Chicago enters the playoffs led by star point guard Derrick Rose, a revamped nucleus and the hope it might be able to steal a series instead of just a game from the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics.
The Beantown Ballers enter the series without the league's reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and even though they were 16-7 without Kevin Garnett, there is no doubt his interior defense and his ability to finish around the basket will be missed.
And make no mistake about it: the reason we are talking about the Chicago Bulls being in the playoffs is because of John Paxson's midseason movement via the trade channels. The Bulls were meddling in that area where they were not terrible, but not also not good. Chicago seemed destined to be that team that barely makes the playoffs only to get crushed by 20 points per game in a four game sweep, or barely miss the playoffs while landing poor draft position.
But by adding John Salmons and Brad Miller while subtracting Thabo Sefalosha and Larry Hughes had turned the Bulls into the team fans had expected to see from day one. Arguably, the biggest thing to happen with the Bulls has been the "injury" to Luol Deng.
However, let's make this one thing clear: There are no short cuts to the NBA Finals. There are no short cuts to a championship. All we (as Bulls fans) remember of the Jordan Era were the championships, but it was easy to forget the path to those titles.
Now, the Bulls have to overcome Jesus Shuttlesworth, The Truth and the aura of the New Garden, not to mention the defending champs.
If Chicago can steal a game at the Garden, they might have a shot to sneak out a series win only to get pummelled by Orlando in the second round. If not, I think the Bulls can be competitive ... but that can only take you so far.
Prediction: Celtics in six.
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