Game 6: What went awry for Bulls and why

Everyone knew the Bulls' postseason fate was essentially sealed when Derrick Rose fell to the floor and grabbed his left knee back in Game 1 against Philadelphia.

But that didn't make Thursday's elimination - a 79-78 loss in Game 6 to the Sixers - any easier to take.

In the world of modern technology, fans no longer have to rely on screaming at the TV as the only outlet to release frustration. Now they can jump on Twitter and send an angry message to a player they just watched.

The Huffington Post displayed some angry and threatening messages sent to the Twitter accounts of C.J. Watson and Omer Asik. Carlos Boozer apparently deleted his Twitter account after Thursday's loss.

Asik missed 2 free throws with seven seconds left and the Bulls ahead by 1. Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala got the rebound, dribbled straight upcourt, drew a foul on Asik, then hit the winning free throws with 2.2 seconds on the clock.

As it turned out, Watson made a poor choice by passing the ball to Asik, a poor free-throw shooter. At the time, Watson was thinking Asik would dunk the ball and no one would need to shoot free throws. Instead, Asik was grabbed around the neck and fouled by Sixers center Spencer Hawes.

Watson posted this message to fans on his Facebook page, which read in part, "I know I never really did good in this series. I blame myself and only myself for this loss. I'm sorry Bulls fans, I let you guys down. I can only hope to play better next time."

The Bulls were facing long odds without Rose and Joakim Noah, who missed three games with a sprained left ankle, and it's impossible to place blame on any single person or single event. In a 1-point loss, a play earlier in the game could just as easily have made a difference. So with a day to reflect, here's a closer look at how things went wrong:

Get back on defense:

After Asik missed the second free throw, Hawes did a nice job of boxing out Taj Gibson and Iguodala grabbed the rebound under basket. Yet somehow, Iguodala dribbled full speed down the court and didn't meet any resistance until he got to the rim.

Give Asik credit for hustling back. Where was everyone else?

Gibson and Luol Deng went for the rebound and got slow starts. Ronnie Brewer got caught behind Sixers guard Jrue Holiday, who threw a couple of body blocks when Brewer tried to get around him. Watson stayed on the wing with Lou Williams, probably fearing a dish and lay in if he left to guard Iguodala.

Credit Iguodala for making a good play on the fly. Neither team had a timeout left at the end of the game.

Don't bother complaining about the last foul on Asik. Philadelphia's Thaddeus Young tipped in Iguodala's missed shot after the whistle blew.

Pass to Omer:

This one pretty much defies argument. Watson is an 80 percent free-throw shooter. He should have kept the ball.

As it turned out, the biggest call of the game might have been a no-call. As Watson dribbled down the court, Holiday reached over and hacked his arm in an effort to intentionally foul. Referee Sean Wright was about six feet away, but didn't blow the whistle and fans at the Wells Fargo Center howled in disbelief as the clock kept running.

About a half-second after Watson made the pass, he took a two-handed shove in the back from Williams.

In Watson's defense, he might have figured Hawes was in no position to make a clean foul and the Bulls complained that Hawes should have been given a flagrant for wrapping Asik around the neck - which would have meant 2 free throws and the Bulls kept possession.

But here's the definition of a flagrant foul, straight from the rule book: "A flagrant foul-penalty is unnecessary contact committed by a player against an opponent."

It's purposely vague, which makes it easy to swallow the whistle.

No rest for the weary:

Coach Tom Thibodeau took a risk by sticking with four players almost exclusively in the second half. Asik and Watson never left the floor after halftime, while Deng and Richard Hamilton sat for less than 30 seconds.

"Everybody had great energy. No one was really tired," Watson said after the game. "Everyone played well. We played with heart, passion and tried to get a win, but came up a little short."

We'll never know if this was the right or wrong move. Maybe a brief rest would have helped Asik. Maybe the Sixers would have scored 6 points while he was unavailable to protect the basket.

Hamilton countered that it was obviously a good decision. Plenty of things had to go wrong for the Bulls to lose that game.

"The game was won," he said. "You can't ask for a better situation than that at the end of the game - 25 seconds to go, we're up 3, playing on their court. The only thing they can do is foul. The game was right where we wanted."

On the other side, Iguodala played the entire season half, while Holiday was the only other Sixers player to log more than 20 minutes after halftime.

Boozer off target:

For the second year in a row, Carlos Boozer finished the season with a forgettable performance. In last year's Game 5 loss to Miami in the Eastern Conference finals, he had 5 points and 6 rebounds. On Thursday in Philadelphia, he grabbed 13 rebounds, but hit just 1-of-11 shots for 3 points.

In both cases, an ugly last game overshadowed everything else he'd done. Last year, Boozer averaged 23 points and 14 rebounds in Games 3 and 4 in Miami. In the Sixers series, he'd averaged 15.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and shot 47 percent from the field before Game 6.

This was certainly not the first time Boozer gave way to Gibson in the fourth quarter of a game. Looking solely at Boozer's contributions on the court, he's been a valuable member of a very successful team. Toss in the fact that he's being paid a superstar-caliber salary and it gets more complicated. But Boozer will almost certainly be part of next season's Bulls.

The players held a final meeting at the Berto Center on Friday, but didn't have much to say. Disappointment remained the prevailing emotion.

"We'll get healthy and we'll be back and we'll be very good and very hungry and hopefully we can stay healthy," Boozer said. "Wouldn't you guys love to see us at full strength and completely healthy when the playoffs start" We haven't had that yet. Hopefully, we'll get that next year."

Added Noah: "It's important for everyone to regroup mentally and make another run at it. Derrick is going to come back (from knee surgery). It's adversity, but just another challenge for us. Like Thibodeau always says, 'We are very privileged people doing what we love to. Let's go out there, get better this summer. Come back hungrier than ever and make a run.'"

Coming Sunday: Should the Bulls shake up the roster this summer?

mmcgraw@dailyherald.com