The Bulls punched their ticket to the postseason last night in a win over Charlotte at the UC. Was that ever really a question?
The answer is NO. That’s the beauty of playing in the Eastern Conference. The same conference where 31-39 is currently a good enough record to be the #8 seed. It wouldn’t be so simple out West. At 43-29, the Bulls would be that 8 seed; 2 games ahead of OKC for the final playoff spot… far from clinching. That’s the state of the conferences; the west has been better top to bottom than the east for a while now… it used to be the other way around. Nevertheless, the Bulls have no control over that. They did what they had to do, and that was make the playoffs.
The seeding is still yet to be settled. With 10 games left, the only sure thing in the East is Atlanta at #1. Cleveland appears on their way to a #2 seed 8 games back of Atlanta, while the Bulls and Toronto sit essentially tied 11 games back. The last of the top 5 seeds is the Wizards 13.5 games back. What seed would you prefer?
I’m leaning towards locking in that 3 seed. This guarantees a playoff series against an under .500 team. Currently that 6 seed is Milwaukee. It would be a lot better than facing Washington or Toronto in a first round battle, although we’ve owned Toronto. It does mean we’d have to face Cleveland in the 2nd round, but that is inevitable, isn’t it? The first round “bunny” as Thibs calls it, is what the Bulls need as they gel back together as one by one of the wounded stars returns; we’re 2/3 of the way.
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The guys who shone brightest last night were the guys who HAVE been healthy most of the year. For all the questions that have come up with the Bulls this year, there have been a couple things that we’ve confirmed. Pau Gasol is a double double machine. Averaging 18.6 and 11.9 for the year, along with 2.7 assists per game and 1.96 blocks per game, Pau has been more than we could ever expected. Yes, he’s not perfect. He does seem to wear down more than anybody come the end of the game, and sometimes may get dominated by younger, stronger big men, but the positives way outweigh the negatives here. He has to rank among the best free agent signings ever by a Chicago team. That rank will go up as far as the Bulls go in the playoffs.
Another guy who has shown he belongs is Nikola. Did you see that dunk last night? It’s one thing to be a spot up shooter… he’s much more than that. He can shake and bake and step back. He can put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. He can make the sweet dish. Yesterday, he showed you he could deliver a facial too. Stacey was pumped… the whole UC was pumped. That was an ugly dunk over Jason Maxiell in a critical part of the game. Then on the next drive to the hoop, he went in like he was going to dunk, and then switched to the left hand, and got the layup and foul. It wasn’t exactly MJ in Game 2 of the 1991 Finals switching hands in mid air, but it worked. I’m not sure we could have expected better with Mirotic. I thought he’d be a bust… until I saw him play. Then I knew he’d be good, but THIS good? This is better than my wildest dreams.
22 days left in the regular season and our first goal has been met. The playoffs are a reality, but this year was… this year IS about much more than that. Only a deep run into the playoffs would be satisfying. The Bulls are 5 for 5 with Thibs when it comes to making the playoffs. Heck, we’ve been lucky; the Bulls have made the playoffs 10 of the past 11 years. The only number that we haven’t seen is 7. Now that we’re confirmed, it’s time to make a run at it all. That’s what this year was about. That’s the only thing that will be satisfying. That’s the only thing I want to see.
MK
Playoffs not a given every year so congrats Bulls! But hopefully you, like us fans, have bigger things in mind. 10 games left to get healthy and ready for the real season…playoff bball. Not sure why buckets plays 41 minutes in his 1st game back. I know the Bulls are playing for their playoff seeding, but come on, nobody should be playing 40 minutes a game…the Bulls are too deep for that! Get healthy Bulls, drose you’re the key piece, and work off the rust and on the chemistry so all Bulls can be charging in a few weeks! GO BULLS!!!