 5 loss. He played 17 minutes and scored 8 points. After the contest, Jimmy Butler endorsed the move.
"Morrow can play. We've been saying that," Butler said. "He can really score the ball. He's smart. He knows all the matchups. I think we'll see a lot of him going forward."
Morrow is a nine-year veteran. He doesn't have a ton of playoff experience, but did get into 14 games for the Thunder last postseason.
Considering during this playoff series coach Fred Hoiberg has soured on point guards Jerian Grant and Michael Carter-Williams, and has been reluctant to play rookie Denzel Valentine, a veteran presence might be the right move.
Morrow was acquired from Oklahoma City in the Taj Gibson trade, but hasn't seen much action because the Bulls have been focused on developing their younger players.
Wade offers advice:
After the Game 5 loss, Dwyane Wade talked about what advice he'd give teammates on facing an elimination game Friday at the United Center.
"You can't think about one game from elimination," Wade said. "You have to focus on what you can control. You go and watch the film and control how to play your minutes better, how to help your team
"We're going home, where we lost the last two. Focus on the game at hand. Don't focus on it being an elimination game. That does nothing for you."
Wade scored 26 points in Game 5 and spent plenty of time at point guard, with Rajon Rondo out and Jimmy Butler was struggling with a sore left knee.
Hoiberg applauds effort:
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg tried to keep things positive after the Bulls' poor fourth quarter in Game 5.
"I love the way our guys competed," he said. "To come out on the road, to play really, really good basketball for the majority of the first three quarters.
"The start of the fourth, I thought we got off to a good start and then obviously they took over the last 10 minutes. But I love the way our guys competed.
Wade a style finalist:
The first NBA awards show on June 26 will include five categories voted on by fans. Dwyane Wade is nominated for Best Style, along with Cleveland's Iman Shumpert and Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook, who will be tough to beat.
The other fan awards are Dunk of the Year, Block of the Year, Game Winner of the Year, Top Performance of the Year and Assist of the Year. Fans can vote using social media by posting the name of their winner, along with the hashtag of the award.