There’s also the matter of Boozer and the $32.1 million left on his contract. After two mostly forgettable seasons, the veteran has emerged as the best Bulls player on most nights, a 19-10 guy since the year of the year. In other words, his trade value isn’t likely to be greater than it is now. General manager Gar Forman and the Toronto Raptors have reportedly discussed a deal that would send Boozer north of the border in return for Andrea Bargnani, an iffy proposition for both sides. Could the Bulls incorporate one new player and delete one older one from the lineup and still win it all? Highly doubtful.
Meanwhile, a mere 185 miles separate Bankers Life Fieldhouse and the United Center, but one would never know it, a disconnect that isn’t healthy for a division that has played too nice for too long.
The Central needs a full-blown, hate-your-guts rivalry in the worst way, something that it hasn’t had since chants of “Laim-beer sucks!” accompanied the Detroit Pistons to the old Chicago Stadium three decades ago.
The Bulls consider the Miami Heat, the New York Knickerbockers and even the woebegone Pistons to be their true rivals. In Detroit and Chicago, bad blood never simmers, it only boils.
If it isn’t the Tigers and the White Sox in the summer, then it’s the Lions and the Bears in the fall or the Pistons and the Bulls in the winter. The Colts and the Bears did meet in the Super Bowl not long ago, but otherwise, the teams in Indianapolis and Chicago have no histories to speak of.
Rivalries are forged in the playoffs, but even though the teams have resided in the same division for 37 years, they have met on exactly two occasions there. In 1998, Miller and the Pacers had Michael Jordan and His Supporting Cast on the ropes in Game 7 of the conference finals, only to have a series of one-sided whistles tilt the momentum the other way. (You should have seen the look on the face of Larry Legend, the Pacers head coach at the time.) Two years ago, the Hoosier daddies dismissed them in five games in the first round.
Maybe, just maybe the seeds of a rivalry will be planted in the next few weeks, when the intensity levels figure to ramp up considerably.
The teams have two dates left in the regular season — March 3 in Naptown, March 23 in Chitown — and the division title may hang in the balance.
What’s the difference between first place and second place? Possibly a lot, especially for the Pacers, whose 20-4 home record ranks among the best in the league. As one of the top three seeds in the conference, the division winner wouldn’t meet the Heat until the conference finals.
If the runners-up were to upset the Heat in the semifinal round, the Pacers and the Bulls could be on a collision course to collide in the final round. “Hans-brough Sucks!” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but hey, it’s a start.
Paul Ladewski is a long-time Chicago-area sportswriter and columnist and a regular contributor to SheridanHoops.com.
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Please stop the Rose hype. He won’t be close to 100 percent if he comes back at all. The Pacers have the best chance to beat the Heat in the playoffs. Like the matchups and the fact that nobody talks about them.
This can’t be considered a rivalry until the Pacers beat the Bulls in a playoff series. If Rose is healthy, it ain’t happenin’ this year. Even if Rose isn’t healthy, it ain’t gonna happen.
I think you forgot about the bulls and pacers playing in the first round in 2011.