My personal experience, when I lost a buddy while working on his personal project, a feature film, was that I, along with others, grinded like crazy for 6 months after his leave and I wasn't effective. The film was never finished. It wasn't the question of time and work put into it, It was the question of doing the right things and having appropriate leadership. Isaiah is our leader, I think there is no question about it, and he is struggling IMO. Sure some will say he scored 30+ in the 1st game, OK, maybe he would go for 48. The biggest dropoffs in his game, understandably, are the concentration related things, free throws (22% less), and ball security (he doubled his TO%). And to use my personal analogy, it all comes down from the top.
Before every series, we ask ourselves; "Who is the best player in the series. Who their best player?" We don't say it for nothing, we say it cause it is meaningful.
Isaiah's tragedy affected the teams play negatively and guys are trying, but they aren't good at it right now. This is not some cheesy sports movie when guys buckle down and save the club, this is real life, and it doesn't work based just on your willpower. Humans are emotional beings. Bulls got lucky and hit some 3-pointers and long mid-rangers they normally don't. We are not the classic number 1 seed, we played below our expected level for the reasons mentioned above and that's why we are where we are right now.
Game 3, let's hope we get it.