I was fortunate enough to be able to attend my first professional basketball game this evening. It was a game between the Orlando Magic and the Chicago Bulls at the United Center in Chicago. A couple of things about the atmosphere before I get to the game. First of all the halftime entertainment by “Kenya Boyz African Acrobats” (I believe this was the name of their group) was outstanding. It was a combination of dance, and acrobatics. If you get a chance, check these guys out. Second, I just have to say that I really enjoy the United Center venue. It’s always kept very clean, and it’s very easy to navigate.

Now, onto the game. The Bulls came out and were shooting the ball really well. Andres Nocioni had a career night, pouring in 26 pts and 10 rebounds. He went off, early and often. It was good to see. I haven’t watched too much basketball in the last few years, but what I have seen of the Andres Nocioni, I really like. He’s gritty and not afraid to mix it up. So early on it was pretty much Nocioni and Kirk Hinrich for the Bulls offense. Luol Deng was a strong contributor as the game went on.

There were a couple things that just didn’t make sense to me.

1. Early on the Bulls were getting dominated on the glass. They would allow the Magic to easily get offensive rebounds. This must have lead to about 3 or 4 easy baskets.
2. What happened in the 4th quarter? The Bulls shooting went south… way south.

They ended the game shooting 42.4% from the floor. Most of those misses came in the 3rd and 4th quarters when Ben Gordon (5-17) was throwing up ill-advised threes, and everyone else seemed to be just settling for midrange jumpshots that just weren’t falling. Finally as the Magic got back into it and the game clock wound down, Kirk Hinrich decided to take it to basket, and he drew a foul. That dribble penetration was there for Hinrich, Gordon, and Deng all night. Rarely did they pursue it. Nocioni repeatedly took the ball to the hoop and was rewarded with foul shots and a couple of rim-rattling dunks.

I’m not sure why the Bulls went cold. It seemed like there was a lack of discipline out there. I’m a huge fan of Coach Skiles, but he’s got to get these guys focused if they’re still planning on landing the 8th spot in the NBA playoffs.

Besides the disappointing finish, my first NBA experience was definitely a good one.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 29th, 2006 at 1:59 am and is filed under Basketball, NBA, Vigilante Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.