Chicago Bulls vs. Celtics Playoff Preview

WE could sure use this guy on the left.


Something turns on in the playoffs, maybe it's a switch or some internal time clock that goes off. Teams that normally play good defense start playing great defense. The run and gun teams get trapped in a half-court game. The game becomes physical, slow, but intense. The great players start playing defense like it's march madness not game five of the regular season. No layups, no gimmies somehow become the motto. The cliche that defense wins championships is only a cliche because it's a fact that defense wins championships.

Unfortunately for the Chicago Bulls, they don't play good defense and utilize a run and gun offense. Two attributes that make you a perfect candidate for a first round sweep. Even worse, they play the defending champions, a team that (1) plays great defense and (2) likes the half-court game. The Bulls, a poor man's Phoenix Suns, play the rich man's Boston Celtics, if that makes any sense.

The Bulls do have some hope to win this series. Everything is possible right? KG is injured and no one outside of KG knows whether he'll be ready to contribute. The Celtics are old, while the Bulls are young. One could see parallels of the 7 game series between Atlanta and Boston from last year. Maybe the Bulls, with their athleticism and young legs can make this interesting. Maybe they could make the Celtics look as old as the Detroit Pistons. Maybe I am dreaming.

The Bulls actually have an okay matchup with the Celtics. Rondo vs. Rose will be a great battle. Ray Allen and BG basically cancel each other out. Salmons, whose play has been sub-par these past few games can handle Pierce. Salmons has been having trouble guarding bigger and quicker small forwards. Pierce is bigger, but not as quick. Pierce of course get's the edge, but Salmons can hold his own. As far as down-low? The Bulls may actually have a small advantage if KG is not 100%. Noah, Thomas, Tim Thomas and Brad Miller pose a threat to KG's ailing knees.

But with all that being said, the Bulls are too inconsistent to win this series. I don't know if they are the team that beat the Pistons 3 nights ago, or the team that got their behinds handed to them by Toronto at home last night.

Finally, the Bulls have never figured out this whole defense thing. Del Negro is still only a mediocre coach. His deficiencies have been masked by better players since the trade. The Bulls still don't play great defense (even during the latest winning stretch). Lastly, Del Negro is often slow to adjust and is inconsistent with his substitutions. The Celtics meanwhile are seasoned veterans who are as consistent as a German car.

In the end, the Bulls hope is for KG to sit out the series. But let's hope the Bulls defensive switch turns on, if they even have one. Or, that Derrick Rose can fill someone (you know who) else's shoes.