NBA: How the Chicago Bulls Match Up With the Top Teams in the East
Much has been made of the Chicago Bulls' run to the second best record in the NBA's Eastern Conference on the back of point guard Derrick Rose.
Many feel that this year may signal the start of the Chicago Bulls resurgence as one of the top teams in the NBA after about 11 years of mediocrity since the days of Michael Jordan.
Rose and co. have emerged as one of the top teams in the league, all while struggling with injuries to their two top big men, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah.
This revival has led many to discuss the possibilities of the various playoff match-ups that may occur in the top-heavy Eastern Conference later in the spring.
It is clear the Coach Tom Thibodeau has led the Bulls in the right direction by instilling a defensive and tough-minded attitude to a roster with scores of talent.
Thibodeau has coaxed the best statistical season out of often injured and inconsistent Luol Deng, and has revived the 38 year-old Kurt Thomas in the absence of Joakim Noah.
Although, the Bulls have proved that they belong with the best of teams, their road to the top of the Eastern Conference is anything but easy. Here is how the Chicago Bulls match-up with the best teams in the East.
New York Knicks
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November 4, 2010 Chicago 112 vs NEW YORK 120
December 25, 2010 Chicago 95 @ NEW YORK 103
April 12, 2011 Chicago @ New York
In the previous match-ups between the Knicks and Bulls, the Bulls' defense has clearly been sub-par, when compared to their season averages.
Amar'e Stoudemire, the Knicks' best player, is not what caused trouble for the Bulls in their games against the Knicks; it was the lack of containment of complementary players on the Knicks, such as Danilo Gallinari and Raymond Felton.
Another major falter was by the Bulls' bench. In the two games against the Knicks, the Bulls' bench had only one scorer in double digits. Kyle Korver had 18 over the Knicks in their Christmas Day game at Madison Square Garden.
Overall, Chicago has all the necessary components, when healthy, to absolutely dominate the Knicks. But with their shooting and offensive prowess the Knicks would be a very tough out for anyone in the East during the playoffs, but the Bulls should be able to handle them fairly easily come playoff time.
Atlanta Hawks
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March 2, 2011 Chicago Bulls @ Atlanta Hawks
March 11, 2011 Chicago Bulls vs Atlanta Hawks
March 22, 2011 Chicago Bulls @ Atlanta Hawks
The Chicago Bulls really hold the advantage over the Hawks in the depth of the front court.
Although the Hawks may be more athletic, the depth and defense of the the Bulls front line will be more than able to stop forward Josh Smith and center Al Horford.
The biggest question mark for the Bulls is their ability to contain shooting guard Joe Johnson. Someone from the Bulls needs to step up and be the shut down defender that every team needs to make a deep playoff run.
The Bulls acquired Ronnie Brewer this summer to be that shut-down defender during the playoffs.
For the most part, the Bulls should have little trouble putting the Hawks down in a playoff series due to their greater depth and defensive abilities.
With this being said, the Hawks may be considered the team that the Chicago Bulls match up best with out of the top 6 teams in the East.
Orlando Magic
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December 1, 2010 Chicago Bulls 78 vs ORLANDO MAGIC 107
January 28, 2011 CHICAGO BULLS 99 vs Orlando Magic 90
March 4, 2011 Chicago Bulls @ Orlando Magic
April 10, 2011 Chicago Bulls @ Orlando Magic
The Bulls split their previous two match-ups with the Magic. From those two games, it is clear that it will be tough for the Bulls to match-up with the inside game of the NBA's best center, Dwight Howard.
Howard is an omnipresent force on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. In order for the Bulls to defeat the Magic, Joakim Noah must be able to stay out of foul trouble be able to control the boards against Howard.
Another key for the Bulls, is their ability to contain the three-point shooting of the Magic. Although they will need to collapse on Howard when he gets the ball in the paint, the Bulls backcourt must be aware of where Jason Richardson, Gilbert Arenas, Hedo Turkoglu, and other shooters are on the court.
The Magic pose a large challenge to the Bulls due to the presence of a dominating inside presence of Dwight Howard and the talented three-point shooters that they acquired earlier this season.
Miami Heat
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January 15, 2011 CHICAGO BULLS 99 vs Miami Heat 96
February 24, 2011 Chicago Bulls vs Miami Heat
March 6, 2011 Chicago Bulls @ Miami Heat
As one of the most followed teams in the history of the NBA, the Miami heat have had their fair share struggles thus far in their 2010-2011 campaign.
Those struggles continued when the LeBron-less Heat lost to the Joakim Noah-less Chicago Bulls at the United Center.
The Heat pose interesting and challenging match-ups for every team they face, based on their talent from their top three players, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and LeBron James.
But for the Bulls, the self-proclaimed "Heatles" do not bring out major match-ups problems due to their lack of a true inside player.
The key match-up to watch will be the one between Carlos Boozer and Chris Bosh, two similar players that are playing on contenders for the first time in their professional careers.
Derrick Rose and Dwayne Wade will both be scoring at high rates when they meet up and will most likely off set each other.
The hardest thing for the Bulls, is not a unique problem to them. It is the problem of containing LeBron James with team defense.
If the Bulls are able to accomplish that task, they should be able to compete with and defeat the Heat, ending their first season together in the late spring.
Boston Celtics
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November 5, 2010 Chicago Bulls 105 @ BOSTON CELTICS 110
December 4, 2010 Chicago Bulls 92 @ BOSTON CELTICS 104
January 8, 2011 CHICAGO BULLS 90 vs Boston Celtics 79
April 7, 2011 Chicago Bulls vs Boston Celtics
Unlike many teams in the NBA, the Chicago Bulls match-up very well against the Boston Celtics. Besides Joakim Noah's and Kevin Garnett's publicized disgust for each other, the teams are very competitive.
The first match-up worth noting is the battle between two of the leagues emerging point guards, Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo.
Rose and Rondo have gone back and forth in previous match-ups but this season, Rose has taken his game to another level.
Also, Luol Deng has been having a career year for Chicago as he will be faced with the challenge of corralling a talented Paul Pierce.
Pierce is often their scorer in crunch time and Deng has shown that he is willing and able to buckle-down on defense to stop Pierce and the Celtics.
All in all, the Chicago Bulls really do have a great shot at taking down the Celtics if they were to meet in the playoffs, the Bulls' depth and defense should be able to hold the Celtics down for a series in late May.
