All season the Bulls talked openly of wanting the home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. With their Monday night victory over the Sixers, they guaranteed themselves that luxury. The advantage?
“We do have a great home-court record (38-1) in the regular season, and that adds to the intimidation factor,” said coach Phil Jackson. “And it’s always nice to play in front of your own fans in the ultimate seventh game you anticipate in a series.”
Change in attitude: The Pacers, the Knicks, the Pistons and the Heat. Those are four of the Bulls’ bitterest Eastern Conference foes, and those just happen to be four of the teams left on their schedule. So how do they play it, now that they’ve clinched all there is to clinch?
“Hopefully,” Jackson said, “we’ll have enough energy to carry our game to their courts. But games take on a different meaning for us, obviously, and we’ll adjust the minutes as the games go by.
“That doesn’t mean we’re going to give up on the games. We’ll give it our best force. . . . But (the games) have no meaning outside the fact that they’re obviously potential playoff opponents. It’s another look at teams we might have to play, and that’s nice, to have a feel for those teams. But the games themselves mean nothing.”
Brains over bodies: The Bulls are one of the oldest teams in the league, and the Sixers, one of the youngest. So what were the Bulls doing out there running with the youngsters, which helped keep the Sixers in Monday’s game until late in the third quarter?
“They got into their rhythm,” said Jackson, “and it took us awhile to figure it out.”
Said Michael Jordan: “Phil didn’t want us to get into an up-and-down game with them, but it’s enticing to do that. But that catches up to our older bodies, and it was up to us to be a little wiser and get it under control.”
Grueling stretch: For the Bulls, the stretch run of the regular season has come to resemble, and will continue to resemble, one of those wild and wacky summer vacation movies. Those kind that always include a punch line like, “If it’s Thursday, this must be Napolean, North Dakota.”
Because last night was Monday, it meant, for them, Philadelphia at home. Which came after Sunday in Orlando. Which came after Friday at home against Cleveland. Which came after Thursday in Washington. All of which comes before Wednesday in Indiana and Thursday in New York.
“It’s like the last dying kick of the season,” Luc Longley said of this schedule, chuckling. “It’s letting us have one good one before it’s over. But in many ways that’s good for us. It may force us to play some good basketball down the stretch and help us get some momentum into the playoffs.”
“It kind of gets you prepared (for the playoffs) to some degree,” agreed Scottie Pippen. “But for our team, with a lot of injuries, it’s nothing we’re looking forward to right now. I think every-other-day games would be better for us right now. It would allow some guys to get some rest, and other guys an opportunity to play more.”
Still standing, at least: Ask Pippen if anything’s hurting him, and he laughs and says, “Everything. Everything.” But then, more seriously, he adds, “No. I’m in pretty good physical condition. This is probably the first time in a while this late in the season that I’ve felt pretty good, pretty healthy.”
