Did Bulls bench really motivate James in Game 2?
The Bulls reserves haven't always made a positive impact late in the season. To make matters worse, Cleveland's LeBron James accused the bench players of inciting him during Game 2.
According to James, players on the Bulls bench told him he couldn't shoot, so go ahead and toss it toward the basket. When James knocked down a series of jumpers late in the game, he looked over in that direction a few times.
"There are stories out there," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. "The game's emotional, guys are into it. The atmosphere and everything is great."
So, does anyone want to confess? The Bulls bench was pretty vocal last year in the Boston playoff series, but this group is almost completely different.
"No, that's just extra motivation," Hakim Warrick said with a laugh. "(James) is just motivating himself. No one's talking to him."
Jannero Pargo was equally perplexed.
"Honestly, I'm ticked off about that because I don't know where he got that from," Pargo said. "I was on the bench the whole game and not once did I hear a guy to encourage him to shoot the ball, say he couldn't shoot.
"We encouraged the guys that were guarding him to get up on him and pressure him, so he wouldn't just have a free look at the basket. We never encouraged him to shoot the ball. Where he got that from, I don't know."
Well, one Bulls reserve did admit that James' story was true. One of the bigger guys.
"OK, maybe it did. I didn't hear it," Pargo added. "Down on the far end of the bench? OK, that's why I didn't hear it. I always sit next to Pete (Myers) and the coaching staff.
"I'm not going to say we've never done it before. We do it a lot. But when a guy starts to do what you tell him to do and he's making shots, after that you have to be quiet."
Quest for calls: During the first two games of the series, the Bulls are minus-13 in free-throw attempts, something coach Vinny Del Negro pointed out Wednesday.
"We're got to get to the free-throw line more," he said. "We've got to get some calls. The aggressor usually gets the calls. Hopefully that will be the case. We've got to somehow stay away from Shaquille (O'Neal's) elbows. We've got to take some charges."
If anyone's thinking the Bulls should try to get LeBron James in foul trouble, it will probably never happen. James averaged less than 2 fouls per game this season.
He got as many as 4 fouls in a single game just three times all season, but even that hasn't happened since Nov. 27.
King James looks ahead: Here's LeBron James' take on Game 3, from the Akron Beacon-Journal: "We're a confident bunch; we know what we can do better and we know what we can control. We gave them too many transition points and too many paint points.
"I think a lot of teams play with more confidence at home. They shoot the ball particularly well from the outside at home because the crowd is into it. This is a team that definitely runs a lot more on every possession at home because when you have that crowd energy, it definitely helps you."
According to the stats, the Bulls shoot 33.7 percent from 3-point range at home, 32.4 percent on the road. Not a big difference.
Bull horns: The Bulls are encouraging fans to wear red at all home playoff games. The team started the "See Red" campaign last year when the Bulls went seven games with Boston. - The Bulls' nine-game playoff winning streak over the Cavaliers, which ended in Game 1, was tied for fifth-longest in NBA history. The Lakers won 12 straight against Seattle in the 80s.