Let’s play let’s say.
Let’s say the Bulls will win the NBA East.
Let’s say it matters who wins in the NBA East when there are five better teams in the NBA West.
Let’s say LeBron James’ back problems are worse than Derrick Rose’s (a body part to be named).
Let’s say the Bulls deserve the benefit of the doubt, rather than the doubt itself, and let’s say there is much less doubt than benefit.
Let’s say this Bulls team does not need to be hard-nosed, but rather nose in the air, free and formless, that this team is going to shoot first and answer questions later just to make a point. Or three.
Let’s say the starting backcourt for the Bulls does not go together like texting and driving but rather that Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler are honey and cinnamon, blending and mingling into one sweet potion.
Let’s say Rose and Butler will be the best starting guard combination since Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars instead of the worst since Matt Maloney and, well, Fred Hoiberg.
Let’s say Hoiberg sees a better bunch than Tom Thibodeaudid, players who needed Thibodeau’s sneaker up their backsides to pay attention and do it his way, which they did.
Let’s say Hoiberg is not the fifth starter on the all-time college coach/pro bust team that now includes the Bulls own Tim Floyd as well as P.J. Carlesimo, Rick Pitino and Lon Kruger.
Let’s say Hoiberg does not need to check with Gar Forman before calling a timeout. As well as which shirt to wear, which fork to use and when to wipe his nose. Let’s say Hoiberg doesn’t dress like the store manager of a North Shore super market.
Let’s say this Bulls team, nevertheless, will lead the league in blocked shots, rebounds, floor burns and energy.
Let’s say Pau Gasol is Iron Man and Nikola Mirotic is Resurrection Man, and that they are both more durable than the comic book paper they are printed on.
Let’s say Gasol and Mirotic together will do for the Bulls what they did for Spain and just to make sure let’s say Cleveland is Lithuania.
Let’s say the new spirit detected on the Bulls is not just a change of shower soap.
Let’s say the 3-point line is a pet and not an in-law, a friend and not a mugger, a pal and not an enemy, a sweetheart and not an ex. In short, let’s say the 3-point line treats the Bulls as if it likes them.
Let’s say Rose passes the ball and does not demand it back. Let’s say Rose sacrifices some of his scoring for more collaboration. Let’s say Rose forgets he was once an MVP and accepts he was just being punked.
Let’s say, in fact, Rose leads the league in assists, makes every other player on the Bulls better and stops marking days off his calendar to free agency.
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Let’s say the Bulls’ shot selection is based on unselfishness and good choices rather than on Butler having the ball in his hands.
Let’s say the Bulls are not too small to play big or too thin to play the fourth quarter.
Let’s say the Bulls will take a charge.
Let’s say any experts who suggest the Bulls do not scare anybody never have seen Joakim Noah with his hair down. Let’s say less Noah is more.
Let’s say predictions the Bulls are a contender are to be taken seriously.
Let’s say the Bulls will respond to skepticism about their chances of winning it all by proving that pigs can fly, the earth is flat and public transportation is a delight.
Let’s say the NBA season is not just so much calisthenics and let’s say what is important is how many games are won, how many points are scored and how many home courts are clinched. Let’s say the playoffs do not really matter.
Let’s say all of this until we believe it.
Lincicome is a special contributor to the baiduhai.