Phew. That was a close one. Scott Skiles’ Disney Caribbean Cruise plans are officially back on track.
After a brief scare brought on by a promising four-game winning streak, the Bulls returned to form over the weekend in a 104-103 loss to the Grizzlies in Memphis on Saturday night.
After the game, Skiles was relieved he would not have to postpone his vacation due to his Bulls advancing to the second round of the playoffs.
“We’re not a playoff team,” Skiles said. “Playoff teams don’t give away wins to bad teams like we did here tonight. We’ll probably still make the first round, but I’ll be sitting in the sun in the Caribbean come second round.”
Tyrus Thomas gift-wrapped the game for Memphis by fouling Hakim Warrick with 4.3 seconds left and the score tied at 103-103. Warrick hit the first of his two shots and sealed the win for the Grizzlies.
Ben Gordon put forth a valiant effort, leading the team with 33 points, and PJ Brown added a hard-fought two points and four rebounds to help the cause. But in the end, neither player could stop the Bulls’ inevitable return to their last-second losing ways.
“Before tonight, we looked like a different team,” Skiles said. “Finishing games, playing somewhat solid basketball; I was worried we were going to stay that way. But I’m not worried anymore. We’ve gotten back to our brand of crap-the-bed basketball, and it’s great to see. After all, I don’t want to keep Mickey [Mouse] waiting.”
Number of the weekend: 1
Heckler Bulls beat writer who had his NCAA bracket sunk when his Hoosiers (whom, like an idiot, he had winning it all) lost to UCLA Saturday night. He now realizes, like he does every year, he would’ve been better off betting on the Bulls to make it to the second round of the playoffs.
