Veterans teaching Rose what playoffs are all about

They still have work to do before officially clinching a playoff spot, but the Bulls have begun to practice postseason intensity.

"They (the team's veterans) are yelling a little bit more," guard Derrick Rose said following Monday's practice at the Berto Center. "Brad (Miller), he yells a lot.

"In the Indiana game (last week), I think I let T.J. (Ford) to get a layup and they were telling me to foul him like it was in the playoffs. But this is the first time I'm in that situation. Playoffs, I guess, are totally different."

When Charlotte lost in Detroit on Sunday, the Bulls' magic number for clinching a playoff berth dropped to 3. If they take care of business at home, where they've won 11 of the last 12 games, the Bulls will have no problems.

If the Bulls mess up against New York on Tuesday or against Philadelphia on Thursday, the Bobcats will have a chance to get back into the race when they visit the United Center on Saturday.

The Bulls and the Pistons are tied for the No. 7 seed in the East, which means any of the top three teams are potential playoff opponents - Cleveland, Boston or Orlando.

"I wouldn't want to play us in the playoffs," forward John Salmons said. "I think we've got a good enough team to compete with anybody. So I'm excited about it."

All of the Bulls' regulars have playoff experience except Rose and Joakim Noah. The postseason has been very kind to Rose lately. During the past three years, he won two Illinois high school state championships with Simeon and carried Memphis to the NCAA title game before losing in overtime to Kansas.

Rose certainly is the wild card in any potential first-round playoff series. His rookie season has been uneven at times, but he has shown an ability to take over games.

"I just want to win," Rose said. "That's what it's all about, doing anything to help your team win. That's the only thing I think about when I go into the playoffs or when I went into the tournament last year."

Since arriving from Sacramento in a Feb. 18 trade, Salmons quickly has learned to appreciate playing at the United Center, where the Bulls play four of their final five games.

"It's a tough place to play," he said. "Since I've been in the league, I don't know how many wins I got at the United Center. The fans are pretty good. I think those rims, you've got to get used to shooting on. They're not really shooters' rims. I think we've got a pretty good homecourt advantage."

The lone road game remaining is at Detroit next Monday. The Bulls lead the season series 2-1, although if they lose at the Palace, the Pistons would win the first tiebreaker over the Bulls based on better conference record. But first things first.

"The sooner we can get into the playoffs, the better I think we'll be moving forward," coach Vinny Del Negro said.