It sounds like it could be a new dance craze north of the border; well it kind of is. It was the kind of dance that the Bulls completed last night over the Raptors. 4 regular season matchups = 4 regular season wins over “mighty” Toronto. The Bulls swept the regular season series. We can only hope that we meet them again in a couple months.
So let’s check them off the list of teams to worry about… if anyone really was ever worried about them. Let’s save the concern for Cleveland, Washington, and Atlanta; maybe in that order? Who worries you the most? Is it getting past a Lebron led team in the playoffs, which we’ve yet to do? Is it our new rivals the Wizards, who knocked us out last year, and seem to play us tough every time? Is it the #1 seed in the East by a long shot, the Atlanta Hawks? Now that we’ve crossed Toronto off the list, it really is only those 3 teams left between us and the Finals.
I don’t thinky anybody can dispute Cleveland as a legit contender because of LBJ. I hate to acknowledge that, but it is the truth. Do I think they are as good as the Heat was? No. Did I think we could have taken out the Heat if we were 100% healthy? Yes, but I can’t prove that now. We can prove that theory against Cleveland, and we are one guy away from being completely healthy. That one guy still makes a big difference… although, we have the best shot without him that we ever did.
The Bulls depth was on full display last night. We’ve talked about Taj and Jimmy, and how important they will be. We talked about how Gasol and Mirotic are key as well. Let’s not forget Noah; that was great how the Toronto guy passed him the ball while he was standing out of bounds by the Bulls bench. What about Aaron Brooks and Tony Snell? They each had 17 points last night. How about Dunleavy and Hinrich? They had 9 and 7 points respectively. That’s nine guys I just mentioned, and I didn’t even talk about #1, which would make it a nice even 10. That only leaves Nazr, E’twaun, and Baristow unnamed; I’ll even take E’twaun in a pinch, Nazr for a hard foul, and… OK, so we can’t use Baristow. Still, what we spoke about before the season began, is coming to realization here. The depth is there, AND Thibs is actually playing the guys. Oh yeah, I forgot McDermott….
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Back to the other contenders… Washington is legit too. They personally showed us that last year in the playoffs. I think if we got a shot at them with our full roster, we would take them out. It would be a drag out beat down series, but I think we’d prevail. That leaves Atlanta. Are they the real deal? With a similar roster and new coach, they’ve shot to the top of the East…. in the regular season. We know all too well how regular season success translates to post season success. I’d feel OK about taking them on too.
Am I too biased right now, or am I just reconfirming what I thought 6 months ago; that Cleveland is really THE only team standing in our way. Will we be able to go 4 quarters with them in a 7 game series? We’ve taken our lumps in the 4th quarter this year… seemingly wearing down, blowing leads, losing games we shouldn’t have lost. Last night was the opposite, outscoring Toronto 39-21 in the 4th. One of my favorite moments was a play that personifies the Thibodeau Bulls. The loose ball in the 4th quarter that Mirotic dove to the ground to get, and then call a timeout. Over the past couple years, it’s been Noah, Taj, Jimmy, Kirk that have been the ones on the floor; the ones going all out to win. It’s good to see Mirotic doing it now. After that play, me and my almost-3-year-old son did our own version of a loose ball drill, with both of us diving on the floor after our basketball. It’s that type of effort that gives the Bulls the intangible. We’ve always had it, we just haven’t had the skill or depth to back it up.
This year is different. We have the whole package, yet… there remains one guy not out there yet. There remains one guy who I want to see diving on the floor, going all out, going all in, putting winning above everything else. He needs to have that mind set when he comes back. If he does, the sky is the limit. If he doesn’t, that’s his loss; the team will go on without him. They have gone on without him. It’s now or never to join in, and push us over the edge. It’ll be more than the Toronto Sweep we’ll be doing if that happens…
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