Don't expect Bulls to take foot off the gas

No matter what happens in the playoffs, this should go down in Bulls history as the Year of the Jump.

It's when Englewood's own Derrick Rose went from a promising star to the youngest MVP in league history. He'll also be the first NBA most valuable player who didn't receive a single vote for MVP in the previous season.

It's when 20-year NBA assistant Tom Thibodeau took on his first head coaching job and delivered a masterful performance. He's probably not a lock for coach of the year, the way Rose is for MVP, but Thibodeau has a good chance of winning.

It will take just 1 victory in the last three games for the Bulls to record a 60-win season, quite a leap from last year's 41-41. To put this in perspective, five teams in Bulls history have won 60 games and all of them captured the NBA title. The current Bulls have more wins than the best of the Jerry Sloan era (57 in 1971-72) and eclipsed the 1993 title team (also 57 wins).

The Bulls have clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference and will open the playoffs against No. 8 Indiana next weekend at the United Center. So what can we expect for the rest of the spring?

No guarantees:

The season began with Miami dominating everyone's attention. Now instead of Kobe Bryant vs. the Heat's Power Trio, the intriguing potential Finals matchup is Phil Jackson vying for his final title against the Bulls, the team he used to coach.

What everyone needs to keep in mind is that's a long way from coming true. In seven of the last eight seasons, the No. 1 playoff seed in the East has failed to reach the Finals. The only one that did was the '08 Boston Celtics, with Thibodeau on the coaching staff.

That's one reason why Thibodeau is showing no signs of letting up. Having a chance to catch San Antonio for the league's best record is a good reason to keep the intensity level high.

“The two things you're focused in on are you want to be playing your best basketball, and you want to be healthy,” Thibodeau said after the Bulls beat Cleveland on Friday. “So if someone is injured, we'll sit them down. If they're not injured, they're going to play.”

Happy to be home:

While homecourt advantage has meant little in recent Eastern Conference history, the Bulls should be glad to have it. At 35-5, they share the best home record in the league with San Antonio.

Whenever a team can start a series at home and end it by hosting Game 7, it should help. In a potential deciding game against Boston or Miami, of course the Bulls would prefer to play at home.

Here's an interesting twist to the Bulls' home record: Four of the losses were against New York, the L.A. Clippers, Charlotte and Philadelphia. Against the top eight teams in the league, the Bulls are 9-1, with the only loss to Orlando on Dec. 1, the first game with Carlos Boozer in uniform.

They've had some lapses, but when a home game really matters, the Bulls have delivered.

Unusual mix:

Search through NBA history and there is no championship team built like the Bulls, with a point guard the dominant scorer. If the Bulls win the East, Keith Bogans and Ronnie Brewer would be the lowest-scoring shooting guards to reach the Finals in the past 40 years.

Variety among NBA champions is uncommon, anyway. Fifteen of the past 20 titles have been won by Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant or Tim Duncan.

The Bulls didn't land a dominant shooting guard during free agency last summer. But there are reasons why this team could win a title:

Ÿ The Bulls might have the best big-man depth in the NBA, with Boozer, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Omer Asik and Kurt Thomas. Physical games shouldn't be a problem, as Thursday's win over Boston showed.

When Thomas, 38, stood over a fallen Glen Davis and smiled, he seemed to be saying, “I've been putting guys on the floor since before you were born,” which isn't far from the truth. Thomas, a subtle team leader, is hungry for a title.

Ÿ If defense wins championships, the Bulls are ready. They rank first in opponents' field-goal percentage and second in points allowed. The keys are following Thibodeau's game plans and having everyone in perfect position to help.

Ÿ There isn't a high-scoring shooting guard on the roster, but Brewer is among the best defenders at that position and Kyle Korver might be the best spot-up 3-point shooter in the game. When Bogans knocks down a couple 3-pointers, the Bulls are practically unbeatable.

Ÿ Big guards traditionally make the best closers. But there has never been anyone like Rose, who has the explosion to finish at the basket, the quickness to get open jumpers whenever he wants and the vision to pass out of double-teams.

So far, the Bulls' success has been a perfect storm of role players, coaching strategy and superstar skills. If they can jump to Category 5, this playoff run could last awhile.