Schuster: Bulls Prepare For 76ers, Final Push Before Playoffs
By David Schuster--
Try as you may to get the Bulls players to talk about the upcoming playoffs but it's a useless subject, for now. They refuse to look ahead and remain focused on the subject at hand which tonight is the Philadelphia 76ers. The Bulls have split their two games with Phily winning in a blowout at the United Center and then losing in the city of Brotherly Love.
As for the playoff chase, the Bulls lead Boston by two games for the top spot in the East with Miami just a half game further back. And the Bulls also are trying to catch San Antonio for the best overall record in the league which would insure home court advantage. Currently the Bulls trail the Spurs by three and a half games but there's no guarantee that San Antonio comes out of the West. The Lakers, playing some great basketball at the moment, still are the team to beat and the Bulls have a better record then L.A. so each and every victory down the stretch here is paramount.
But not everything is deadly serious with the Bulls. The players continue to rib each other mercilessly when it comes to the NCAA tournament. When Duke lost last week Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer got it but good from their teammates and when Florida lost the other night to Butler, they all got on Joakim Noah. Sitting back and smiling at the moment is Keith Bogans who played his collegiate ball at Kentucky and is the only player who still has his alma mater playing in the tournament.