Continuing our series on Potential Playoff Matchups we look at the Chicago Bulls. (Also see Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers)
Chicago Bulls
Celtics won season series 2-1
Team Blog: Blog-a-Bull
Pros: With all due respect to Ben Gordon and John Salmons, their best player is probably Derrick Rose. Usually when a team's best player is a rookie, that's a bad sign for the team. In addition, if you use Blog-a-Bull as a barometer, there's not a lot of faith left in coach Vinnie Del Negro.
Is that really playoff experience? Not really. Vinny's going to be fired 20 games into next season, and then we can get on with forming a real squad (one likely without Ben Gordon, here's to self-created obstacles!), and the 2009 playoff team will have little significance to what that new squad will become.
Cons: The last time these teams played, we saw how Salmons can fill up a box score quickly. Ben Gordon is also prone for hot streaks from time to time. Rose is a star in the making. Brad Miller is a former All Star. Hinrich and Deng were once considered cornerstones. Noah and Tyrus Thomas are former lottery pick big men. In short, there's talent there. If they ever put it all together, watch out.
Matchup Highlights: Rose vs. Rondo could be fun to watch, ...for years to come. Brad Miller gives them a reliable big man dimension that they lacked in the past, even if he's on the downside of his career, he can hurt you. Beyond that, their big men don't scare me at all.
Conclusion: Chicago is another team in transition that likely needs another year or two to put things together. Could they put it all together for a brief postseason run? Maybe, but not against an elite team. With or without Garnett, the Celtics should be able to handle them.