Chicago Bulls vs. Boston Celtics: How Would a 2011 Playoff Rematch Look?

This year, the Eastern Conference features the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls pacing each other at the top of the conference, with everyone else playing catch-up.

They both have faced injury problems (although Chicago's have been a bit more serious) but have pulled through them to absolutely dominate their opponents.

Since they last met in the playoffs, the Celtics have stayed at the top of the conference, while Chicago has clawed its way up from the eighth seed in the playoffs to the top spot in the East, completely revamping their roster in the process.

In 2009, these two teams met in the most epic first-round playoff matchup at least since they switched to the seven-game format in 2003. It was right up there with the Lakers-Kings and Lakers-Blazers of the early 2000s as the best playoff series of the decade, and is arguably one of the best ever.

Now, with both teams at the top of the Eastern Conference, the possibility of a rematch has me absolutely salivating.

If it could offer anything near what the 2009 series offered, it could easily be the best series of these playoffs.

In the 2008-2009 season, the Bulls were at best an up-and-coming team that was a few pieces away from being anything better than a possible sixth seed.

They were a team that boasted both John Salmons and Tyrus Thomas as starters—both good players, but nowhere near good enough to take them to the promised land. They had a rookie Derrick Rose, a Joakim Noah who was still trying to put his whole game together, and Ben Gordon, who still had the idea that he was the best player on the team.

Chicago also gave heavy minutes to Brad Miller, whose idea of offense is to either jack up a three or pump-fake, slowly drive to the basket and miss a terrible layup when accosted by two defenders.

Along with Miller, their bench boasted Kirk Hinrich (good defender), Lindsey Hunter (now out of the league), Tim Thomas (ditto), Linton Johnson (who?), Anthony Roberson (shiggity-shcwa?) and Aaron Gray (just in the league because he is big).

Since then, they have acquired Carlos Boozer to play power forward, Kyle Korver to drain threes, Taj Gibson to bolster the bench and three young players who can hold their own in Ronnie Brewer, CJ Watson and Omer Asik. They also have Brian Scalabrine, one of the luckiest players in the league.

Since the '09 series, Boston has done everything to stay at the top of the conference, including adding Shaquille O'Neal, Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic, although they did have to give up Kendrick Perkins in the process.

Boston has also benefited from Rajon Rondo becoming Jason Kidd 2.0 statistically, as Rondo is one of the few point guards in the NBA that is a triple-double threat every night. Kevin Garnett is healthy (at least for now), Paul Pierce is as Paul Piercey as he has ever been and Ray Allen is somehow still getting better.

So now we have two of the best teams in the East that were both good two years ago boasting lineups that are both better, which could lead to another stunning series.

At point guard, Rajon Rondo vs. Derrick Rose would probably be the biggest story of the series, with the do-it-all guard going up against the freakishly athletic point guard. Both are great defenders—only Rondo has a tendency toward gambling on defense, which could be good and bad for his team.

The shooting-guard matchup would feature Ray Allen against Keith Bogans initially, but quickly switching to Kyle Korver as the game rolled along. Allen facing Bogans would be a mismatch, as Allen is an underrated defender in his own right, while Bogans is terrible offensively.

Basically, when Allen is in, Chicago would have to decide whether to go with offense with Kyle Korver, or defense with Keith Bogans. This is a matchup that Boston could exploit.

Small forward is probably the most intriguing competition, as Paul Pierce would go one-on-one with Luol Deng—a wily vet against a player still looking for much-deserved love.

We all know Pierce is a terrifically well-rounded player, but Deng gets almost no love for his defensive prowess. I would consider him one of the best help defenders in the league. Whenever he shifts from the wing to help Joakim Noah down low, it creates huge problems for the opposing big man.

Deng's strengths come from how well he fits into the team defense, and not necessarily his one-on-one defense, which is also quite good.

At power forward Kevin Garnett matches up with Carlos Boozer. Boozer is an indecisive defender who has always been criticized, while Kevin Garnett is a monster on defense.

Offensively, however, Boozer is magnificent. He is the perfect picture of what low-post moves a power forward should have, plus he has a silky smooth jumper. Garnett, meanwhile, is a good offensive player in his own right.

Finally, at center you have Nenad Krstic (I would assume he would start unless Shaq returns very soon) up against Joakim Noah. This is a huge advantage for the Bulls, as Noah has become a complete center this season, rather than just a high-energy pesky defender.

Krstic, however, is a bit of a louse at time on defense and has his lapses every game, but his ability to spread the floor and shoot has made Rondo even more dangerous.

When it all comes down to it, I'd point to one thing to make my prediction on this series.

Brian Scalabrine.

The last time the two teams met, he wore green; this time he will be in red. He won't see any playing time, but his presence alone would give the Bulls that extra bit of luck that is necessary in these types of series.

If this were to end up being the matchup in the Eastern Conference Finals, I would pick Chicago in seven games, with the real winners being basketball fans the world over.