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Bulls still looking to play their best basketball

The Bulls have been carrying on all year about how they want to be playing their best basketball at the end of the season.

Did they accomplish that mission? Well, no. Not even close.

Heading into Saturday's playoff opener at the United Center, the Bulls have Joakim Noah and Kirk Hinrich returning from injuries, Taj Gibson grimacing after taking a cortisone shot to his sore left shoulder, and Derrick Rose feeling enough soreness in his left knee to skip the second half of Wednesday's win over Atlanta.

The Bulls did succeed at one goal. By landing the No. 3 seed in the East, they'll face Milwaukee (41-41) instead of Washington (46-36).

Not that the Bucks represent a bye into the second round, but the Bulls are hoping they have enough to get their act together while still winning the series. Then, in theory, they might be clicking in Round 2 for a likely matchup against Cleveland.

During a Thursday teleconference, TNT analyst Charles Barkley suggested a Bulls-Cavaliers series would serve as an unofficial Eastern Conference finals. Atlanta didn't win 60 games by accident, but Charles is entitled to his opinion.

"Derrick Rose's injury and Joakim Noah's injury make them fresher than most guys going into the playoffs," Barkley said. "We don't know Chicago's ceiling as a team since they haven't played together for more than a few weeks. I think they have the highest ceiling in the Eastern Conference."

There's no point in wondering what the Bulls will be like if they finally get healthy. Let's face it, they had the entire roster healthy and available just five times in 82 regular-season games. The next injury is always around the corner.

But they might have the league's deepest bench. Aaron Brooks, Nikola Mirotic, Tony Snell and Gibson are all capable of tossing in 20 points any night. If the starters can get it together, they might be onto something.

Rose doesn't change his facial expression often. But he has talked about enthusiasm for his first playoff appearance since April 28, 2012, when he tore his ACL in a first-round game against Philadelphia.

"I'm very, very encouraged about my team, about myself and about the future," Rose said after Wednesday's game. "I believe I'm one of the best players in the NBA, still.

"It will be fun. It will give me a chance to really go out there and battle with my teammates in the playoffs. The playoffs are a different atmosphere, a different type of setting. So I get the opportunity to play the game that I love playing. That intensity is going to be definitely high, and I can't wait to play it."

Across the locker room stood Pau Gasol, who became the Bulls' steady anchor in his first year with the team. Gasol finished with a career-high 54 double-doubles, the fourth-highest total in franchise history. The top three all belong to Artis Gilmore.

"I'm very competitive," Gasol said. "I like to win and I came here to win, to have an opportunity to win a title and I hope we can accomplish that.

"I'm really happy with the situation, how the year turned out. We have an excellent team, deep and high potential. Things haven't gone great as far as health and continuity. Let's see if we can click and play our best basketball during this playoff run."

The Bulls went 3-1 against Milwaukee this season. Gasol was the Bulls' top scorer against the Bucks, averaging 24.3 points. He scored a career-high 46 on Jan. 10 at the United Center. Jimmy Butler was next at 14.8 points per game, followed by Gibson with 13.7.

The Bucks averaged 84.8 points and shot just 39 percent from the field against the Bulls. But they've been gathering momentum since adding 6-foot-6 point guard Michael Carter-Williams at midseason.

Maybe Milwaukee will be ready to play its best basketball this weekend.

• Get the latest Bulls news via Twitter by following @McGrawDHBulls.

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