Want to know what this Philly game tonight could potentially mean? No reason for me to go into it, since Unknown Column does a very nice job.
Tonight you can wake the echoes. Tonight the UC will be rocking. Tonight is worthy of a trip to the favorite watering hole with the boys to watch the game in true drunken, celebratory style.
The Bulls are back, baby!
(OK, even the lowest points of the crashed Bulls express era haven't prevented trips to the favorite watering hole to watch games, but still.)
The 76ers are in town and playoff implications are abound. Playoff implications? That's right. Crazy. It's approaching mid-January and the games actually matter. They matter a lot. What in the name of Ed Nealy?
On the one hand, the quickly growing excitement surrounding the Bulls - not to mention this whole playoff thing - feels new. It's like knowing Deng isn't from around here, but not knowing what country he's from. (Sudan.) It's like suddenly realizing that Eddy Curry is getting the same basketball education he would have received at Duke or Kansas or UConn. By osmosis. These are his teammates. And this playoff talk especially feels a little like this...
- The Bulls lead the league in opponents' field-goal percentage
- The Bulls have held 19 straight opponents to fewer than 100 points, the longest streak in the NBA.
When did the Bulls become so good right before our eyes? (Hint: Probably right around the time they started playing defense.)
On the other hand, it's just like riding a bike, this winning. The Bulls are supposed to win. They've done it in the past.
Dominated.
So what've they been waiting for?
As the blogfather would say: read the whole thing. I'll be back tonight for a recap.