The last time the Bulls were in the playoffs, they swept the defending champion Miami Heat. Once again, the Bulls will be looking to knock off the defending champions in the first round, as they take on the Boston Celtics. The Bulls attack will start with Ben Gordon, who will have a big series to prove that he should be paid big money in Chicago. He will be accompanied by Derrick Rose, who made a burst towards stardom, averaging 19.5 points and 7.5 assists in the month of April. This fearsome duo should wreak havoc on the Celtics' guards.
The Celtics, who are still a good team even without Kevin Garnett, because of Thibodeau's lockdown defense, are uncertain about what they will get out of their star, who hasn't played since April 25th because of a sore right knee. If Garnett is forced to sit out most of the series with a knee injury, the Bulls will win the series. If Garnett is lacking mobility as a result of his injury, the Bulls' athletic, young big men, Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah, will run rampant on Garnett, which should be enough to push the series in the Bulls' direction.
Even if Garnett is healthy enough to make it through the series, he will still have to work himself back into game shape. With Garnett's play likely to be hampered, the Bulls, who went 12-4 in their final 16 games, are by far the most likely lower seed to take out one of the Eastern Conference elite.
