The Diagnosis: Do Not Underestimate the Bulls-a Short Preview

The Bulls made it to the playoffs.

Well, it was a bumpy road. At first it was looking as if Del Negro was going to spend his spring at home and possibly unemployed.

Then the Bulls won a few games, then they went down, up, down, up and...they reached the promised land (read: the playoffs)!

Then they beat Detroit and fill up the seventh seed in the East...to meet last year's champions, aka the Celtics, possibly without Garnett.

Yes, dear reader, KG will most probably miss the playoffs due to a knee injury.

Remember the Celtics that played against the Cavs?

You do? Great, because those will most probably be the C's in the playoffs.

No Garnett, no big man banging the board, no confidence boost, no leadership.

Or in other words: Hey, Paul! Here is your chance to lead the C's through the playoffs!

Does this hurt the C's chances? Yes.

Does this weaken their game? Absolutely.

Does this help the Bulls? Definitely!

Without Garnett getting all the rebounds on both sides of the court and banging the rim and...

- Well?

- Well, and destroying the Bulls, the Chi city team has a nice chance of making it.

- You're absolutely nuts! The Bulls going through the Celtics? Yeah right, dream on.

- No, I'm serious without KG the Bulls have a chance.

- What about Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Rondo, and Marbury?

- What about THE DERRICK ROSE EFFECT?

- He's a rookie! It's not like he's going to lead the Bulls through the Celtics.

- Really? I don't think so. Rose is a heck of a player. He may not average 20+ ppg in a season, but he averaged 22 ppg in his last three games and some 9 assists and 5 rebounds per game.

- Well, that's not impressive...

- You're right. Still, it's his attitude, that I'm counting on. He's a freakish athlete, a great player and on top of that he's a highly-motivated guy, that can turn a game around. Remember when Iverson averaged 40 ppg in a series?

- Yeah, back in 2000 or 2001 wasn't it?

- Yeah...back when Kobe and Shaq were smart enough to figure out, that if they shared the protagonism they could beat anyone.

- Ok, but getting back to AI...

- Oh right. Well, I think Rose can pull that off.

- What 40+ in a series? You're crazy.

- No, I don't mean that he'll go for 40+ ppg. I think that he'll go for a great series with a huge impact. A lot of assists and of course a nice ppg average.

- Still, one player doesn't make the series.

- No, he doesn't, but it's contagious. One guy gets hyped, then the other and soon the whole team will get hyped.

- Yeah, that's possible. Nevertheless, how will you get four games against the Celtics?

- Well, that's a mystery. They just need to win all the games at home and get lucky at the Garden.

- Ok, still. You reckon, that the Bulls will be a one man team?

- No, they have Ben Gordon for some three pointers and Salmons is a solid guy and Noah and Thomas could surprise a lot of people.

- Yes, but the C's are the C's.

- Don't forget one thing, the Bulls do not have any pressure one them. If they get swept, then it's all good, but the C's have to win the East, at least. Without KG do they have a big man? Don't think so. Ray Allen is not always consistent and do not forget that Pierce is a guy that explodes, but can be controlled.

- Ok, but what about Rondo and Marbury?

- Rose is faster, stronger, quicker, and better in getting to the rim, than both of these guys combined.

- Well, Rondo is pretty fast and he's a great penetrater, I don't know if I agree with you on that.

- Well, Rondo can't dunk, he's no freakish athlete like Rose, so he'll have a hard time guarding him.

THE GARNETT HOLE

Apart from Rose's postseason reaction, there's another huge bump for the C's. The Hole that Garnett leaves for Doc Rivers to fill up.

It's a huge Gap and that's why It deserves a capital letter every time I mention It. (I'm Catholic so don't come up with: Oh my, you're disrespecting God!—How do you write your name then?)

Garnett is the man, the leader, both on and off the court.

Off the court there will be some problems. Paul Pierce is not much of a motivational and inspiring leader and Ray Allen is a bit passive.

But don't worry about that. Know why?

Because on the court the problems will be bigger.

Of course the C's have some depth in players under the board. Still, will Mikki Moore hold on to Tyrus Thomas, when he takes off for a monster slam?

No, he won't. The problem is Thomas is big (I mean muscle and stature big) and on that roster only Perkins and Garnett would stop him. Perkins is slow, nevertheless he's a big fella, too and Garnett is a beast, so there should be no problems.

Unless of course, Perkins plays Center (which he will), so he'll meet Noah and Garnett isn't playing.

THE ROAD EFFECT

The C's have home court advantage and an enormous "road disadvantage". Last year, the fantastic four (read: the not-so-fantastic-now trio) had to go twice for a 7th game. They couldn't leave their mark at the Phillips Center nor at the Quicken Loans Arena.

Will they keep up with the pressure coming from the House that His Airness built?

For that I'm counting on the so called "Bandwagon Fans" (read the article on the Chi-city Bandwagon Fans).

THE PRESSURE EFFECT

The Bulls reached their goal: the playoffs.

Like I said: If they don't make it through, then there's no problem.

What if the C's don't make it through?

Heads will roll in Boston, it's as simple as that.

The pressure is pretty much on the Green side, so Chicago players can be more relaxed.

On top of that, the C's have to win all their games at home, since they're win ratio in the playoffs ,on the road, is very low. So they'll be very nervous during their own homecourt matches.

THE INCONSISTENCY EFFECT

The C's have their strong points in 3 inconsistent guys: Rondo, Allen and Pierce.

They can all have nights were they are unstoppable or where they are as good as Yinka Dare.

Rondo had a great entry (29-2), but now his pace slowed down and his All-Star performances faded away.

Pierce has days where he'll drop 20 in a quarter and suddenly he wont get to 20 in one night.

Allen is a bit like Pierce and since he's a shooter, he can be easily shut down with some smart defence.

THE PREDICTION

Either Boston in 7 or 6, or Chicago in 6.

Boston in 7, because of the "on the road effect" or in 6 because they're good enough to get at least one victory in Chicago.

The Bulls in 6 games, because they can win in the Garden if both Allen and Pierce have a bad night. Not in 7, because in the seventh game, I expect Pierce and Allen to boost their team in to the next round.

MY ADVICE TO ALL CHICAGO FANS

Let us keep or fingers crossed, dear friend. Maybe Pierce or Allen will break something, too and don't forget to make some noise!