Can this be? Yes, Bulls look like a real NBA team

Sometimes you say something you can't believe you're saying.

Like, "Boy, this Spam sure is delicious," or " 'The Love Guru' sure is one great movie."

One of those moments has arrived, so buckle up: "This is the best Bulls team since the dynasty years."

There, I said it and I'm happy. At least for now I am. The situation is fluid.

The Bulls are beating bad teams - like Saturday's 112-106 victory over the Pacers - and beating out worse teams for a playoff berth. Hey, cheap thrills are better than the cheap basketball we've been accustomed to.

The Bulls are 11-8 since this group gathered, prompting head coach Vinny Del Negro to say, "We're moving in the right direction." The Bulls aren't great, maybe not even good. They still make things more difficult than necessary.

Maybe it's because they're still trying to get to know each other since the deal that brought John Salmons and Brad Miller from Sacramento.

But I am starting to like this team because it looks like they're starting to like themselves.

"It's a lot of fun, especially when we're winning," Ben Gordon said after the Bulls' fourth straight victory.

The younger guys appear to be more stable because the older guys acquired at the trade deadline are relieving some of the burden.

Of course being the Bulls' best team since the dynasty is like saying the current economy is better than the Great Depression's.

Like most, I have moaned for years that the Bulls don't have this, they won't have that, and they would be better off sitting out the postseason.

Not now, though. The Bulls definitely have grown on me since the trade.

Listen, they aren't going to win the NBA title this year or probably next decade. They still don't handle the ball well enough, don't consistently play defense, and because of injuries don't have much depth.

But the one thing the Bulls can do is score and that alone makes them easier to like.

Lou Piniella would accuse me of getting too giggly, but I'm sorry, this team looks better than any of the three that Scott Skiles coached to the playoffs.

Most impressive is the Bulls' demeanor. There's a little bounce to them now that might evolve into swagger after a few more victories.

Maybe all this is just wishful watching. Maybe it's just being so tired of enduring a decade of Bull, er, spit that it would be heartening if they remained upright for an entire 24-second clock.

But I really think the Bulls can play with most NBA teams now and maybe even extend a playoff series.

Give general manager John Paxson credit for closing the Salmons-Miller deal, but only after asking why it took so many years.

That was the trade some of us were begging for since it became clear the Bulls' young nucleus wasn't going to be good enough.

The Bulls needed a couple of veteran, savvy, dependable players like Salmons and Miller. A couple had to be available sooner than later, didn't they?

No quibbling, though, because the result is that the Bulls have resembled a real NBA team this month.

It's hard to believe I'm saying that, but I don't mind, even if we're talking about cheap thrills.

mimrem@dailyherald.com