Sad about Rip. I feel similar to some Sox situations in the past (particularly Dustin Hermanson, haha). Wish Rip would just sh*t or get off the pot. I know he's not doing this on purpose or anything. Just wish he'd either stay healthy or just go down and stay down. Maybe allow the Bulls to make a trade.

Part of me feels like the bulls will not miss him anyways. They have so much depth I cant see them not going all the way this year. Deng will pose problems for the Heat more than people think and the Bulls have so many 3 point threats which is what the Heat have the hardest time defending. Oh and the Bulls have a much better inside presence and thats assuming that Boozer plays his typical average/ to below average brand of ball.

Last years playoffs was a learning experience for the bulls and just by the naked eye I can see the determination in this years Bulls team!!! Dare I say it, I see a certain swag about them that will take them over the top. Call it over optimism on my part but I see confidence in this bulls team that they can get it done.

No one in the national media realizes this so its all about the Heat and OKC in the Finals. No one ever talks about how weak the Heat are in half court sets and at closing games out. 2 things that the bulls are great at. Remember, in the playoffs the game slows down. Heat are great to watch on the fast break I must admit but, all they are are just that... entertaining to watch. You want to see a winning team? Look at Chicago....
Just wait til the playoffs!

Bulls 92 Pacers 72...32-8 record....Deng 20, 4, 6...Boozer 4, 8...Noah 9, 17...Hamilton 0 (injured again)...Rose 13, 9, 4...Brewer 12, 2, 7...Gibson 10, 9...Lucas 13...Asik 3, 6...Korver 6...Watson (DNP...injured)....Nice win with Rose scoring only 13 pts. Just when the Bulls were getting healthy, Hamilton and Watson are injured again...The Bulls can no longer depend on Hamilton. Deng, Noah, Brewer, Gibson, and Lucas had a good game. Brewer has been playing much better the last couple weeks which is really a good sign for the Bulls. Will the Bulls make a move at the trade deadline?

I don't know, it's not really like this front office to shake up a team that's having success. To have so many injuries and still lead the league in wins, point differential, etc. means that there's something good going on in the locker room, and I doubt GarPax will want to rock the boat just for a slightly better chance to win this season. We might just have to bite the bullet and roll with Brewer at SG for the time being.

I know he is insane, but I would be thrilled if the Bulls took a chance on crazyass Stephen Jackson. Just a little worried Rip is not someone who can be counted on. Jackson is crazy but when put in a good environment has been very productive. Having nightmares about seeing way too much Watson/Korver in a series against the Heat.

I'm not going to be upset if they don't do anything. It's not like Rip has been the reason for most of these wins. Noah playing better has helped a lot. And maybe Boozer will step up a bit more too. Just figured that we could do better than Brewer.

I really doubt the Bulls would pull the trigger on that. Chances are they see what's going on in Milwaukee and how bad of an influence he's been on Jennings. I'd love it if Captain Jack were a few years younger, because he definitely has the attitude to go at Wade and work the refs in a 7 game series.

I hear you. If you would have told me last November that Brewer would be getting the majority of the minutes at SG this season, I wouldn't have been a happy camper. It's just that after last season's trade deadline fiasco, I don't trust the Bulls front office to do anything major.

We all know that the Bulls will likely win enough games to be either the 1 or 2 seed no matter who is starting at SG. Regular season wins probably won't be an issue. What will be a problem is the inevitable ECF rematch against Miami when the Bulls don't have enough threats on offense again. I think that's what the media and the fans are gearing towards.

I can definitely see it being an issue.

Does anyone here still doubt this chicago bulls team? I have never seen a team with so much depth and dominance since the bulls of the 90's. This team has more depth than a lot of those teams as well. Still dont understand why so many are overlooking the Bulls this year. Heat? OKC? Really? Sure they look good in an up tempo style of game but the playoffs are all about halfcourt games and defense.
The bulls have all the bigs they need plus a great defense and a great knack of closing out games. Dont see the heat beating the bulls in the playoffs at all. Of course this is assuming that they continue to play their brand of ball. I dont expect Boozer to outplay Bosh but I do expect them to kill the heat on the boards as well as hurting them from 3point land which the Heat have a hard time defending.
Oh and the Bulls have Drose too....

I am a huge Bulls fan, but try to keep things realistic. The Bulls are having a great regular season (very similar to last year statistically), and look nearly identical to last year. That's kind of the problem.

Last year the Bulls were just as deep, and frankly, guys like Asik and Gibson were playing better. The one improvement we were hoping for was at the two, but Hamilton has been a non factor glass Joe. So the same problem from last year (too much weight on Rose's shoulders) is apparent this year. You can say whatever you want about Miami being an uptempo team, but when they put LeBron on Rose last year, the Bulls offense was suffocated and they won 1 game of a 5 game series despite having home court.

And while the Bulls team remains basically unchanged, that is not the case in Miami. Last year it was the big 3 and stiffs like Bibby, an injured Miller, no Haslem for the majority, etc. Now, Miller is healthy and hitting 50%+ from 3, Haslem is healthy, Battier is a solid if unspectacular role player, and they have a few more decent rotation guys.

It's easy to love this Bulls team, but difficult to see how they have improved from last year's team that was smothered by a Miami team that is better this year.

This just in . Richard Hamilton has sprained his wrist filling out doctor treatment forms.
A MRI is scheduled for later today .

Just kidding.

Despite all that and despite all the Bulls injuries they still have the better record and better point differential then Miami. Miami is very good, but I don't buy for a second there unbeatable. If the Bulls play like they have the last couple weeks I give them a decent shot, especially if they have home court...

Not unbeatable. But the Bulls will have some things go their way, have some good shooting nights, etc. They had home court, better record, point diff and all that last year. Didn't matter in the playoffs.

korver shot like 20% against miami last year in the playoff..he singlehandedly killed the bulls...nothing changes the game and momentum like a guy comming off the bench burying threes..

each season for the past 4 years or so the bulls have improved on their 3 point shooting..right now you have loul , kyle , lucas and cj hitting above 40% from the arc...

bulls vrs heat in the playoffs , if the bulls hit their 3 they win...it's in their hands

Last year was the first time the bulls played with Thibs as their coach, the first time Thibs was a coach, and Rose was almost laughed when he said he could be an MVP candidate before the season. The bulls completely exceeded everyone's expectations.

The playoffs will be different this year, with a significantly more experienced Bulls team.

With regards the Heat, the 2006 Heat were a better team than the 2012 Heat. 2006 O'Neil and younger Wade are a better tandem than the "Should I be who you think I should be" guy and old Wade.

ROSE. YES .

Awesome.

Just as an FYI, in that series that the Bulls lost 4-1 because of awful three point shooting, the Bulls shot 31% from 3. The Heat shot 34%.

Hard to be excited after the Bulls played the worst pick and roll defense I've ever seen them play (under Thibodeau, at least). Or maybe I'm just getting spoiled. :)