2015 NBA playoffs: Are the Bulls a threat?

The Chicago Bulls were expected to compete with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the mantle of best Eastern Conference team before the season started.

Then, Chicago lapped Cleveland before LeBron James went full-on-LeBron, taking the Cavaliers to heights the injury-stricken Bulls could not match. While Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler were both out with knee and elbow injuries, respectively, Chicago fell out of the Central Division race.

Flash forward to mid-April, and the Bulls are suddenly looking like a tough out once again in a brutally weak conference. Chicago is 49-32 and sitting in third seed, a half-game ahead of the Atlantic Division-leading Toronto Raptors. Should the Bulls hold onto that spot, they will meet the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. Milwaukee is an impressive turnaround story, going from the league’s worst record to a playoff berth in one season. Still, it would be a stretch for the Bucks to make this competitive.

Assuming Chicago can pull out a win in the quarterfinals, the Bulls will likely run into the Cavaliers in the semifinals. Chicago will be a heavy underdog but comes into the showdown with the mindset of a group finally getting to see what it is capable of after so many ailments plagued them throughout the campaign.

For now, the Cavaliers are the overwhelming favorites to at least reach the NBA Finals if not win them. According to Vegas Insider, the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland are both getting 2/1 odds to win the title, while the surging San Antonio Spurs are 3/1. After that, the Atlanta Hawks come in at 18/1 despite being the East’s top seed, then the Bulls at 20/1.

Chicago’s best bet against Cleveland is to pound David Blatt’s team inside and get Kevin Love into foul trouble. With the combination of Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol, the Bulls have a rugged, talented frontcourt which can get inside and dominate the paint. Add in the physicality of Taj Gibson and Butler, and Chicago has ample ability to get to the free-throw line and shoot high-percentage shots.

For those NBA fans who are tired of seeing LeBron in the Finals, the Bulls are likely the lone team which can dethrone the defend four-time Eastern Conference champ. With all due respect to Atlanta, it will be a Herculean task for the Hawks to defend James, Love and Kyrie Irving all at once while maintaining a lineup that can score consistently.

With the NBA playoffs right around the corner, we will get to see some of the greatest basketball on Earth. If and when Chicago and Cleveland match up, it will be must-see television. The question is whether the Bulls can play the lead actor instead of setting for a supporting role in the drama.