CHICAGO — Throughout the season, interim coach P.J. Carlesimo has said playing Brook Lopez and Andray Blatche together is a combination that would be successful in certain matchups.
It appears the Bulls are one of those matchups.
Through the first five games of this first-round series, Lopez and Blatche have been on the court together for a total of 36 minutes, and have dominated the Bulls for virtually all of them.
When the two of are paired together, the Nets have outscored the Bulls 91-53, with the plus-38 differential easily the best of any two-man unit on the team.
“They’re a defensive team, and I feel like when it’s me and Brook on the court with Deron, Joe and whoever else, it spaces the floor so much,” Blatche said after Wednesday’s practice. “[Carlos] Boozer or [Joakim] Noah can’t spot up and help on Joe and Deron. … They’ve got to respect my jump shot and my game. … It spreads the floor and gives them an opportunity to drive to the hole.”
Carlesimo went with Lopez and Blatche together in the fourth quarter of Game 5, and made it clear the Bulls could expect to see it again in Game 6 Thursday night.
“We like the two of them together when it’s a [good] matchup, and we thought this was a good matchup,” Carlesimo said. “The Bulls almost always have two bigs on the floor, so it’s something we’ll look at.”
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Blatche was a critical component in the Nets’ Game 5 win, scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter to help close the game out. Making his performance even more impressive was the fact he was playing with a strained right calf.
“I went to the hole, and I came down and just felt it. I thought it was a cramp so I tried to play through it, and apparently it wasn’t,” Blatche said.
“I feel better. It’s actually calmed down some. I came in yesterday to get treatment on it, so it’s starting to come around.”
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After Kirk Hinrich sat out of Game 5 with a bruised left calf, the starting point guard for the Bulls sat out of practice.
“I’m feeling better, seeing some improvement,” Hinrich told reporters. “Just kind of the same deal, taking it day-to-day, and just throwing everything at it to try and improve as quickly as possible.”
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said Hinrich is a game-time decision, and was hoping he would be able to give it a go.
“I’d have to improve some [to play],” the point guard said.
“I ditched the walking boot and just starting to get some swelling out of there. I just have to get as much swelling out of there as possible to help if I have any chance of moving. … I’m still walking very gingerly, and I haven’t tried to run or jump or cut or anything yet, so I’m hoping that it improves a lot between [yesterday] and [today].”