In tonight's edition of Bulls rumors, with Game 3 of the Chicago Bulls / Washington Wizards Eastern Conference quarterfinal in progress, many analysts believe that the Chicago Bulls are now assuming the role of underdogs against the Washington Wizards.
According to Nick Freidell of ESPN.com, "(coach Tom) Thibodeau and his players seemed upbeat about their chances to win Game 3 on Friday night and get back into this series, despite the fact that many pundits, including TNT analyst and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, who believe this series is over."
"Hey look, we've been counted out all season long, many times," Thibodeau stated in a shootaround prior to Friday's Game 3. "It's a resilient group, just bounce back. We understand what goes into winning. It takes four to win a series. We're just trying to get the first one."
Rather than worrying about being a favorite or an underdog, Thibodeau wants to see his team return to the basics which earned them home-court advantage in the first round to begin with:
"Just quarter by quarter, just be ready," Thibodeau stated in Freidell's article.
"That's the playoffs. You don't change what you have to do. It's a possession by possession game. You have to make more winning plays over a course of a game, so it's not any one particular play. Just be ready at the start. Know your job, do your job. Make more winning plays than they do."