Perdue: Game 3 is must-win for Bulls
Former Bulls center Will Perdue took questions about the state of the team after the Bulls earned a split in Cleveland:
Q: The Bulls have been so inconsistent all year. Does that mean they're a flawed team?
A: I think the inconsistency is a mental flaw, to be honest with you. I think that's a valid question, because it's not like the talent changes from game to game. Same players, same talent level. Now I know after Game 2, coach Tom Thibodeau was like, "We just didn't make shots tonight." But he also said, "We didn't match their effort."
The Bulls knew how Cleveland was going to come out to start the game. The Cavs vocalized it. They basically laid it out on the table, told you exactly what they were going to do. The Bulls just didn't match the Cavs' effort. To me, that was frustrating and didn't make a lot of sense. That kind of sent a message of 'We already accomplished our goal. We won one of the two games, we stole home court advantage. We're good."
Now the problem is you have a freight train on your hands, rumbling down the tracks. Not only LeBron James, but you've got a team that's playing with a lot of confidence. That's how quickly confidence can change this time of year.
Q: Well, it is good news for the Bulls that they won a game in Cleveland. Then after having success in Game 1, they went back into relax mode, right?
A: You know what it reminds me of? It reminds me of a child that will do whatever you tell them, but they're not going to go that extra mile. If you drive them to the gym, give them a basketball, lay out instructions, they'll do it to a T. But if you say, it's a voluntary practice or just work out on your own, they're not going to do it.
If the Bulls have room to relax, they allow themselves to relax. I think sometimes this team borders between confidence and arrogance, and you know how thin that line is.
Don't relax. Don't give them a chance to build confidence. I'm not talking about LeBron. I'm talking about Matthew Dellavedova, Tristan Thompson. How about James Jones, dropping 17 points in Game 2? You're playing with fire, man. And unfortunately, you don't realize you've gotten burned until it's too late.
Q: Will Derrick Rose ever shoot a free throw in this series?
A: I thought Tom Thibodeau did a nice job biting his tongue after Game 2, because you could tell he wanted to say something. But he was like, "Hey, my buddy Doc Rivers just got dinged." To me, as a player and now an analyst, you can't tell me Kyrie Irving is getting fouled that much more than Derrick Rose - 21 free-throw attempts to 0?
I thought Derrick was being very aggressive and attacking the paint in Games 1 and 2. No calls. OK, chalk that up to home court advantage, assume you'll get more whistles at home. But the only way you'll get those calls is by being the aggressor. And stop looking at the officials and shrugging your shoulders. That might work for LeBron, but we all know superstars get the calls. Derrick isn't a superstar right now after all his time off.
Q: What's the biggest thing the Bulls need to change for Game 3?
A: They just got demolished on defense Wednesday. To me, that's about determination. It's about pride. You can talk about all the adjustments the Cavs made, but how many times did they get to the bucket? I'm not saying let's take this back to the 80s, but there's got to be some physicality to what you're trying to do on defense. Hey, Kirk Hinrich did it. He wrapped LeBron up, didn't let him get the shot off. I love that. But where was everybody else? I'm not Chicken Little clamoring that the sky is falling. But now the Bulls have put themselves in a position where Friday is a must win. It's the pivotal game.
• Will Perdue is an analyst for Comcast SportsNet's Bulls pregame and postgame shows. A four-time champion (3 Bulls titles, 1 Spurs), he played 13 seasons in the NBA. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Perdue32.