Bulls make the playoffs in unspectacular fashion

By Mike North

The Rebel Inside

The Chicago Bulls (41-41) made the playoffs with a 112-73 victory over the lowly Brooklyn Nets (20-62) Wednesday and I'm happy.

The Bulls will play the Boston Celtics, who finished first in the Eastern Conference with a 53-29 record. I want to congratulate second year head coach Fred Hoiberg and his team for securing the eighth and final playoff berth, because during the season they looked dysfunctional with a capital D! Then there were some trades and the Bulls lost guys like Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott.

A salute to the Bulls for getting their team in a position to play in the postseason, but the way they got in is disturbing.

The NBA has often been viewed and sometimes accused of manipulation or orchestrating scenarios for certain playoff matchups. It looks like that might have occurred in the Bulls-Nets game.

The Nets actually sat six players making that final game a rout for the Bulls. The question can be asked: Who were the Nets really sitting ... but I still feel the integrity of the game went out the window.

So with the New York area and its huge market excluded from the playoffs, the East was being represented by smaller markets like Boston, Cleveland, Toronto, Washington, Atlanta, Milwaukee and Indiana. So Chicago, a big market team, conveniently eked its way in the regular season finale.

I do think it's sad the Miami Heat did not make it. They were 11-30 in the first half of the season, but rebounded with an impressive 30-11 in the second half. I think they would have been stiff competition for the Cavs.

Commissioner Adam Silver, who is on board with legalized gambling, continues to put the league in a suspect position and he should find sitting six players in that final Bulls-Nets game unacceptable.

But, hey, the Bulls are in the playoffs and anything can happen. So tighten up your sneakers and get ready.

One last point: The Cavaliers jockeyed their way into position so they would not have a first-round matchup against the Heat or Bulls. They sat LeBron James, hoping for a second-place finish so they could draw the Pacers.

The league has a problem: and it's called integrity! Read into it what you want.

Oh well, go Bulls, I guess.

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