Can the Bulls survive with Rose still finding his rhythm?

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Tom Thibodeau has been loath to look ahead all season, but now that they've dispatched the lowly Cavaliers and finished their regular season on a triumphant note Thursday night -- with All-Stars Derrick Rose and Luol Deng sitting, as well as reserve sharpshooter Kyle Korver, the "Bench Mob" was in full effect, as John Lucas III scored 25 points and fan favorite Brian Scalabrine hitting the last shot of the game, fittingly -- his Bulls, owners of home-court advantage throughout the postseason for the second consecutive season, can finally focus on the playoffs. A bonus for the opening-round series against the eighth-seeded 76ers, in terms of subplots, were the comments of second-year Philadelphia swingman Evan Turner, a Chicago native, about the Sixers preferring to face the Heat instead of the second-seeded Heat and while the Bulls deny needing any extra motivation, it can't hurt that they can, at least privately, use the respect factor as added impetus to fuel their fire.Though the Sixers have matched up with the Bulls well in the past, the genesis of Turner's opinion, whether Philadelphia admits it or not, stems from the fact that Rose -- a rival of Turner's, going back to their high school days, when the former No. 2 overall draft pick played for St. Joseph in suburban Westchester and the reigning league MVP was at Simeon -- hasn't been 100 percent for the majority of the regular season. Without Rose in the lineup due to a variety of injuries, the Bulls have gone 18-9 this season. Aswell as they've performed without the All-Star point guard, it's a fact that they won't be able to achieve their dream of winning a championship without him playing at, if not an MVP level, close to it.However, after seeing him regain some of his explosiveness in Wednesday's road win at Indiana -- although shots didn't fall for him in a pedestrian 10-point outing, Rose attacked the basket more than he did in the team's previous contest, last Saturday's victory over the Mavericks -- it appears that the 23-year-old is on his way back to his previous form, which is bad news for the Sixers. Let's be honest: Turner and his teammates might have a better chance at stealing a game or two against a Bulls team still working Rose back into the mix, but the Bulls could probably handle Philadelphia, albeit in a more competitive fashion, even without their superstar in a seven-game series.The Sixers, after looking like they'd run away with the Atlantic Division in the first half of the season, had a dramatic freefall after the All-Star break withtalk of locker-room dissension with former Bulls head coach Doug Collins losing the team and their lack of a go-to scorer exposed, leading them to limp into a playoff berth in the season's final week, instead of clinching it much earlier. While their formula of staunch defense, balanced offense and generally mistake-free basketball can keep them in games, the Bulls have a similar style, more talent andtoo much size inside. WithRose's health improving, not to mention the motivation Turner provided, the first-round series shouldn't even be close.Moving forward, Rose's ability to get back to a superstar level is what the Bulls' title chances hinge on, but a deep supporting cast -- including two backup point guards who have proved fully capable of leading the team in spurts, Lucas and second-stringer C.J. Watson -- should allow the Englewood product to ease his way back into becoming a dominant force again, at least in the postseason's early stages. Also featuring a versatile first-time All-Star in Deng, a unique center who matches up well with any potential Eastern Conference foe in Noah, an experienced veteran of playoff battles who's now finding his stride in shooting guard Rip Hamilton and a solid, if much-maligned power forward in Carlos Boozer, the Bulls have the necessary secondary options in the now-intact starting lineup to take pressure off Rose, as well as a deep bench with multiple weapons, such as Korver and other starting-caliber players like Taj Gibson and Ronnie Brewer, not to mention defensive specialist Omer Asik.But while that will be enough to get by the Sixers, with a potential second-round matchup against Boston looming, Rose will need to be at his best, especially against a veteran team with championship experience and a fellow All-Star point guard in Rajon Rondo. The Bulls can compete with the Celtics or any other upper-echelon team even if he wasn't in the lineup, but their odds of winning a series greatly decrease if he isn't affecting the games the way he's capable of doing, chiefly getting to the rim, putting constant pressure on the opposing defense, drawing fouls and when the Bulls suffer through one of their periodic offensive droughts, shouldering the offensive load.The same goes for a potential Eastern Conference Finals rematch with Miami -- if the Heat somehow succumb to the Knicks in the first round or fall to the underrated Pacers in an expected second-round series or even if Boston loses to Atlanta, which owns home-court advantage in the first round, the Bulls could continue to advance without Rose playing at an elite level, but it wouldn't be easy -- and certainly, if they were to make it to the NBA Finals, in the championship round against whoever comes out of the West. But long story short, as much as Philadelphia would rather take on the Bulls than the Heat, the Bulls probably feel the same way about preferring the Sixers to the seventh-seeded Knicks, as Rose would have to get in gear much earlier against high-octane New York.The first round will be like riding on training wheels for Rose, as he attempts to find his rhythm. Though knowing him, he doesn't view it that way and with Turner giving him some ammunition, Rose will look to once again humble him, as he did when the pair matched up in high school and Turner impudently talked trash to not only Rose, but spectators and the assembled media. Thus, while the Bulls will need the dynamic floor general to eventually dominate the action in order to achieve their ultimate goal of adding another championship banner to the United Center rafters, he'll have at least a series to figure things out.

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