The last time these teams met in the postseason was in 2005, Kirk Hinrich's second season and the first playoff year for either team in some time. For those without long memories, the Bulls won the initial two games at the United Center before Washington swept the next four in a series highlighted by Gilbert Arenas' game-winning buzzer beater in Game 5.
Now, Hinrich is an older starter in his second Bulls tenure, Arenas is currently out of basketball and the Bulls are left to solve a team that beat them in two of three meetings this season. Granted, the Wizards scored just 78 points on the Bulls when the teams last played on April 5, but Thibodeau will never allow his players to look back fondly on that. Instead, he'll have to look at how his main guys match up with the opposing lineup, so let's do that now.
Kirk Hinrich continues to start games admirably at point guard, giving the lineup a boost with his tough play and recognizing his limitations as he's gotten older. The pressure is off him to score since most of that has given way to D.J. Augustin, who is more likely to see the floor in crunch time given his newfound success in Chicago as a constant threat to score. Both Hinrich and Augustin will deal with John Wall, the top pick in the 2010 draft. Wall started every game this season and led the Wizards in scoring, assists and steals. It's his first playoff series, but his talent will remind the Bulls in what they've been missing in Derrick Rose for most of the past two seasons. Even with the collaborative efforts of Hinrich and Augustin, Wall is still the Wizards' franchise player for good reason. This edge goes to Washington.
Jimmy Butler has shown as a starting shooting guard that his maturation in last year's playoffs was no fluke. He has embraced his everyman role by performing a little bit of, well, everything. He can score, pass, play defense and will play all 48 minutes if called upon to do it. I'm not sure he'll ever become an All-Star, but a little more time and improvement could tell me he will. Facing him is second-year man Bradley Beal out of Florida. Anything Butler can do, so can Beal. Part of the Wizards' success can be attributed to his own scoring and passing. He's even a slightly better shooter and that shouldn't be a surprise since that's his natural position. Butler was more shifted over from small forward. While both will be key contributors in this series, I give a slight victory here to the Wizards.
At small forward, Mike Dunleavy has done fine stepping in for Luol Deng in the starting lineup since the January trade. In fact, his offense has only improved since the All-Star break. He brings a key veteran presence to the first five as well as the whole team. While Hinrich is also a veteran presence, Dunleavy has aged better and is typically more trustworthy in the clutch. Trevor Ariza has had a career season in Washington, improving his shooting and rebounding from previous years. He's been in the league for awhile, but this is one season he'll remember when he looks back on his time in the NBA. Again, this is a close matchup and I'm almost afraid to pick against another Bull. However, Ariza is a little bit younger and if the Wizards are to have any success in this series, a lot of it will depend on him. I pick the Wizards here, but only because I believe Ariza will contribute a little more to their cause.
For power forward, let's look at two players for each side rather than one. Carlos Boozer continues to be good for a double-double each night despite his defensive struggles. Taj Gibson is a two-way player doing everything Boozer does for a much cheaper price, making him a leading candidate for the Sixth Man Award. Together, they make this position tough for any team to match up against. The Wizards will counter with Trevor Booker and Nene. Both can score and would be key supporting players anywhere in the league. Still, it comes down to overall talent and here, the Bulls have a clear advantage. You can all put your torches and pitchforks down now.
Center will be a very intriguing matchup. Joakim Noah has continued to blossom on both ends, made his mark as the emotional leader of the Bulls and is a strong candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. In his second straight All-Star season, every opponent has had to keep their eyes on him. He'll take the opening tips against Marcin Gortat. Like Noah, Gortat is consistent defensively and has had a healthy season for the most part. Add an above-average scoring ability and he gives the Wizards a chance to clinch close games. For all he can do though, not many centers can compete with Noah right now, so his best bet is to simply out-duel him. That won't be enough and the Bulls will win this battle easily.
Randy Wittman just led the Wizards to their first playoff appearance since 2008. He was an assistant in Washington under Flip Saunders before taking over for him during the 2011-12 season. This year, he improved the Wizards by 15 games from 2013. With a lot of talent in place, he seems poised to guide his team as they continue to grow over the next few years. Contrast that to Tom Thibodeau, whose influence has been felt in Chicago daily for four years now. While many may not agree with his method of trying to win every game, including in the preseason, you can't argue with results. Recent playoff experience and being able to get so much out of his team gives the Bulls an edge here.
The Bulls enter the playoffs having won eight of their last 10. The Wizards have won four in a row. These are two hot teams who fought for playoff positioning to the very end. Neither has a shortage of talent and both have coaching examples of how to change a franchise's fortunes drastically. You likely won't find championship-caliber basketball here, but a 4-vs.-5 series is always entertaining because they could go either way. However, I think experience and talent win out here. The Wizards will likely win one in Washington and I can see them stealing a game at the United Center, but that's it. The Bulls will take the series in six.
Game 1 will be Easter Sunday in Chicago during the evening, so be sure to plan your family gatherings around it. For bonus points, wear red wherever you're watching it. It's what the Bulls have called us on to do, so we must answer it. The playoffs are here, folks. Get ready for excitement.
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