The Chicago Bulls (48-34) - Washington Wizards (44-38) matchup promises to be one of the more intriguing series of the opening playoff round. There is a definite contrast in styles when you look at how both of these teams like to go about attacking their opponents and the winner of this series is going to be the team that is able to establish their style of play the most in this series.
Chicago is a very deliberate and methodical team on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. Coach Tom Thibodeau preaches stout defense as the way to get things done with his Bulls squad. Chicago's stingy defense has been their staple since Thibodeau's arrival as Head Coach of the Bulls in 2010 and his defensive schemes have made Chicago a Top 5 defense during his tenure. The Bulls are No.1 in points allowed holding opponents to just 91.8 ppg this season. Chicago is going to go as far as their defense takes them, offensively they are struggling mightily. The Bulls only scored 93.7 ppg this season, which was dead last in the entire league. So to simplify, Chicago is the best defensive team but the worse offensive team. That is why their defense is going to make or break them in their NBA Championship chase.
Joakim Noah is the anchor for the Bulls on both the offensive and defensive ends. He is arguably the best center in the NBA and has been the leader of this Chicago team all season. The Bulls run their offense through Noah and he has responded very well averaging 12.6 points, 11.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists. It is very rare when your big man leads the team in assists, but that is how important Noah has been to his squad this year. Chicago is going to need a big effort from Noah, and he is going to need someone from his supporting cast like Taj Gibson, Carlos Boozer, or D.J. Augustine to step up. If the Bulls can get some secondary scoring along side Noah, and find success shooting the pill, the Bulls are going to make life much easier on themselves offensively in this series. The defense is going to be there, you can count on that.
Randy Wittman's young Washington Wizards on the other hand like to use their speed and athleticism in the open floor and shoot the 3-pointer off the break. The Wizards dropped 100.7 ppg on the ledger as a team and shot 45.9% from the floor, which was good for ninth in the NBA. The Wizards boast one of the best young backcourts’ in the league comprising of point guard John Wall (19.3ppg, 8.8 assist) and shooting guard Bradley Beal (17.1 ppg, 41% 3-pt%). If the young Wizards backcourt gets comfortable and starts seeing their shots go through the net consistently, they are going to build confidence and make things pretty difficult on the Bulls in this series.
Washington also has a solid frontline with center Marcin Gortat and power forward Nene Hilario. Gortat has a solid enough offensive game to make Joakim Noah have to work hard on the defensive side of the ball. In the post Gortat averaged 13.2 points and 8.5 rebounds during the regular season, if Wall can get the pick and roll going in this series, he should be able to find open opportunities for himself in this series. Nene is another physical low post player that might give Chicago difficulties. Nene averaged 14.5 ppg during the regular season and is physical enough to bang down low with Noah, Carlos Boozer and Taj Gibson.
The battle in the trenches down low between Chicago's Noah, Boozer and Gibson, and Washington's Nene and Gortat, is going to be a big key to the outcome of this series. Trevor Ariza is going to be the x-factor for the Wizards. If Ariza is defending well on the perimeter creating turnovers defensively and hitting shots on the offensive end, the Wizards have a great chance of making this a long series.
Wizards vs. Bulls is surely a series that you don't want to miss. This is a situation where styles makes fights, or in this case playoffs series.