The Eastern Conference Semi-Finals are shaping up to be a deep series that will really test the resolve of the Chicago Bulls.  After taking a 2-1 lead due to a 44-point explosion by Derrick Rose in Game Three, the Hawks rallied around their home fans and came together to even the series.  Led by Josh Smith, the Hawks badly outplayed the Bulls in the fourth quarter, helping them ultimately notch the win 100-88.  Derrick Rose again scored plenty but shot just 12 of 32 from the court as the Hawks got a nice all-around effort.  Three Atlanta Hawks scored 20 points or more and five ended up in double figures, which proved to be more than enough to even the series.

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The Bulls were able to put together one of the best defensive performances of the year on Wednesday night, backed by a raucous home crowd eager to help the Bulls tie the series.  With that now accomplished, the Bulls will get their biggest test of the season so far as they head into Atlanta for two games this weekend – a stretch that will most likely determine the shape of the season.  After the Hawks shot the lights out in Game 1, the Bulls have proven that they’re capable of ratcheting up the defense and overcome poor shooting nights by Derrick Rose, which have actually become the norm so far in the postseason.

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The Chicago Bulls got tired of people talking about how they suddenly didn’t look like an elite team in Game 1 of the second round.  Though the Hawks hung with the Bulls for a little while, Chicago eventually crumbled then with their defensive intensity and ultimately put them away pretty early in the second half.  Ultimately, the Bulls scored just 86 points but one handedly, with the Hawks finishing with just 71.  Derrick Rose still didn’t shoot the ball well, though still poured in 25 points and dished out 10 assists on the night.  Joakim Noah was a big factor as well, as Noah scored 19 points despite shooting just eight times from the floor.  Noah also grabbed 14 boards to lead the team, while Luol Deng and Carloz Boozer also got into double-digits in rebounding.

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Well, the Bulls now have their back against the wall heading into a must-win Game 2.  Though the term must-win is often thrown around too often, losing your first two games at home could spell disaster for the Bulls, a team that came into the playoffs as the number one overall seed in the league.  In Game 1, Derrick Rose continued his struggles shooting the basketball and ultimately the Bulls couldn’t slow down Joe Johnson or Jamaal Crawford, who poured in big bucket after big bucket.  Kyle Korver had a terrible time staying with Crawford, which could make it difficult for the Bulls to play him throughout the rest of the series.

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After an atrocious start to the game, it looked like the Bulls had everything going for them and that they would be able to take down Game 1 in front of their home fans.  But the Atlanta Hawks had other ideas, as they were led by strong shooting nights by Joe Johnson and Jamaal Crawford, not to mention a good interior performance by Al Horford.  For the most part, though, it was about Johnson, who got off to a hot start and found the hoop just about any time the Hawks needed a big bucket in the second half.  After getting booed off the court by his own fans last year, Johnson has played much better this postseason and proved something to fans that don’t consider him one of the better players in the league.

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The one thing the Bulls need to avoid early in this series is underestimating the Atlanta Hawks.  While most analysts did as well considering how badly they were beaten last year in the playoffs by Orlando, the Hawks clearly had other ideas.  The Hawks outplayed the Magic throughout the series and took down Orlando in six games despite a monster series from Magic center Dwight Howard.  There was even a leaked message to Derrick Rose from Magic point guard Jameer Nelson from before the Hawks/Magic series, with Nelson reportedly telling Rose that he’ll see him in Chicago.

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With Derrick Rose going down fairly early in the game, the Chicago Bulls weren’t able to pull out the series sweet of the Pacers, instead losing 89-84 and pushing the series to a fifth game.  The game actually had plenty of Bulls fans that made the trip from Chicago, making for a bizarre home-court atmosphere for the Pacers, though they were able to handle it quite nicely.  It also helped that Rose went down with a foot injury that held him out for much of the game, even if he was able to come back toward the end.  The Bulls did mount somewhat of a comeback late in the game, though it proved to be not quite enough.

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It may have been another close game, but the Chicago Bulls to be too much down the stretch and ended up pulling out Game 3 against the Indiana Pacers.  While the Pacers battled throughout the game, a hot second half by Kyle Korver eventually helped sink the Pacers, as did a couple of clutch buckets by likely league MVP Derrick Rose.  The final bucket by Rose was a difficult left-handed layup with only a little bit of time left to go, sealing the game and putting the Bulls into a position of dominance in the best-of-seven series.

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With a 2-0 lead, the Bulls head into Indiana tonight with a chance to all but put away the series, something they would definitely like to do in order to keep pace with the Heat and Celtics.  With the Heat pulling it together and looking dominant in their second game of the series against the Sixers, the Bulls would like to come together for a nice win that would allow them to take a deep breath.  The biggest question for the Pacers, however, is that they very well could be without point guard Darren Collison, which would be a tremendous blow considering how much he brings to the team on offense.

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One of the main reasons that the Pacers kept the first two games close was Darren Collison, the quick Pacers’ point guard who had been very effective in distributing the ball thus far.  But after crashing into the front row under the hoop in Game 2, Collison’s status is uncertain for Game 3 and the Pacers might have to go on without him.  Collison went down midway through Game 2 when he landed on a cameraman, then hobbled off the court not to return.  Though some are hopeful that he could play, reports are that he is doubtful for the third game of the series and after that is anyone’s guess.

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