Muller: Sit Or Play Down The Stretch? That Is The Question
By Shawn Muller--
What to do…what to do.
Outside of teams fighting it out for the last playoff spot (hello Blackhawks), games like the one tonight between the Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics at the United Center, are about as "must-winnish" as a regular season game can be.
Simply put:
If the Bulls beat the Celtics tonight, Chicago will be up four games on both Boston and Miami in the loss column with just four games left--and--0a win tomorrow night against the lowly Cavaliers in Cleveland, would clinch the number-one seed and home-court advantage throughout the entire Eastern Conference Playoffs for Chicago.
Ahhh…home-court advantage.
The Bulls have the best home record in the East at 34-5 (thus far), but they are 23-15 away from the United Center. While the Bulls road record is not bad--the number-one seed in the West, the San Antonio Spurs, have a road mark of 25-14--it is obvious that Chicago's best chance to make it to the NBA Finals is gaining by playing the majority of their playoff games in the United Center.
That being said, assuming the Bulls take care of business at the UC tonight against Boston, and follow it up with an East-clinching win at Cleveland tomorrow, do you want to see Tom Thibodeau rest the starters for the final three contests against the Magic, Knicks, and Nets?
Or do you want the Bulls to go full-steam ahead and try to catch the San Antonio Spurs for the best record in the NBA? The Spurs are 60-19 with three games remaining: they host the Jazz on Saturday, and then travel to Los Angeles to face the Lakers on Tuesday, and then finish up at Phoenix on Wednesday. Being just one game behind the Spurs in the loss column, the Bulls are definitely within striking distance of the best record, so some people might want the Bulls to go for it.
Personally, I say rest the players for the games against Orlando and New York, then get them as much work as possible against New Jersey in the season finale.
Sure, the best regular season record would be a pretty impressive accomplishment, but it is not THAT important.
There is no guarantee that the San Antonio Spurs will even make it out of the Western Conference Playoffs to begin with, so Chicago--assuming they can fight their way through the East--may still end up with home-court in the Finals anyway.
I understand that Noah, Boozer, and Rose have only been on the court together for just 20-plus games, but I want to see these guys as rested and as healthy as they can possibly be heading into the playoffs. Playing the starters their usual minutes against the Magic and the Knicks makes the risk of injury even greater, so why risk it during meaningless games to close out the regular season?
Sitting against Orlando and New York is not going to make a difference in the standings so why not give the guys a couple of days off to rest, and make the game against the Nets the first step towards the NBA Championship?
Of course, none of this will matter one iota if Chicago can't beat the Celtics tonight and Cleveland on Friday, but it is definitely something to think about when looking ahead.
Do you agree with Shawn? Post your comments below.
Shawn Muller has lived in the great city of Chicago for 7 years. He is a 2002 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and, in October of 2010, Shawn received his certificate in radio broadcasting. In his free time, Shawn enjoys spending time with his wife Melissa and 3 year old daughter Ava, catching any live sporting event, and traveling. Check out his radio show, Grab Some Bench with Muller and Bangser" every Thursday night at 8:30 P.M., at www.blogtalkradio.com/spmuller24.
