Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah believes that his team are the toughest to beat across a seven-game series as the Bulls gear up for the playoffs.
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With their win over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night, the Bulls confirmed their participation in the playoffs but there are still a lot of questions clouding their chances.
While they are currently the fourth seed, that could yet change given the closeness with third seed Toronto Raptors, but Noah believes that it doesn’t matter who they face as they remain a daunting task for any team in the NBA over the course of a gruelling playoff series.
“I still think we’re the toughest team to beat in a seven-game series,” he said, as reported by the Chicago Tribune.
Chicago have proven in recent years that even without their star players, they remain a threat to their rivals with their defensive grittiness and overall hard style of play.
However, there have been cracks this season and injuries have been a problem again with Jimmy Butler only just returning from an elbow injury, Noah still on a minutes limit due to the surgery he underwent on his knee last summer and Derrick Rose is still sidelined after going under the knife on his knee again.
The Bulls are 15-4 when their preferred starters are all healthy, but whether or not they have them all out on the court at the same time in the post-season remains to be seen.
No team will welcome the prospect of facing Tom Thibodeau’s men, and especially if they are healthy, they will be expected to make a deep run and at least go on to the Eastern Conference Finals.
However, with so much disappointment in recent years, there is always the threat that they could be derailed earlier than hoped unless they have their difference-makers on the court consistently.
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