While basketball fans around the world continue to hold their breath in the hopes that Derrick Rose will finally make his return to the court, head coach Tom Thibodeau and the Chicago Bulls are preparing for the NBA Playoffs 2013. Despite being riddled with injuries and missing their floor leader all season long, the Bulls (45-37) fought valiantly to claim a spot in the postseason and clinched the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference with a down-to-the-wire, 95-92, win over John Wall and the Washington Wizards (29-53) in the season finale. Chicago is now set to take on Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and the fourth-seeded Brooklyn Nets (49-33) in the first round, which is scheduled to begin on April 20 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Bulls and Nets played closely contested matchups all season long, and though Chicago claimed the season series with three wins out of four games, their total margin of victory was just 10 points, so this one could go either way.
As usual for a Bulls squad under the tutelage of Thibodeau, the playoff berth was gained through a total team effort based on outstanding defense, relentless rebounding, and timely scoring. Much of the credit for Chicago’s success this season has to go to the stellar performances of NBA All-Stars Luol Deng and Joakim Noah, but the remarkable efforts of players like Carlos Boozer, Nate Robinson, Kirk Hinrich, Jimmy Butler, and Taj Gibson shouldn’t be dismissed either. With Chicago now a lock to battle the Nets in the first round, fans can purchase Bulls playoff tickets to cheer the team on live both inside the United Center and at the Barclays Center. And since Rose has declared that he could return at any time, there’s still hope that he can rise and lead the Windy City to the NBA Finals.
