After the Chicago Bulls beat the Indiana Pacers at the Conseco Fieldhouse to go up 3-0 in the best-of-seven series, I began to think “sweep” and “how far can they go” even with a match at hand to secure. I’m excited. It’s been 13 long years (and #13 is Joakim Noah's jersey number) and my Ultimate Jordan and UnstoppaBulls DVDs have been well played.
It is said that every time the Bulls win at least 60 games in the regular season, they win the NBA title. That’s true but let’s take a look at how Chicago has fared traditionally in the first round.
When the Bulls sweep the first round, does that mean they go on to win the NBA title?
During the six-peat years, the answer is a resounding yes. But when MJ took a sabbatical, the Scottie Pippen-led Bulls swept Cleveland 3-0 in 1994 yet lost to New York in seven in the semifinals. In 2006-07, they swept the defending champion Miami Heat 4-0 but were ushered out of the door in the next round by Detroit.
So the answer is a NO.
Take note though that every time the Bulls win the first round albeit not via sweep they went on to lose in the next round. The exception to this is the 1974-75 squad that lost in the Western Conference Finals to Golden State 4-3. The Rick Barry-led Warriors went on to win the NBA title that year so no shame in losing to the champs.
1994-95 where they went 3-1 against Charlotte but they were promptly booted out by Orlando in second round 4-2.
It might be fun to look for parallelisms but the truth of the matter is, this is a different Bulls team than its predecessors. Furthermore, the first round has changed through the years from automatic semifinals, a best of three first round, a best-of-five first round, and now to its current best-of-seven format.
When was the last time that a team that did not appear on the radar in the pre-season won the NBA title?
The 2003-04 Detroit Pistons. There were five other teams with better records than theirs (although only one was in the East and that was the Indiana Pacers that had a 61-21 record).
Of course, it is a long ways to go before an NBA champion is crowned but at the start of the year, people tabbed either the Los Angeles Lakers or Miami Heat to win it all (with some quarters going for the Boston Celtics).
The 2010-11 Bulls have four players who averaged double figures during the regular season. That’s Derrick Rose (25.0), Carlos Boozer (17.5), Luol Deng (17.4)m and Joakim Noah (11.7).
When the Bulls have four players averaging in double digits, they win. The 1992-93 team had Michael Jordan (32.6), Scottie Pippen (18.6), Horace Grant (13.2), and BJ Armstrong (12.3). The 1997-98 roster also had four in MJ (28.7), Pippen (19.1), Toni Kukoc (13.3), and Luc Longley (11.4).
However, in 1993-94, Chicago, despite having Pippen, Grant, Armstrong, and Kukoc averaging in double figures, they were eliminated by the Knicks no thanks in large part to referee Hue Hollins who whistled Pippen for a foul on Hubert Davis who trooped to the free throw line.
There I go trying to make sense of that loss and to see if I can find signs that finally, the curse of Jerry Krause is over. You know what? They’re just numbers on paper. It doesn’t guarantee anything. The exercise was in the spirit of fun.
As for the Bulls and Derrick Rose? They have to still go out and win it.
Let’s go, Bulls!
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If you're concerned that the Bulls are struggling against Indiana, a team that had far fewer wins than Chicago during the regular season, I've got three words -- "It's the playoffs!" And historically, the Bulls have either beaten the crap out of foes in the first or struggled. As Chris Webber noted, in 1996-97, the series between Washington and Chicago was close. Although it ended up in a sweep, Game 3 was won on a last second dunk by Scottie Pippen. And remember the 1998 series against Indiana? The Game 3 loss at Conseco that was dubbed "a bump in the road"? As it turned out, "it was a mountain to climb," to quote NBC's Bob Costas. Indiana has somewhat been a tough foe for the Bulls for quite some time. Always have been. Besides when you play the top team in the league, you come to the NBA's second season to be foes and not mere foils.
---- photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images ---
Pacers under Frank Vogel have played better. Their 37-win record is a little deceiving.
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