Chicago Bulls Thread

[Dan's Brain]

Nabbed a bit of daylight over the Lakers with the win over the Suns and the Lakers dropping the game to Utah. Now for the Celtics and what should be an amazing game. And we're getting it here! Hurrah!

[NovU]

Remaining 5 games for the Bulls should be a good measure going into the playoffs. 3 games versus Eastern playoff teams, first the Celtics, then the Magic, and then the lowly Knicks.

Not done yet, but very likely it seems that the Bulls are going to get the top seed. Quite surprising I'd say since my initial expectation on this team was 3rd or 4th.

[Andrew]

Nabbed a bit of daylight over the Lakers with the win over the Suns and the Lakers dropping the game to Utah. Now for the Celtics and what should be an amazing game. And we're getting it here! Hurrah!

Seems we've got the Knicks game here next week as well.

[Dan's Brain]

Great big pieces of awesome here:

Great finish against the Celtics, especially with Noah missing much of the end of the game.

The Miami Heat have been eliminated from number one seed contention, thanks to the Bulls' season series sweep.

The Bulls can lock out the Celtics with a victory tomorrow...against Cleveland.

If they do get that win, then the worst that they can do is tie with the Lakers. Do the Bulls own that tiebreak?

[Andrew]

A great game from the usual suspects, though Boozer's shot was a little off. He made them down the stretch though and was great on the boards. Rose was, well, Rose and Deng really got it going after a bit of a slow start. Deng's really proven me wrong this season, I've been down on him in previous years but now that he's healthy, confident and comfortable in his role, he's been playing some great basketball this year.

Going back to Rose for a moment:

phpBB [video]

Incredible.

The Bulls should have the tiebreaker over the Lakers if they both reach the Finals. Both are Division champions and they each won their home game in the season series but the next tiebreaker, Division win-loss percentage, goes to the Bulls (14-1 against the Central while the Lakers are 11-4 against the Pacific). With each team having only one game left against teams in their Division, they've locked up that tiebreaker. They'll probably finish with the second best record in the league unless the Spurs drop a couple more, so they'd have homecourt advantage over the Lakers outright. They'd also hold the tiebreaker over the Spurs if it comes to that.

Wojnarowski is certainly on the bandwagon right now: Bulls’ message to Celtics: We can beat you

[puttincomputers]

I seem to remember saying somewhere earlier this year that I thought the Celtics would falter down the stretch and would not go far in the playoffs and because they were old. If I remember right I was laughed out of the building. whos laughing now? ME! LOL

[Cartar]

I seem to remember saying somewhere earlier this year that I thought the Celtics would falter down the stretch and would not go far in the playoffs and because they were old. If I remember right I was laughed out of the building. whos laughing now? ME! LOL

Lolwut, is it playoffs yet? Look how horrible they played last year starting from Christmas and see where they ended up (they lost to the freaking Nets back then)? Can't guarantee that they go this far, but it's far too early to count them down.

[shadowgrin]

puttincomputers is definitely on a specific list of mine, along with ZanShadow and z02.

[NovU]

Shut ur pie hole grin.

Thx to the bulls, we still got a good shot at second seed.

[Andrew]

I seem to remember saying somewhere earlier this year that I thought the Celtics would falter down the stretch and would not go far in the playoffs and because they were old. If I remember right I was laughed out of the building. whos laughing now? ME! LOL

They've stumbled a little, but that can be attributed to making adjustments after a trade that I doubt anyone saw coming. While the Celtics look beatable right now, nothing is assured as we come to put up or shut up time for the sixteen teams that will compete in the postseason. Last year a whole lot of people were counting them out and they came within minutes of another championship. I'm optimistic, of course, but I won't celebrate any Bulls victories until they're in the books.

Speaking of which, the top seed is officially locked up along with homecourt advantage throughout the Eastern Conference Playoffs. How awesome would it be if they could win their last three and the Spurs drop at least one? That'd be huge for them should everything go their way in the East. There's a long way to go but at this point you can't help but feel they've got as good a shot as anyone heading into the Playoffs.

[Dan's Brain]

Done. An alright performance against the Cavs has locked up the Number 1 seed for the first time since '98. Sparked by a really good game by Boozer and a return to form defensively for Joakim Noah.

Also, the Lakers' loss to the Blazers has given the Bulls the homecourt advantage should the two teams make the Finals.

I am extremely proud of this team. I don't want this to come across as a postscript on the season, because the job isn't done yet. But the Bulls have met and surpassed every expectation that I had for them. This offseason, I knew that a contender was being built, but I never dreamed that the impact would be so immediate. It's also scary to imagine that they are going to get even better. Shooting Guard can be upgraded, Rose hasn't reached his prime, Noah hasn't reached his and Boozer and Noah can still get full seasons under their belts. If they can get those particular planets to align, then the sky is the fucking limit.

Anyway, next step: 60 wins (There's something I thought that I'd never say this year).

EDIT: The Bulls have also finished their games against their Central Division "rivals", going 15-1. It's a pretty woeful division outside of Chicago, and you'd have to think that if the lottery isn't kind to the Bucks, Pistons and Cavs, Chicago could go undefeated in division play next year.

[Andrew]

I'm with you. Fantastic season, a bit of frustration at times but a lot of fun for the most part. As you said though, it's not over yet.

[George7]

Yeah,this season is a dream so far.The team really exceeded expectations so far in the regular season,and I can't wait to see what they can achieve in the playoffs. So the current path to ECF will be Indiana-Orlando/Atlanta ,which I believe will remain as is in the last game,it's not easy for any team to surpass the other,except Boston-Miami and New York-Philadelphia,four teams that won't play against Chicago until Bulls reach the Conference finals.

In my opinion it will be a the best possible path,as with homecourt advantage the team can pass Indiana(even without Bulls could pass them) and the Orlando Magic(or the Hawks). I wish this year will be a landmark year for this team,a year that will show Bulls the path back to success and titles! I know historic background doesn't win titles,but as the last top seed came in the last year Bulls won a championship,I'm so confident we can see sth great in the postseason!

[Andrew]

Orlando's not a great matchup for them in the second round but there's some inconsistency outside of Dwight Howard and it looks like the Bulls are more or less healthy at this point, so I still like their chances. There's also the possibility that the Hawks will knock off the Magic (they're 3-1 against them this season) and aside from that one second half collapse the Bulls have decimated Atlanta this year, so that could be a favourable outcome.

[puttincomputers]

There is some inconsistency in regards to Howard. This technical rule could kill his playoff chances!

[Andrew]

Unless they've changed it, his regular season tally doesn't continue over to the Playoffs. Unless he hits the limit for the postseason, the automatic suspensions will end with the regular season.

[puttincomputers]

Once again you are right Andrew! The limit before being suspended is 7 in the playoffs. In a high octane 7 game series Howard could easily pick of 3 or 4 techs.

[rise]

...or 7.

I forgot about that. I thought Dwight Howard would be missing so many games due to his 18 techs.

[George7]

Damn you Boozer!Every time he gets the ball,he either turns it over ,or makes a charge!!

[Andrew]

Close call, but they picked up the win to make it 60 on the year. It'd be great if the Spurs rested a few guys and left the door open for the Bulls to either tie with or get a game up on them, but unless they're feeling a bit too beaten up I'd say that they too will compete to the last day of the season. Again, that's getting a bit ahead of ourselves but with homecourt in the East locked up, that's one last ace up their sleeve that they could possibly attain.

[Andrew]

Great win over the Knicks to avenge the previous two losses. It looked like it might be another close one even with Amar'e out but they really cranked up the defense and started knocking them down at the other end at the start of the second half. A couple of highlight plays from Rose, Noah looked a bit better than he has recently but still not 100%, Boozer missed a few easy ones but was great on the boards. With the Spurs' loss, they've got a chance to finish with the league's best record should they take care of business against the Nets and the Spurs drop one to the Suns tomorrow. I was mistaken about the tiebreaker rule, it doesn't apply in the NBA Finals so a tie only gives them the 50-50 chance of a coin flip for homecourt.

Brewer's thumb is a concern as he apparently sprained it and didn't return, but he's assuring everyone via Twitter that he's OK and will be good to go; hopefully it's a mild sprain at worst and he sat out simply as a precaution. Other than that, great game.

[Dan's Brain]

I'd probably rest Brewer against the Nets, just to avoid aggravating the injury.

Anyway, the first half of the 3rd quarter showed the Bulls almost at their best. Hopefully they can build on that for the playoffs.

I did notice a couple of times that Boozer and Noah were almost competing with each other for rebounds. Can't argue with the result as they outrebounded the Knicks 51-33 and it was the most life that Boozer has shown on the boards in ages, but something still seems a little off between them.

I could definitely see the Spurs dropping to the Suns tomorrow if they continue to sit out the big 3, while Thibs will probably keep the team the way it is. Number 1 in the league could be on its way.

[George7]

So,if both teams win or lose today,on a potential Spurs-Bulls finals matchup we're going to have a coin flip for the home court?

[Andrew]

Apparently that's what happens in the event of a tie. The tiebreaker I was referring to before apparently doesn't come into play in the NBA Finals.

[Martti.]

I thought they'd look at division records, +/- between the 2 games or something like that. A random draw is silly.