PG: 13 Straight Home Wins

[Prokorov]

We still have a chance at getting HCA in the first round though.

And we haven't been getting it done without him. The reason we dropped 2 winnable games last week was because of how bad Plumlee and Blatche were. We would have won those games if we had KG.

I disagree with both counts. in our last 16 games, all without KG whats our record like 12-4 or something? with some good teams in there as well.

as far as blowing the pelicans game, that had alot more to do with coaching and perimeter defense (we got destryoed by tyreke evans) then it did plumlee (he didnt have a good game but he wasn the reason we lost.)

And we would have been 14-2 in our last 16 if KG played...

There was no interior resistance to Evans attacking the rim, that's the whole point. Most of that was because of how bad Plumlee and Blatche were on defense. KG would have made a huge difference.

i disagee. in fact, i think we might have had less wins during this stretch. i think plumlee re-energized the team a bit and sometimes that can help.

I dont think garnett would have made a big difference in that game. its not like he was going to block 6 shots. it was the coaching much more so then the players in that game. and even if we DID win with KG, its better to lose and have him healthy for the playoffs.

either way, im glad we will get to see mostly plumlee for the rest of the regular season. its a great opportunity for him to develope and he gives us something no other player on this team gives us with his finishing at the rim.

[MGrand15]

id prefer the raptors. the bulls would smoke us in short order. better defense, better coaching, better effort, more size, more heart and the best player in the series

Lol Short order? I don't think so.

if they have home court i think it goes 5 games. if we have home court i think it goes 6. and i think they blow us out at least twice. i really dont want to play them

Last year our team was worse and their team was arguably better and the series went to 7.

The way you and others talk around here you'd think the Bulls swept us last year and blew us out in every matchup this year.

Since the new year we've played them twice, once on 2nd half of a road back-to-back where they clearly won and another where we blew them out from the beginning.

They're a good team but this fear you have for a team that's 28th in the league in offense is hilarious. Last year's series went to 7 and we were a much worse team with terrible coaching and a couple of FUNDAMENTAL issues that every good team exploited. Our record was really good because we destroyed bad teams at an elite rate (teams that didn't care enough to exploit our very obvious weaknesses) and we won close and OT games at an absurd rate (Deron and JJ carried us here). There is no proof of any of that here.

Bulls can play with all the effort they want. We've been doing the same. Our offense is on a different planet from last year in terms of ball movement, motion, FLOOR SPACING and playcalling.

5 games is such a terrible prediction. If the Bulls get HCA against us, I'll be PMing you about a large bet. It's just a nonsense prediction with no real basketball basis behind it.

[Prokorov]

Last year our team was worse and their team was arguably better and the series went to 7.

I dont think it just works that way. for instance, last year we were worse, the east overall was better, and yet we won 49 games -- more then we will this season. i dont think you can just translate that from year to year

The way you and others talk around here you'd think the Bulls swept us last year and blew us out in every matchup this year.

Last year the bulls had no deng for most of the series, noah was injured, a few others were playing through injuries, and they still beat us, in 7 on our home floor. and if not for a comeback by us that one game, they would have had it in 6.

I see the bulls as a better, healthier version of last years team. you can see the bulls as worse, but watching them play i think the new additions are better then what they had, and clearly, they are much healthier.

Since the new year we've played them twice, once on 2nd half of a road back-to-back where they clearly won and another where we blew them out from the beginning.

when we beat them it was with them on the second of a back to back and their 3rd game in 4 nights. that goes both ways.

They're a good team but this fear you have for a team that's 28th in the league in offense is hilarious. Last year's series went to 7 and we were a much worse team with terrible coaching and a couple of FUNDAMENTAL issues that every good team exploited. Our record was really good because we destroyed bad teams at an elite rate (teams that didn't care enough to exploit our very obvious weaknesses) and we won close and OT games at an absurd rate (Deron and JJ carried us here). There is no proof of any of that here.

you are discounting the bulls injuries last year and any improvements they had made. and you mention their 28th offernse but completely disregard the other side of the ball, rebounding, and coaching. i mean you are only telling half the story here

Bulls can play with all the effort they want. We've been doing the same. Our offense is on a different planet from last year in terms of ball movement, motion, FLOOR SPACING and playcalling.

and to me that doesnt make a huge difference. to me the bigger issue is last year at least we had some inside scoring against them. this year, they can easily make us a jump shooting team. that makes me fear them. that and the them being better coached and playing with more effort

5 games is such a terrible prediction. If the Bulls get HCA against us, I'll be PMing you about a large bet. It's just a nonsense prediction with no real basketball basis behind it.

there is plenty of basketball basis behind it, you just ignore all the points i make, disregard things like defense, coaching, and the head to head matchups(critical in a playoff series) and put more stock into our improvements from last year.

Hey, if you disagree thats fine. but lets not pretend like im just pulling this out of my rear.

Head-to-head:
-The bulls are 2-1 against us with the wins being in blowout fashion
-The bulls have a pretty sizeable coaching advantage
-The bulls have a size advantage, which is the one thing we have struggled with most this season
-The bulls have the perimeter defense to match up with our gaurds
-The bulls are significantly healthier then last season in the playoffs

Players:
-Noah is playing at a higher level then last season
-Taj gibson is playing better and in an expanded role from last season
-Jimmy bulter has become an all-nba calibur defender
-DJ Augistin has really given them a boost offensively
-Dunleavy has given them a boost offensively and another shot creator

Statistically speaking:
- The bulls have the second best defense in the NBA (Drtg) and the fewest ppg allowed
- The bulls are 6th overall in rebounding and 5th in rebounding differential

I think it would be one of those series were the games are all relatively close, but they end up winning 4 out of 5. They just are a bad matchup for us imo. better coaching, more intensity, more size, high BBiq across the board, and great on the glass.