Basketball or steel-cage match? Watch enough of this ugly first-round series between the Sixers and Bulls, and you might not know the difference.The depleted Bulls are trying to turn this series into a backyard brawl. They're packing defenders into the paint, throwing elbows on the sideline and pushing the Sixers off their spots. In Tuesday's Game 5 loss, the Sixers managed just 26 points in the first half. If they're going to avoid blowing a 3-1 lead, they'll need to get back to basketball."We're not as physical a team as they are. For us to come out and say we're going to get in there and play smash-mouth, that's not what we have to do," coach Doug Collins said yesterday after a light practice. "We have to use our speed and our quickness, and let that negate their strength and their power."That's easier said than done. The Bulls had the No. 1 defense in the league in the regular season and are focusing on defense more without Derrick Rose (knee). Joakim Noah (ankle) appears headed for another game-time call."We just have to keep playing through all the fouls, play through all the aggressiveness," Thaddeus Young said. "It's the playoffs, so you just gotta man up."The Sixers are 3-1 against the Bulls at the Wells Fargo Center this year, including big wins in Games 3 and 4 of this series."You have to be hungrier," Elton Brand said. "This is what we fought all season for. To be on our home court, with our home fans, for a closeout game."
