The Rundown

(Picture from http://www.elyriact.smugmug.com/)

I asked and I received.

Behind another glorious and extremely magical outing by Pooh-dini in the last two regular season games, the Chicago Bulls are back in the playoffs as the number eight seed and now three losses away from being eliminated.

Normally the playoffs would have me more pumped than Brock Lesnar after receiving a new shipment of horse steroids from Mexico, but there is one tiny problem. Standing in Joakim Noah's and Rose's way is the behemoth Cleveland Cavaliers and they flexed their giant tattooed muscles this afternoon.

Some have all ready written the Cleveland 23's in as the Eastern Conference Champions, and others seem to have handed them the Larry O'Brien Trophy. But even after their 13-point win today, I'm still not convinced (all right as an NBA fan I'm convinced, as a Bulls fan I'm 92.7% convinced; but there is still some doubt).

Whoa, whoa, whoa, some of our loyal readers might say. Am I not the same guy that begged for Vinny to tear a page out of his old teammate Doc Rivers Coaching For Dummies handbook, so he would sell his team on tanking? Am I not the same guy that declared this team bigger F*** ups than Jessie James after they lost to the Nets? Am I not the same guy that offered money for anyone who could deliver me Vinny's head on Benny the Bulls horn?

Yes I am, but hear me out.

Warning: Chicago fan babble from here on out.

The key for the Bulls is Derrick Rose, as it obviously is every game. I would argue, and the numbers agree, that Pooh-dini is a better point guard than Mo Williams. He's more electric, more versatile, more agile and he contains the "WOW" Factor, something that can't be measured during big games.

Mo Williams shoots well when he is left wide open. He facilitates the offense for LeBron and that's about it. "WOW" Factor not included.

So what do the Bulls need in order to sneak a few wins away from the 23's? I would contend that if Hinrich (who has seen more ups and downs on the court than Kirstie Alley, Ben Roethlisberger, and Pacman Jones) shows up and plays the way he did in the must win game against Boston (30-points and five assists, while shooting over 50% from beyond the arc), the Bulls can push six games.

We know D is going to show up. We know Joakim Noah is going to show up. We know the Taj Mahal is going to show up. But those three guys can't do it all. This playoff series is going to come down to how well Luol Deng plays in his first post season since the 2006-2007 season. Brad Miller needs to be emotional, but not crazy. But most importantly the defense needs to stop everyone else on the court.

Chicago cannot continue to give up 12-points, five boards, and four assists to Fat Shaq and they surely can't give up 19-points to Mo Williams. Those guys shouldn't even be a threat. Don't get me wrong, Mo is a great player and Shaq still has some magic left in those Icy-Hot knees, but Hinrich and Rose should be able to stop Mo (especially because Hinrich's niche has always been a great perimeter defender) and Brad and Noah should be able to run Diesel into an empty tank.

The Bulls can allow LeBron to score anywhere from 20-45 points and still keep it close. But when Shaq starts off the first quarter with seven quick points, and Antwan Jameson is getting his ugly floaters with easy, the Bulls will fall out of the playoffs faster than the Chicago Cubs.

If the Bulls can put together a string of games where they start the first quarter off fast like the 23's are known for doing, Chicago can create another spectacular first round series. But if they continue to give up 32 points in the first quarter while only scoring 18, they don't have an ice cubes chance in hell.

But I am calling it now. The Bulls will steal away game two. I just have a "Boston-like feeling" (I hope).