Pacers 99 - 104 Bulls
Final
  for this game

Bulls and Pacers kick off NBA playoffs in Chicago

Apr 16, 2011 - 2:31 PM (Sports Network) - The 2010-11 NBA playoffs kick off in the Windy City Saturday when the top-seeded Chicago Bulls play host to the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinals set in the United Center.

On paper this looks like the biggest mismatch in the first round of the postseason. After back-to-back seasons of 41 wins and first round playoff exits, the Bulls dominated the East after replacing Vinny Del Negro with new head coach Tom Thibodeau.

The defensive-minded Thibodeau, a leading candidate for Coach of the Year, was an assistant under Doc Rivers in Boston from 2007-10 and set the record for most wins by a first year coach in Chicago history with 62. He also matched Paul Westphal of the 1992-93 Phoenix Suns for the most wins ever by a first-year mentor.

The Bulls captured bragging rights in the East for the first time since the 1997-98 season, when a Michael Jordan-led group won their third straight and sixth NBA title in eight years.

This version of the Bulls, who also edged out San Antonio on the last day of the regular season for the NBA's best mark, has their own MVP-type player in point guard Derrick Rose, who helped Chicago overcome losing both Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah for significant periods of time due to injuries.

Rose, a Memphis product, averaged 25.0 points per game, 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds, just missing out on becoming the seventh player in NBA history with averages of 24.0 ppg, 8.0 apg and 4.0 rpg or better.

"We're going to prepare the same way," Rose said when asked about the playoffs. "We're going to practice the same way. [Coach Tom Thibodeau] always said at the beginning of the season that we were practicing to prepare like it's the end of the season."

Chicago will take a nine-game winning streak into Saturday's first-round game against the Pacers, who ended 25 games behind the Bulls in the Central.

"Our goal is much higher than a regular season game in April," Boozer recently said. "We didn't assemble this team so that we can have a great season and not be good in the playoffs. We want to go deep, and we have goals of hanging banners this year."

The Pacers were dead in the water until Frank Vogel took over for Jim O'Brien as the team's head coach back on Jan. 30. Vogel brought a more relaxed atmosphere to the team and was able to bring out the best in Tyler Hansbrough and Paul George, a pair of young players O'Brien had little use for.

The result was a 20-18 run and a return to the playoffs for the first time since 2005-06 for Indiana, which earned the Eastern Conference's eighth-seed and the dubious honor of playing roadkill to the Bulls, who beat the Pacers three of four times in the regular season.

"Obviously, to win a game or two in Chicago would be great," Pacers' center Roy Hibbert said. "That's what we're planning on doing."

Hibbert's goal is easier said that done, however. The Bulls finished 36-5 on their home floor and beat Indiana twice in the United Center by an average of 20 points per game.

The only time these rivals have met in the playoffs was in the Eastern Conference finals back in 1997-98, when the Bulls topped the Pacers 4-3, moving on to win their final NBA Championship in the Jordan era.

Game 2 of the set is scheduled for Monday in the Second City.






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