Chicago Bulls Thread

[Phil89]

Clearly it should be settled with a game of Deathball.

[kibaxx7]

A coin flip sucks The Standings page says:

TIEBREAKER BASIS:
(-) Tie breaker not needed (better overall winning percentage)
(1) Division leader wins tie from team not leading a division
(2) Head-to-head won-lost percentage
(3) Division won-lost percentage
(4) Conference won-lost percentage
(5) W-L Percentage vs. Playoff teams, own conference
(6) W-L Percentage vs. Playoff teams, other conference
(7) Net Points, all games

But do these tiebreakers apply for the playoffs too?

[Andrew]

That's what I was going by before. According to Marv Albert and Mike Fratello during the call of today's Bulls/Knicks game though, it doesn't apply in the NBA Finals.

[koberulz]

Probably due to the differing conferences making it less even, whereas pre-Finals everyone is in the same conference, so conference record is a decent measure.

No idea why total points for and against in the season series isn't a tiebreaker, though.

[Houndy]

A coin flip would be terrible..

[Andrew]

As long as one team wins and the other loses today, it won't be an issue.

[puttincomputers]

I don't think it will be an issue.

[Andrew]

The Spurs still have a whole half (as of this post) to win their game and tie with the Bulls. Of course, all this assumes that both teams would make it to the Finals which again is getting ahead of ourselves, but it'd be great to have that advantage against anyone who comes out of the West if the Bulls can make it that far.

For the moment though, what a regular season it turned out to be! 62-20 to match their record from 1997/1998 including nine straight wins to end the season, some impressive wins over other contenders and some fun highlights along the way...even with two of their key players missing huge chunks of the season. Rose's emergence has been great to see and whatever ultimately happens this season, the future looks bright. That said, seems like they've got as good a shot as anyone right now. Go Bulls!

[Dan's Brain]

Spurs lose.

Number 1 baby!!

Good to get the last couple of minutes of the game here too, as ugly as the game may have been.

[Andrew]

On the bright side, we should get to see a few more good Bulls games before the Playoffs are over, at least while One HD is still showing NBA games. I have a sneaking suspicion that ESPN Australia is going to be dominated by Lakers and Spurs games.

[George7]

Bulls got the regular season top and now ready for a big post season!!
Will this be the year we're going to get back to the top? I Clearly didn't believe I could be that optimistic heading to the playoffs

[Andrew]

I've got to admit the thought has crept into my mind, but I'm trying not to get carried away just yet. One series at a time.

[George7]

Yeah,just don't underestimate Indiana.If they show respect to the opponent,and treat the series with the needed seriousness,Bulls are going to get pass the first round with no harm. I'm pretty concerned about a meeting Orlando in the semis though.I believe,after watching the game last Sunday,that they're the only team Chicago has so hard time to win ,even without Howard. I don't know if it is overreacting ,but I fear more Orlando than Boston...

[Andrew]

I think that's been the consensus in this thread so far. Boston's struggling a bit since the trade and their bigs are limping. Orlando has Dwight Howard and are adept at bombing away from three point range.

[Andrew]

Thanks to Lean for the heads up on this one:

phpBB [video]

[Andrew]

One down, three to go. That was a little too close for comfort though.

[Dan's Brain]

I've changed my mind on the sweep. The Pacers are absolutely legit and are going to make this one go the duration. I didn't see any of Rose's 3 point attempts, so I don't know if they were ill-advised or not, but he absolutely and totally made up for it. At the end of the day, the W is what counts.

I dont know how effective Noah and Thomas can be on the floor together for an extended period of time, so Boozer absolutely needs to pull his finger out. Get mad. Throw some elbows. Crash the boards. Make the most of his chances.

[Lamrock]

I'm inclined to disagree. The Pacers played out of their minds for 45 minutes, with everything but rebounding going right for them and it took three minutes of inspired Bulls basketball to beat them. I reckon Chicago wins game 2 in a blowout.

[benji]

Plus it's not like Derrick Rose will shoot 4/14 and jack up six threes in the second and third quarters every single game.

[Andrew]

I've changed my mind on the sweep. The Pacers are absolutely legit and are going to make this one go the duration. I didn't see any of Rose's 3 point attempts, so I don't know if they were ill-advised or not, but he absolutely and totally made up for it. At the end of the day, the W is what counts.

I dont know how effective Noah and Thomas can be on the floor together for an extended period of time, so Boozer absolutely needs to pull his finger out. Get mad. Throw some elbows. Crash the boards. Make the most of his chances.

I'm feeling a little less confident of a sweep but I wouldn't go that far yet. As Lamrock said they could now go ahead and win in a blowout in Game 2, at which point we'll probably start talking brooms again.

[Andrew]

Certainly no blowout but relieved that they scraped through. Hope they get their stuff together for Games 3 and 4 in Indiana.

[benji]

Plus it's not like Derrick Rose will shoot 4/14 and jack up six threes in the second and third quarters every single game.

Well, 7/20 through three quarters and 6/15 in the 2nd and 3rd isn't 4/14 so shut up.

[shadowgrin]

Someone forgot to take his medication today.

[Andrew]

So far it hasn't been the performance I envisioned but at least they're up 3-0. As I said in the series thread, I sure hope they can sort themselves out for the second round.

[Andrew]

That's more like it. Hopefully they're back on track and those performances will continue, though Boozer still needs to get it going. And one more time, let's enjoy Rose's block on Hibbert:

phpBB [video]

Thoughts on second round opponents? I'm not sure a matchup with the Magic would be a complete disaster, they were 3-1 against them this year and they haven't exactly been stellar against the Hawks. When it comes down to it I'd probably still prefer the Hawks, given that the Magic have Howard and can really light it up from downtown when they've got it going but if they play like they did in Game 5 against the Pacers and Boozer shows up, I like their chances against either of them. Here's hoping that series goes seven regardless of who wins, so that Rose has a little extra time to rest his ankle.