NBA Playoffs 2011: Chicago Bulls' Aftertaste of Game 5, Bitter or Sweet?

Everyone, from Evanston to the Wild Hundreds, breathe a collective sigh of relief.

It's time we gave this Atlanta Hawks team and coach Larry Drew some credit.

They matched the Bulls' intensity, improved their own defensive performance and played a great 20 to 22 minutes of basketball at the United Center on Tuesday night.

Even so, the Bulls defense and some clutch scoring from Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson—yes, Taj Gibson—dominated the fourth quarter. The Bulls are up three games to two, but is the aftertaste of this hard-fought Game 5 victory more positive or negative?

Victories are positive, no question. However, the manner that they come about can sometimes be tell-tale signs of problems on the horizon.

There are two ways to look at this game.

You can look at it and say that if the Bulls are having this many problems against Atlanta, then Miami is going to kill them.

My only response to that is to say not necessarily.

Basketball is all about matchups, if you recall the 2008 playoffs.

Tom Thibodeau, for all intents and purposes, had been the Celtics' defensive coordinator, yet they struggled to defeat the Hawks over seven games.

Why?

The Hawks' roster was similar to the one facing the Thibodeau-led Bulls of 2011. The only impact player on the current Hawks roster that hadn't been there in 2008 is Jamal Crawford. Insert Mike Bibby into his roster spot and the team isn't much different.

These kind of teams match up well against Thibodeau's zone-style defense.

The Bulls' struggles in this series are likely more down to matchup problems than overall team quality. Therefore, this round is no indication as to anything that happens in the next. The same had been the case for the 2008 Celtics, who of course went on to win the NBA championship.

Another take on this series is to say the Hawks are really growing up.

The roster is full of young, athletic and talented players. It's possible that the Hawks have finally found the coach that can get the most out of this talented core.

If this is the case, then the Eastern Conference is going to have another team to reckon with in the near future.  

The Hawks may have their young point guard in Teague and, as soon as he returns, Kirk Hinrich's game and professional attitude may be better suited for a sixth man role.

He can replace Jamal Crawford, who the team should let go in the offseason.

My point is that the Hawks are better than most of us expected.  The level of difficulty in this series is more about the Hawks not being the team we thought they were.  It is not about the Bulls being less than we'd hoped.