Winning in the North

It's always impressive when you can sweep four season meetings from one team, especially a good one.  The Toronto Raptors are decent enough to win the Atlantic, but people have questioned their legitimacy all year.  Their poor record against teams at or below .500 is a major reason.  They didn't help their cause as the Bulls kept the host Raptors off the board in the season series Wednesday with a 116-103 win.

The "basketball frauds", a nickname for the Raptors my co-worker Luis Medina regrets not trademarking, played well on offense early while the Bulls struggled.  The visitors narrowed the gap in the second quarter before keeping pace in third.  The fourth was when the Bulls really shined, outscoring the Raptors 39-21 to go with 10 assists and no turnovers.  A terrific display of late offense and a lack of killer instinct on the Raptors' part combined to create the final result.

Jimmy Butler showed he's officially back by leading all scorers with 23 points (7-for-8 from the field, 7-for-9 from the foul line).  Pau Gasol didn't achieve a double-double this time, but played a key role in scoring 18.  Tony Snell really came alive in the second half and led the bench with 17.  Aaron Brooks made four 3-pointers as part of 16 and Nikola Mirotic had 15.

The pregame story of Derrick Rose expecting to return this season before and the postgame story of not allowing the Raptors to clinch a playoff spot yet were mere footnotes compared to what the Bulls accomplished in the game.  With an almost healthy bunch on the court, the offense came through when it needed to most.  While it took them a little while to get going, they were almost unstoppable once they did.  A close game ultimately became a 13-point victory.

Naturally, the naysayers will say the Bulls played the worst division leader in the league.  They'll also say the Bulls caught the Raptors in the second of a back-to-back and just after they lost a close game to Detroit.  Well, good teams pounce on opportunities like this, even if they have to come from behind to do it.  That makes the Bulls legitimate.

True, not every team can successfully beat an opponent that just played 24 hours earlier, but it happens more often than not.  Even the best teams are prone to losing when they haven't fully recovered from a certain contest.  But again, the Bulls know they're better than the Raptors and regardless of the circumstances, they want that reflected in the final playoff series.  They took a step in that direction by widening the gap between the team to 1 1/2 games between the third and fourth seeds in the East.

It's going to be quite a fight for the higher seed during the regular season's final weeks.  The season has proven the Bulls are more deserving to get the upper hand.  It may not make a difference as Atlanta or Cleveland inevitably await in the second round.  Still, the Bulls have too much pride to let themselves settle for less and perhaps, the third seed will be just what they need to advance in the playoffs.

The Bulls will wait until Saturday to play again, during which they play the New York Knicks at the United Center.  There's a club you really have to kick while they're down.  They have absolutely nothing to gain except keeping the NBA's worst record and increasing their shot at the top draft pick.  Meanwhile, the Bulls are aspiring for far greater things in the near future.