Here we are again. When last we left one another, the Bulls were in the process of being on the receiving end of a gentleman’s sweep a the hands of the Washington Wizards. It was a quick and merciful end to another miserable season bereft of Derrick Rose. Well, Rose is back, again. While some of us were looking forward to the #2014Plan and some knew it for what it likely was (more carrots, more sticks), the truth ended up being somewhere in the middle. Carmelo Anthony did not become a Chicago Basketballman, in case you were wondering. Neither did Kevin Love, though he is now playing in the Central Division. As is that LeBron fellow again. I think he used to be pretty good here.

The Bulls did manage to snag longtime target Pau Gasol while also finally ridding themselves of the sometimes useful, sometimes awful, most times distracting Carlos Boozer in what was essentially a trade with the Lakers. Jimmy Butler is still here, though he’s out tonight and potentially a couple weeks with a thumb injury. He still doesn’t have an extension in place. Joakim Noah is here, still ginger from offseason knee surgery. Taj Gibson, Mike Dunleavy, Kirk Hinrich, Tony Snell and Nazr Mohammed are all still here and still ready to contribute to wildly different levels of effectiveness. Also here are Euroleague wunderkind Nikola Mirotic and fifth all time leading NCAA scorer Doug McDermott, both unsure fits defensively but both potentially lethal shooters. The Bulls need one of those things a whole hell of a lot more than the other.

Most importantly, perhaps, Tom Thibodeau is still here, as is his style, this time perhaps with more talent than he’s ever had to implement it with. There’s a lot of what ifs for this team. Rose’s health, Gasol’s effectiveness (and health), Noah’s health, Butler’s health, Mirotic and McDermott’s effectiveness (and health), Snell’s progression (and health), and so on. There always are. It feels as though the Bulls might be due some good luck on the injury front for a change (despite the fact that last year was relatively clean on the injury front aside from Rose). For the first time since Rose’s original injury, however, it feels as though we don’t know exactly what this team could be if everything goes right, and in an Eastern Conference bereft of a clear #2 after Cleveland, that’s sort of exciting, isn’t it?

Probable Starters

Chicago Bulls (48-34, 2nd in Central, 4th in East, lost in 1st round to Washington)

C: Joakim Noah, 8th season. Age 29.

PF: Pau Gasol, 14th season. Age 34.

SF: Mike Dunleavy, 13th season. Age 34.

SG: Kirk Hinrich, 12th season. Age 33.

PG: Derrick Rose, 6th season. Age 26.

New York Knicks (37-45, third in Atlantic, 9th in East. Did not qualify for playoffs.)

C: Samuel Dalembert, 13th season. Age 33.

PF: Amar’e Stoudemire, 13th season. Age 31.

SF: Carmelo Anthony, 12th season. Age 30.

SG: Iman Shumpert, 4th season. Age 24.

PG: Jose Calderon, 10th season. Age 33.

Key Matchup(s): Derrick Rose versus Rust. That’s what we’ll all be watching here, despite whatever other storylines anyone else deigns to force on us. It’s what we’re here for. As much as the rest of the 82 game schedule will go towards proving if Rose really can return from two horrible knee injuries, it has to start somewhere. It has to start sometime. What better place then here? What better time than now?

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So let’s consider last season.

During the 2009-10 campaign, the Thunder (27-14 at home) played the Bulls (17-24 on the road) twice, winning 98-85 at the United Center on January 4 and losing 96-86 in Oklahoma City on January 27.

In 2008-09, the Thunder won 23 games. In 2009-10, they won 50 games. For those of you who enjoy simple math, that’s a 27-game improvement, tops in the NBA last year. For the sake of comparison, the Memphis Grizzlies came in second with a 16-game improvement.

The Thunder did it with a stingy defense (1st in total blocked shots, 4th in Opponents Effective Field Goal Percentage, 7th in Opponents Turnover Percentage, 9th in Defensive Rating) and Kevin Durant’s offense (a league-best 30.1 PPG).

At 21 years and197 days old, Durant became the youngest scoring champion in NBA history. Not surprisingly, he finished second (to LeBron James) in MVP voting. A distant second, but still. The kid is amazing. Although he didn’t do it alone.

When KD missed, his teammates were there to clean up the mess, as the Thunder ranked 3rd in Offensive Rebound Percentage. The Thunder also drew fouls, ranking 2nd in Free Throws Per Field Goal Attempt and 3rd in Total Free Throw Attempts.

Durant was a major component of those foul shooting numbers. Last season, KD made 751 free throws. History lesson: That’s the sixth-highest total in NBA history and the most since Michael Jordan hit 833 in 1986-87. The only other players to convert more freebies than Durant were Oscar Robertson (800 in 1963-64), Adrian Dantley (813 in 1983-84), Wilt Chamberlain (835 in 1961-62) and Jerry West (840 in 1965-66).

That’s some pretty rare company.

Assuming things remain relatively constant, the Bulls must contain Kevin Durant as best they can (good luck, Luol), while keeping KD and his teammates off the free throw line. It’s also imperative that they take care of the ball and crash the defensive glass. Outside of Durant, the Thunder rely on points off turnovers andsecond-chance points to generate offense.

The Bulls can’t afford to give up garbage points. They need to make the Thunder earn everything. After all, the Thunder ranked only 20th in Effective Field Goal Percentage last season.

Note: All stats came from ESPN Stats and Information and Basketball-Reference.com.

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However, let’s not get too excited. Not quite yet, anyway. After all, Joakim Noah (plantar fasciitis), Taj Gibson (ditto) and Brad Miller (sore knee) sat out of practice yesterday. And the Bulls have some work to do before they can get any rest.

From tomorrow through February 10 — Chicago’s last night on the job before the All-Star break — the Bulls have six games. They play three bad teams, one mediocre team, and two of the top three teams in their conference. A strong push could put the Bulls in a great position for the second half of the season.

Versus the Los Angeles Clippers:
The Clips (20-27) are coming off back-to-back-to-back blowout losses against the league’s two worst teams (the New Jersey Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves) and its best (the Cleveland Cavaliers). As usual, it’s a bad time to be a member of The Other L.A. Team.

But the Bulls need to beware. Wounded animals are always dangerous. Especially when they have big, sharp, pointy teeth…which the Clippers don’t now that I think about it. They rank 24th in Offensive Rating (103.8) and 18th in Defensive Rating (107.7). If the Bulls are going to make the playoffs and maybe earn the fifth or sixth seed, they pretty much have to win at home against bad teams.

At Philadelphia:
Considering the amount of talent they have on the roster, the 76ers (16-31) are one of the league’s most disappointing teams. But, again, they have a lot of talent on the roster, including former Bull Elton Brand. Chicago will need to take care of the ball, because Philly ranks 6th in Opponents’ Turnover Percentage (.143).

At Atlanta:
The Hawks (30-16) are the third-best team in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls (23-22) are a half-game out of sixth. See where I’m going with this? There’s a very distinct possibility these teams could meet in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Chicago would be well-served by a very strong effort, especially since they lost 118-83 the last time they faced Atlanta’s Air Force on the road. The Bulls will need a particularly strong defensive showing, considering the Hawks rank 4th in Offensive Rating (111.4).

Versus the Miami Heat:
The Heat (24-23) have been on-again, off-again all season. They’re only 5-5 in their last ten games, and four of those wins were against bad teams (the Wizards, Pacers, Kings and Pistons). Plus, Mario Chalmers (partially torn ligament in left thumb), Michael Beasley (hyperextended right knee) and Dwyane Wade (back spasms) are all hurt.

Meanwhile, the Bulls — thanks to the emergence of newly minted All-Star Derrick Rose — are a team on the rise. Which mean, of course, there may not be a better time to audition the team for Chicago native and free-agent-to-be Dwyane Wade. Memo to D-Wade: You really can come home again.

At Indiana:
The Pacers (16-32) are bad. They’re one of only three teams (along with the Nets and Timberwolves) with a worse offensive rating than the Bulls (101.1 versus 101.6). And while Chicago currently ranks 9th in Defensive Rating (104.2), Indy is 16th (106.9). Let’s hope that defensive edge is enough. It was when the Bulls beat the Pacers 104-95 in Chicago back on December 29.

Versus the Orlando Magic:
The Bulls faced the Magic at home on January 2…and they won 101-93. Of course, Orlando is currently 2nd in the East while the Bulls are ranked 7th. In other words, this is another potential playoff preview. And although I know it’s a little early to be talking about the playoffs, the fact that “Bulls” and “playoffs” can appear in the same sentence feels kind of good.

Anyway, the Magic currently rank 1st in Defensive Rebounding Percentage (,776), fourth in Effective Field Goal Percentage (.522), 5th in Defensive Rating (103.0) and 5th in Opponents Effective Field Goal Percentage (.477). In other words, this is going to be a tough one.

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Fact: After hitting a total of 20 three-pointers during his first four seasons in the NBA, Phoenix Suns backup center Channing Frye has nailed 98 threes this season. That’s the second second-most in the league behind Danilo Gallinari of the New York Knicks (109). Meanwhile, the Bulls have connected on 150 three-pointers as a team.

Fact: Among all players who have accumulated at least 200 offensive plays this season, Jared Dudley ranks as the 11th-best individual offensive player in the NBA (1.08 points per play). Yes, Jared Dudley. Just call it “The Steve Nash Effect.”

Fact: Amar’e Stoudemire is averaging 21.0 PPG, and 11.8 of those points are scored in the paint. That’s the fifth-best in-the-paint average in the league, behind LeBron James (12.1), Andrew Bogut (12.2), Monta Ellis (12.4) and Zach Randolph (12.5). Not surprisingly, Stoudemire appears to be one of the players on Chicago’s offseason wish list.

Fact: Joakim Noah’s jump shot was created by evil forces from an alternate universe. Okay, I can’t actually prove that, but it kind of makes sense, doesn’t it?

Fact: Steve Nash has 26 double-doubles this season. That’s the fifth-most in the league, behind Zach Randolph (27), Carlos Boozer (28), Dwight Howard (30) and Chris Bosh (31). Not surprisingly, Bosh and Boozer both appear to be on the Bulls’ offseason wish list. For what it’s worth, Noah leads the Bulls with 21 double-doubles.

I present these facts both because they’re interesting and they illustrate the primary difference between the Bulls and Suns. One team is all defense and little offense, the other is all offense and little defense. In fact, Phoenix gives up 1.10 points per possession, which is the second-worst mark in the league, barely better than the 1.11 surrendered by the Toronto Raptors. Of course, the Bulls score only 1.00 point per possession, which is the league’s third-worst PPP, ahead of only the Minnesota Timberwolves (0.99) and New Jersey Nets (0.96).

It’s a classic case of a Resistable Force meeting a Movable Object. Kind of like Mega Shark versus Giant Octopus. Or maybe not.

I’d say the outcome of this game was a toss up except that the Bulls are playing in Phoenix on the third game of a seven-game Western Conference road trip. Note that each of Chicago’s last four losses have come on the road, where they are 4-15 this season. The Suns, on the other hand, are at 16-4 at home and 15-3 overall against sub-.500 teams.

If the Bulls are going to have any shot at winning this game, they can’t pull a repeat of what happened against the Warriors. Simply put, they cannot try to outscore the Suns. Phoenix will give up jump shots. If the Bulls are lured into chucking up jumper after jumper, this is a blowout waiting to happen. Chicago needs to, if at all possible, slow the pace, attack the basket, and even try to have Joakim Noah and Luol Deng pound the ball inside. Did I mention they need to stop the Suns in transition, run out at their three-point shooters and try to protect the rim from their relentless drives?

Should be easy…

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When the worse-than-expected Bulls finish wrap up the trip in Milwaukee against the better-than-expected Bucks, it probably will be without Kirk Hinrich and his sprained left thumb. Said Captain Kirk: “It would have to improve considerably. It’s still really sore. I have trouble gripping. It doesn’t feel strong. But I’m pretty confident it’s not going to be long.”

Well, that’s a relief.

As you may have heard, an MRI of Hinrich’s cranky digit confirmed the left thumb ligament wasn’t torn. According to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: “Hinrich said he’s visiting a specialist on Monday merely for ‘closure’ and to get ‘more of a timetable’ for how long he’ll be sidelined.”

So…is there any chance at all he’ll play?

Added Hinrich: “[Sunday] it was a little bit better, but it’s still very sore. I wear this splint just to keep it from moving because pretty much any movement, it’s very sore. I have trouble gripping anything, like tying my shoe, opening bottles or anything like that. If it feels better [tonight] and I feel like I can give it a go, I’m gonna try and play.”

Sounds like a big “maybe” to me. But Vinny Del Negro downgraded that somewhat optimistic appraisal to what sounds like a bigger “no.”

Said Del Negro: ”He hasn’t practiced. We need him to get back, but we want to be smart about it.”

Fair enough. No sense in risking Kirk’s health in November. It is, after all, a long season.

With Hinrich out, that means more minutes for Derrick Rose…not to mention a starring role as the primary defender for Brandon Jennings. You may remember Jennings as the rookie who dropped a game-high 25 points on the Bulls a month ago and a bigtime 55 points on the (notably defenseless) Golden State Warriors back on November 14.

The good news for Rose is that Jennings has been cooling off a bit lately. The kid went 7-for-22 from the field in a 100-98 loss to the Magic on Saturday, and he’s averaged only 14.0 points and 29.0 percent shooting in Milwaukee’s last four games. Not coincidentally, the Bucks lost all four of those games.

That doesn’t mean the Bulls should relax, though. The end of a long road trip usually results in a major letdown game for the visiting team, which could result in a comeback game for Jennings. But Rose apparently has an anti-Jennings plan: “You have to make sure you always stay in front of him, contest all his jump shots; it’s like that with any other good guard. He can score and so can every guard in the league. You just have to make it difficult for him.”

Rose knows what he’s talking about. After all, opposing defenses have been making it difficult for him all season.

Interestingly enough, Rose has been the opposite of Jennings on this circus trip. When Brandon’s scoring tailed off, the Bucks started losing. Meanwhile, Chicago’s depressing four-game slide — all four of which have been double-digit smackdowns — has coincided with the return of Derrick’s offense. Rose has averaged a shade over 20 PPG on 50.7 percent shooting during the losing streak. Before that, he had been averaging 13.4 points on 43.8 percent shooting.

It remains to be seen whether the Bulls have what it takes to salvage the final game of this brutal trip, but Vinny seemed awful upbeat about the team’s chances: “We’ve had a couple of days to practice. We just have to bounce back and play well, get a good game under our belts and find a way to win on the road. It usually comes down to the fourth quarter. If you’re able to execute and make plays, you can win, and we haven’t done that the last few games.”

Four-quarter execution can be difficult for tired teams…which the Bulls probably will be. After all, they weren’t terribly deep to begin with. Now they’re minus one starter (Tyrus Thomas) and their primary backcourt reserve/best perimeter defender. Will their seven-man rotation be enough to pull out a win in Milwaukee? We’ll see.

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The game: Chicago Bulls (6-6 overall, 2-5 on the road) at Portland Trail Blazers (10-5 overall, 5-2 at home).

The history: Last season, the Blazers won the season series 2-0, beating the Bulls 116-74 during last year’s circus trip as Andres Nocioni (13 points), Drew Gooden (11 points) and Derrick Rose (11) points were the only Chicago players to reach double figures. The Blazers also won 109-95 in Chicago thanks to a 33-point explosion from reserve Travis Outlaw.

The stats: The Bulls rank a solid 9th in Defensive Rating (102.0 Points Allowed Per 100 Possessions) but dismal 27th in Offensive Rating (97.7 Points Per 100 Possessions). And Chicago coach Vinny Del Negro just blasted his team for not trying hard enough on offense. How often do you hear coaches make that complaint? Meanwhile, the Blazers are a strong third in DR (99.3) and slightly above average 13th in OR (107.3). More telling, Portland ranks first in both Field Goal Percentage Defense (.412) and Effective Field Goal Percentage Defense (.443).

I try to be optimistic, but asking Chicago’s terrible offense to score enough points to win against one of the league’s best defenses is kind of like asking an orangutan to build a pair of rocket boots and fly to the moon.

The big question: Assuming the Bulls can hold their own on defense, what are they going to do on offense? So far, only Joakim Noah and Luol Deng have played with the kind of consistency the team needs…although Rose has picked up his scoring the last two games (even if they were blowout losses). Who else is going to step up? John Salmons, who happens to be the worst shooter on the Bulls roster (34.5 percent)? Kirk Hinrich, who’s the second-worst shooter (36 percent)? Taj Gibson, the rookie who’s starting only because Tyrus Thomas is injured? Brad Miller (43.4 FG%) or Jannero Pargo (40.4 FG%)?

Vinny wants better ball movement and more transition opportunities. He thinks the Bulls have been standing around too often on offense, and maybe he’s right. But the ball movement is suffering because opposing defenses can sag off the team’s shooters and clog the passing lanes. Not to mention the driving lanes, which as I’ve been repeatedly pointing out, has been preventing the players from driving to the hoop and/or getting clean shots at the rim.

So yeah, more ball movement would be good, but guys have to start knocking down shots. More importantly, Rose needs to start creating easy shots for his teammates. Among NBA point guards, he’s currently 17th in Assists Per Game (5.3) and tied for 34th in Assists Per Turnover (1.78). That latter stat puts him behind guys like Sacramento’s Beno Udrih (2.14), Indiana’s Earl Watson (2.13), and Minnesota’s Ramon Sessions (2.00). And it’s not like those guys are dishing off to lights-out shooters.

In short, Derrick has to create, and guys have to finish. Sounds easy. So why is it so damn hard?

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The Basics: Chicago (36-39) at Indiana (31-43). The Bulls are only 12-27 at home while the Pacers are 21-14 at home…which includes wins over the Cavaliers, Celtics, Lakers and Magic. In other words: Uh oh.

Advanced stuff: Chicago ranks 18th in Offensive Efficiency (104.7 points per 100 possessions) while the Pacers rank 20th (104.4). The Bulls are also 18th in Defensive Efficiency (105.7 points given up per 100 possessions) and the Pacers are 19th (106.2). So it’s basically a classic case of “The Resistible Force” meeting “The Movable Object.”

The season series: Chicago leads 2-1, and I know this is going to be a shocker, but the Bulls have two wins at home and one loss in Indiana. They won 104-91 on November 14 (thanks to Derrick Rose’s 23 points and 8 assists) and 112-106 last Saturday (behind Ben Gordon’s game-high 25 points), but they lost 98-91in their lone trip to Conseco Field House due to Troy Murphy’s explosion (14 boards and a season-high 27 points) and T.J. Ford’s clutch shooting (9 points in the final four minutes).

The stakes: The Bulls are trying to hold onto the eighth and final playoff spot in the East — two games up on the Charlotte Bobcats — while entertaining slight hopes of moving up to seventh or maybe even sixth place…which is basically a “pick your poison” proposition, since the only difference that the seeding makes is deciding whether Chicago will be eliminated by the Cavs, Celtics or Magic. Barring some timely natural disaster that swallows all three cities. At that point, the field would be wide open.

Meanwhile, Indy’s playoff odds currently stand at 1.5 percent, so, for them, this is all about PACER PRIDE, BABY! In related news, a Google search for “Indiana Pacer Pride” nets two results.

Ominous stats, Part I: The Bulls have lost 18 of their last 21 games in Indianapolis.

Ominous stats, Part II: Indiana has held the Bulls to 95.7 PPG in their last six visits.

Ominous stats, Part III: Derrick Rose scored a season-low 3 points on 1-of-9 shooting the one and only time he played on the Pacers’ home court.

Players to watch: Ben Gordon is averaging 24.0 PPG on 50.9 percent shooting against the Pacers this season. However, he’s only 3-for-12 from downtown against them. Derrick Rose is hitting only 38 percent of his shots against Indiana, but he’s averaging 8.0 assists. Rose has only averaged more dimes against two other teams (Milwaukee and Sacramento).

Players to fear: Danny Granger is only shooting 35 percent against the Bulls this season, but he did score a game-high 32 points in Chicago last Saturday. Pacers rookie Brandon Rush has been on a mini-tear lately. He scored a career-high 29 versus the Bulls on Saturday and then matched it against the Wizards on Sunday…and he shot nearly 60 percent (26-for-44) in those two games. In fact, in the four games since he became a starter, Rush is averaging 21.0 PPG. Quite a rise above the 7.2 PPG he’s averaging for the season.

Injuries: LuolDeng is still out with that anterior right tibial stress fracture, which is code for “Done For The Season.” John Salmons’ groin is still smarting — which is why Vinny Del Negro held him out of the fourth quarter and overtime of Sunday’s loss to the Raptors — and he’s listed as “questionable.” Lindsey Hunter is suffering flu-like symptoms.

On the other side, Indiana is without Troy Murphy (sprained left knee ligament), Marquis Daniels (sprained right wrist) and of course Mike Dunleavy Jr. (right knee soreness).

Outlook: Grim. The Pacers are tough at home and the Bulls are bad on the road. Vinny has been using a seven-man rotation, and one of the best of those seven men — Salmons — will either be hampered by injury or won’t play at all. Chicago would have to be focused and determined on both ends of the court for the entire game (for once) to pull off a rare road win.

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The basics: Chicago (32-38) at Washington (16-55). The Bulls are 11-26 on the road (ugh), while the Wizards are 11-24 at home (double ugh).

Advanced stuff: Chicago is currently ranked 20th in Offensive Efficiency (104.1 points per 100 possessions) and 18th in Defensive Efficiency (105.5 points give up per 100 possessions). Washington is ranked 26th (101.7) and dead last (111.3), respectively. So the Bulls certainly aren’t great, but — by the numbers — they’re a lot better than the Wizards.

The season series: Chicago leads 2-1 due to a couple home wins, 117-110 on December 6 (behind Luol Deng’s 26 points) and 98-86 on January 9 (thanks to 22 points from Ben Gordon and 9 assists from Derrick Rose). But they were beaten — actually, make that humiliated — by the Wizards (113-90) on February 27…in front of President Barack Obama, no less. (And the Prez made the trip to the Verizon Center specifically to see his hometown team. Fail.) Let’s hope we don’t see a repeat of that performance.

Trends: The Bulls have won nine of 14 and 10 of their last 16 matchups with the Wizards. BUT…they’ve lost 11 of their last 14 games in Washington.

The stakes: For Washington? Record-wise, they’re the worst team in the Eastern Conference and the second-worst (to Sacramento) in the league. They’re playing for nothing but pride, at this point. Assuming that a 16-win team has any of that left. Still, this game is the first of a three-game home stand for the Wizards, who are coming off a winless four-game Western Conference road trip in which they lost all four games by an average of 18.25 points. That could make them a little feisty.

Meanwhile, Chicago is currently eighth in the East, and they’re trying to stay there. The Bulls are a scant one game ahead of the Bobcats, 1.5 games up on the Bucks, two games in front of the Nets, and 3.5 games ahead of the Pacers and Knicks. If any of those three teams are going to challenge for that final playoff spot, my hypothetical money’s on Charlotte.

Injuries: To be blunt, the Wizards are like a M.A.S.H. unit. Washington is, of course, still without Gilbert Arenas (left knee), Brendan Haywood (out indefinitely due to right wrist surgery), Etan Thomas (torn left knee ligament), DeShawn Stevenson (lower back pain), Caron Butler (right hamstring tightness) and Juan Dixon (strained right Achilles’ tendon). Note that Bulter is listed only as “questionable” despite having missed the last five games. He might have wanted to make his dramatic return at home, though.

For Chicago, Luol Deng is still out with that stress fracture, and, at this point, I’m beginning to think he’s out for the season. I mean, this is the 14th day of his two-week rest period and Deng has said he’s still dealing with “some discomfort.” If that’s the case, there’s no way he’s going to play anytime soon. But the $71-million question is: Do the Bulls even need him at this point?

As Brian Hanley of the Chicago Sun-Times put it: “Salmons is averaging 20.1 points since the Bulls acquired him from Sacramento on Feb. 19, and he has averaged 28 points on 63.1 percent shooting in the last four games. Salmons has an inside-outside offensive game that has been lacking withDeng, and his defense also is above what Deng has shown. Deng — who also missed eight games with an ankle sprain and three with a hamstring strain — is averaging 14.1 points on 44.8 percent shooting, his worst numbers in both categories since his rookie season. The Bulls are 5-5 without Deng and have taken a one-game lead in the race for the final Eastern Conference playoff berth. The new running Bulls are averaging 105 points in Deng’s absence — a pace that would rate among the NBA’s top offenses if extended over a full season. Quite simply, without Deng, the Bulls are playing their best basketball in two seasons.”

Talk about things that make you go “hmmm…”

They’re hot, hot, hot: John Salmons is averaging 28 points and on 63.1 percent shooting in the last four games. Against, the Lakers, Tyrus Thomas grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds to go along with his 15 points and three blocked shots. After going 10-for-10 in the second half of Wednesday night’s game against the Thunder, Derrick Rose went 10-for-19 against the Lakers.

Player to fear:AntawnJamison — who leads the league in total minutes played this season — has been on fire this month, averaging 24.7 PPG and 8.3 RPG while shooting 42 percent from beyond the arc. And with all the injuries Washington has suffered, you just know Antawn is going to get his shots.

Final thoughts: On paper, the Bulls are the better team. Unfortunately, they don’t get to play their games on paper. They’re Dr Jekyll at home and Mr Hyde on the road. All things being equal, there’s absolutely no reason they shouldn’t be able to beat the Wicked Worst of the East at home, on the road, and everywhere in between. And if they’re serious about making it to the playoffs, they need to do it.

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The Basics: Boston (50-17) at Chicago (30-37). The Celtics are 23-11 on the road, while the Bulls are 20-11 at home.

Advanced stuff: Boston is ranked 5th in Offensive Rating (scoring 110.6 points per 100 possessions) and 1st in Defensive Rating: (giving up 101.5 points per 100 possessions). Chicago is rankled 20th (106.9) and 17th (108.2), respectively. So, in addition to teaching us that creating a monster out of spare body parts and then shoving a burning torch in its face is probably a bad idea, science has shown pretty conclusively that the Celtics are a better team than the Bulls. Yay, science.

Trends: The Celtics have lost three of four and set their season low for points (77) when they lost to the Bucks in Milwaukee on Sunday. And that whole “scoring” thing has been a problem for them lately: The C’s have been held under 80 in two of their last four games.

Meanwhile, the Bulls have dropped seven in a row on the road while winning five straight at home…their longest home streak since 2006-07. That run includes victories over the Nuggets, Magic, Rockets and Hornets, and three of those wins were blowouts.

The season series: The Celtics lead it 2-0 after winning twice in Boston, 96-80win in Boston on October 31 (as Kevin Garnett became the youngest player to log 1,000 career games) and 126-108 on December 19 (thanks to a career-high 25 points from Kendrick Perkins).

Recent history: The Bulls have lost six straight against the Celtics since Kevin McHale gave them Danny Ainge acquired Kevin Garnett from Minnesota before last season. To that point, Chicago had won the previous eight matchups.

The Stakes: Boston is three-and-a-half games behind Cleveland for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. More importantly, though, is the fact that they’re only a half game ahead of Orlando, which means they need this game just to hold their ground. The Celtics have gone 6-5 without Kevin Garnett– who’s still out with a sprained right knee — and they seem to be reeling. But you can never underestimate the heart of a champion, right? And their defense — with or without KG — always makes them dangerous.

The Bulls, meanwhile, will be facing a must-win situation pretty much every night for the rest of the season. They’re basically tied with the Bucks for the East’s final playoff spot…and the Bobcats, Knicks, Nets and Pacers are all snapping at their heels.

Injuries: For the Celtics: Glen Davis (ankle), Brian Scalabrine (concussion), Kevin Garnett (knee), and Tony Allen (thumb) are out, while Eddie House (ankle) is probable. For Chicago: Luol Deng (stress fracture) and Jerome James (Achilles) are out, while Kirk Hinrich (munchies) is probable.

Falling stars: This should be a matchup of two of the league’s elite young point guards. Assuming they pull their games out of the trash. RajonRondo is 4-for-17 from the floor with 9 turnovers in his past two games and Derrick Rose is 14-for-40 in his past three. They aren’t shooting with their eyes closed…are they?

Player(s) to fear: Kendrick Perkins improved on the career-high he set against the Bulls earlier this season by scoring 26 points (9-for-16) against the Bucks on Sunday. But now we have Brad Miller to throw against hi…never mind. Oh, and Ray Allen had averaged 27.0 points over three games before his meltdown in Milwaukee (8 points on 2-for-11 shooting). It’s hard to imagine Ben Gordon checking him.

TrueHoop Network: Zach Lowe of CelticsHub said: “About the Bulls: They are a team whose offense lives in the worst place to live: the land of two-point jump shots. They shoot very few three-pointers (24th-most in the league, actually) and they are in the middle of the pack in terms of getting shots near the rim. For all of the changes this season–Derrick Rose, more minutes for Ty Thomas and Joakim Noah–this is a team that still loses most of the time if they don’t make jump shots. That bodes well for Boston, which has handled the Bulls easily since the start of last season. Both games this year have been laughers, with the C’s holding Chicago to 29.8 percent shooting in a 96-80 win on Halloween and resting the starters during a 126-108 laugher in December. KG had one rebound in that game, and the biggest story was Rajon Rondo challenging Usain Bolt (who visited the C’s locker room) to a race. Some hilarious knee-slapping ensued. It’s tough to read anything into those games. Rondo has contained Rose, and the C’s have limited Ben Gordon to fewer than 12 points in each game. But the games were so uncompetitive that those numbers mean very little.”

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The basics: Chicago (27-33) at Charlotte (25-35). The Bulls are 10-22 on the road, while the Bobcats are 16-15 at home.

Advanced stuff: Chicago’s Offensive Rating is 106.9 (19th of 30) and their Defensive Rating is 108.5 (17th of 30). Charlotte’s O-Rating is only so-so at 103.8 (27th of 30), but their D-Rating is 105.9 (8th of 30).

The season series: Currently 1-0, advantage Charlotte. On December 16, the host Bobcats snapped a seven-game losing streak by beating the Bulls 110-101 in overtime behind D.J. Augustin’s career-high 29 points. It was a battle of rookie point guards, with Augustin — the ninth overall pick — crushing Derrick Rose (6 points, 3-for-16). In fact, Augustin forced overtime by hitting three free throws with 19 seconds left after Rose “fouled” him on a three-point attempt. “I must have blinked too hard or something,” Rose said. Replied Augustin: “That’s what the ref called.” After this game, the series concludes on April 11 in Chicago.

The stakes: The Bulls currently are ninth in the East, a game behind the Milwaukee Bucks and a half-game ahead of the New Jersey Nets for that all-important final playoff spot. But stop the presses, what’s that? The ‘Cats are sneaking up on all three teams, now only two games behind the Bulls and three games behind the Bucks. And if they win tonight, that would give them the tiebreaker against the Bulls should the two teams finish with the same record.

The analysis:The Bulls are thinking playoffs…but suddenly so are the Bobcats, and their three-game winning streak — in which all three victories came on the road — has both lifted them back into the running and given them the confidence to make a postseason push. Forget that those three wins came against the Pacific Division celler-dwelling Kings (13-48), Warriors (20-39) and Clippers (15-46). Of course, I shouldn’t scoff at road wins over sub-.500 teams, considering that the Bulls lost at Indiana (26-36), New Jersey (26-33) and Washington (14-46) last week.

And that’s the problem. They’ve beaten the Nuggets (39-21), Magic (43-16) and Rockets (38-22) in their last three home games, but, well, you saw what they’ve done in their last three trips outside of the Windy City. They just don’t play with the same level of focus and intensity on the road, either offensively or defensively. There was little sense of urgency against the Nets and Wizards. Of course, the sense of urgency was missing against the Rockets, too, until the final five-and-a-half minutes. That has to change.

To win this one, D-Rose needs to impose his will early and often. Joakim Noah and/or Brad Miller must limit Emeka Okafor’s scoring opportunities while also keeping the big man off the boards (Okafor is averaging almost 4 offensive rebounds per game). Ben Gordon will need to find a way to score against Raja Bell’s persistent defense. And somebody (John Salmons?) has to D-up on Gerald Wallace. I don’t care if Wallace is shooting only 41 percent in the eight games since he returned from a partially collapsed lung. That guy is a point-scoring bomb that’s just waiting to go off.

Injury update:Luol Deng (possible stress fracture in his right tibia) and Tim Thomas (hyperextended left knee) are still listed as day-to-day. Since an MRI revealed that Deng’s tibia wasn’t fractured, he could play…but whatever’s wrong in there, he’s still hurt, and it’s been affecting his play. The acquisition of Salmons gives us added depth at SF, so I don’t see any reason to risk Deng at this point. Best to let him recover. We’ll need him if we make it to the playoffs.

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