Only 16 more wins to go

The Bulls are playoff bound.

Did I think that I would be reading that sentence at the beginning of the season? Of course I did. The team was returning almost everybody from last year’s playoff squad, with more experience. I thought the Eddy Curry deal was a good one for us, and I liked the idea of B.G. and Loul coming off the bench to supply a spark. But did I think I would be reading that sentence January 4, after the Bulls fell to the Seattle Supersonics for their eighth consecutive loss? I got to say that I wasn’t really feeling my forehead for playoff fever at that time. But to the credit of the players, GM John Paxon and coach Scott Skiles, the team fought back and now they have a bunch of momentum and will give whatever team they face in round one all they can handle. Are they a better team then the Pistons, Heat, or Nets? Probably not. But there are at least three reason’s I can think of that will give the Bulls an advantage.

1) Backcourt depth---I really like the three guard rotation of Hinrich, Duhon and Gordon. All of them can play with the ball in their hand, and they can all play off of the rock. They are all pretty good passers, and can disrupt the offense’s flow when sticking D. Are they better then JKidd, Chauncey or Flash Wade? Nope, and I’m not trying to say that they are. But I think that having three reliable guards can be a valuable tool if playoff success is the goal. Obviously, Gordon can’t disappear like he did in the playoffs in ’05, and Duhon can’t get careless handling the ball. If they are all playing good ball, the Bulls chances go up a huge amount to win.

2) Frontline Versatility--- Not many teams have a swingman that is as good on the perimeter as he is on the block. But the Bulls do. In fact, they have two of them. The 6foot 9inch Loul Deng and the 6foot 7inch Andres Nocioni can cause so much hassle for opponents because you never know what they are going to do with the rock. Loul has the length of Scottie Pippen, the athleticism of a 1995 Grant Hill and an awareness of the game around him that reminds me of a point guard. And Noch was leading the league in three-point percentage as recently as February, and in a span of two weeks, he recorded his career highs in points (26 vs the Magic on 3/28) and rebounds (17 vs the Nets on 4/14). Not to mention the number of charges he takes on D, and you can see why it is a valid argument to say he’s the best second year player on the Bulls, better then Gordon, Duhon and Deng.

3) Toughness---Are these Bulls going to win a fight with Lambieer, John ‘Spiderman’ Sally, Dennis Rodman, Rick Mahorn, Joe Dumars, Isaiah Thomas and the rest of the Bad Boys? In a word, NO! But these Bulls seem to be tougher then parallel parking on the Magnificent Mile. Leading the crew is Nocioni, who, if the stat existed, would lead the league in opponents pissed off during a game. (I must say, this is only because Ron Artest didn’t play a full season) Tyson Chandler may weigh less then Tank Johnson’s dinner, but he doesn’t back down from anybody. Duhon and Hinrcih are never going to be mistaken for Jordan and Harper, but they get in your face on D and don’t let up. And guys like Mike Sweetney, Othella Harrington, and Malik Allen will make you pay if you’re coming down the lane without thinking your going to feel some pain. And all this toughness comes from Coach Skiles, who Bill Walton reported fought Shaq when they both played for the Magic in ’93.

So when the playoffs tip off this weekend, the red and black will be in the building. Ten years ago on this day, the Bulls won game number seventy. That team won the franchise's fourth NBA title. This year's team will finish with a .500 record if they win out. So can they make it to round two? I think if they play there game, they have a shot.