Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf believes that, as long as they stay healthy, these Bulls could win “at least four championships.”

Members of the Celtics got to spend time with Barack Obama on Tuesday night before a fundraiser at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the President wanted to talk about the Bulls. Specifically, Obama thanked the Celtics for “giving” coach Tom Thibodeau to the Bulls.

Talk about buzz.

With all that serving as a backdrop, the Bulls blew out the Bobcats in Charlotte, winning for the 11th time in 13 games, moving to within 1.5 games of the Celtics for the best record in the Eastern Conference, and clinching their sixth playoff berth in the last seven seasons.

Of course, no “dream come true” moment is complete without a sobering dose of reality. In this case, the reality check was delivered in the form of a flagrant foul by Kwame Brown that put Carlos Boozer on the ground and injured the big man’s ankle in the process.

The incident occurred with 4:24 left in the game and the Bulls leading 92-75. Considering the circumstances — Chicago was in full control and Taj Gibson (14 points, 6-for-7) was playing better than Boozer (10 points, 4-for-9) anyway — you have to wonder why Carlos was still in the game at all. But then again, Thibodeau has had a habit this season of leaving his starters in the game longer than absolutely necessary.

I’m not blaming Thibs. Not exactly. But Rose was sitting at the time. Why not Booz?

Oh well. No use crying over milk that’s already been spilled. Which means we have to move on to the more important subject: The extent of Boozer’s injury.

It sure looked bad, didn’t it? Boozer walked to the bench under his own power. But he declined to shoot his free throws — Kyle Korver knocked them down in his place — and limped gingerly to the locker room before play could resume. His night was over. And his season could be on hold for…nobody knows how long.

Said Thibodeau: ‘‘The X-rays were negative. It’s too early. We’ll just have to wait and see tomorrow what type of swelling he has. It’s his left ankle. He came down pretty hard. I’m hoping it’s just his ankle.’’

Well, that tells us a fat lot of nothing.

Said Joakim Noah (12 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks): “[Boozer] said it hurts but it’s not too bad or broken or anything. Carlos brings a lot because of what he can do offensively. But we’re confident and capable. Taj is a helluva player. He’s someone you can rely on to step up and play physical and tough.”

Added Rose (20 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals): “It’s going to hurt us [if Boozer is out], but we still have to go out there and play the game. It’s going to take a lot more energy, a lot more focus going into games. And people are going to have to step up. If it happens, Taj did a great job when Carlos was out before. People are going to have to play big minutes. I think our team should be fine, but I hope he plays the next game.”

I hope so, too. But I also hope Taj is ready. Just in case.

Said Gibson: “I’ve been in this role many times the last two years. I have to get my mind right if it does happen, and just play my game, play with a lot of energy, and just try to hold it down while he’s down.”

As for the game, this was one of those “take care of business” wins. The Bobcats were without leading scorer Stephen Jackson (hamstring), sixth man Tyrus Thomas (knee surgery), backup center Joel Przybilla (knee) and reserve guard Matt Carroll (ankle). Charlotte shot lights out in the first half, but Chicago held them to 35 points in the second half to win going away.

Ultimately, the Bulls wore the Bobcats down with their defense and depth. Speaking of which, the reserves poured in 51 points, led by Kyle Korver (20 points on 7-for-10 shooting), Gibson (who, again, scored 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting) and Ronnie Brewer (10 points on 4-for-8 shooting).

Said Thibodeau: “We needed them. The first half, offensively we were good, defensively we were poor, very poor. The second half, the defense started coming around, and the bench was great. Carlos got in the early foul trouble, so that hurt us, but Taj came in, did a great job. Ronnie was playing really well, and, of course, Kyle, so they did a great job and C.J. was running the team well.”

The bench has been great this season. It really has. And it’ll have to be even better if Boozer has to miss many games. Okay, “have to be” may be overstating things. But the Bulls are trying to hold onto the second seed in the East while setting sights on the first seed. So, assuming the expectations remain high, the reserves will have to help carry the team through this crucial late-season stretch.

Jerry Reinsdorf, quote machine:
“If you don’t see something special in Derrick Rose, then you’re blind. We have an outstanding coach, an outstanding bunch of players, the team is deep, and if we stay healthy we have an awfully good chance of winning at least four championships.”

Michael Jordan, quote machine:
“[Rose] deserves [the MVP]. He’s playing that well. He deserves it. Without a doubt. And if he doesn’t get it, now he’ll see how I felt a lot of years.”

Extras:
Recap, Box Score, Play-By-Play, Shot Chart, Photos.

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Translation: "Please sign with the Bulls! We're begging you!"

Well, the people running Send LeBron to Chicago do, anyway. They sponsored that snazzy billboard shown at the top of this post. Notice the phrase “unfinished business” and the seventh NBA championship trophy? I think we all know what they’re getting at.

Accoding to Daarel Burnette II of the Chicago Tribune: “AJ Barthold, 28, said he and a group of friends were able to raise $1,750 through his Web site, SendLeBrontochicago.com, enough to pay for the billboard’s placement for two weeks. … If the billboard doesn’t work, Barthold’s Web site — which includes links to a letter-writing campaign, ways to volunteer and a “die-hard-fans-only” corner — makes a ‘logical’ argument for James to choose the Windy City.”

The argument being “The Bulls will be really, really good if you come here…so please, please come here!” Ah, sweet logic.

But wait, there’s more. According to Jay Busbee of Yahoo! Sports: “Chicagoland Speedway president Craig Rust has offered to rename his joint ‘LeBron James Speedway’ for the upcoming race weekend July 9-10 should LeBron sign with the hometown Bulls. Rust told LeBron he’d be named the ‘king’ of the speedway, and that all proceeds from the sale of ‘LeBron James Speedway’ to a local charity.”

These crazy courting gestures come on the heels of Cleveland’s “We Are LeBron” video and Clippers fans holding a parade in LeBron’s honor. And, of course, the President of the United State has even gotten involved, stating LeBron would fit “pretty well” with the Bulls but that it would be “wonderful” if LeBron stayed in Cleveland.

Okay. That’s it. I have to say it: This is officially the craziest free agent saga I have ever seen.

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Love sure is a fickle thing.

Now? Boozer’s feeling the heat. The Miami Heat, that is. And why not? He lives in Miami during the offseason and runs an annual summer basketball camp at Gulliver Prep Academy in nearby Kendall.

Said Carlos: “My wife [CeCe] and I first came here for tax reasons and fell in love with it. Love the palm trees, the laid-back attitude, the sun, quality of life. It’s like paradise here, and I would love to be part of the Heat. They’re a very good team, and I’m real close to some of the guys. Dwyane [Wade] and I started to get close at the Athens Olympics in 2004, and I’d love to play on his team.”

Translation: I will love whichever team gets me the heck out of Utah.

Rumors in Miami have had a three-way trade sending Boozer to the Heat, Udonis Haslem and Dorrell Wright to the Utah Jazz, and then shipping Wright the Memphis Grizzlies. Does that made any more sense than the potential three-team deal between Chicago, Utah and Portland? Who knows at this point. The rumors aren’t going to stop until the Jazz have rid themselves of Boozer.

I don’t know about you, but I wish something would happen. I’ve probably been running more Google News searches for “Carlos Boozer” and “Chicago Bulls” than his mom and agent combined. Maybe the President can get this situation straightened out. After all, he’s going to be hanging out with the Bulls later this week.

According to Christi Parsons of the Chicago Tribune: “President Barack Obama is planning a trip home Thursday for a dinner with political supporters and a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee, his first Chicago political event since his election last fall. After a stop in Ohio, the president will head to Chicago for a private dinner organized by fundraiser Penny Pritzker, then plans to join members of the Chicago Bulls for a hotel event to raise money for fellow Democrats.”

One person who won’t be chilling with the President is Anthony Roberson. The Bulls have waived him. I know. I never thought the Roberson Era would end this way either.

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I want to look past the grief of the last 24 hours for a minute or two and talk about something pretty cool: How the Bulls got to hang with President Barack Obama at the White House yesterday. Obviously, this is an honor that isn’t normally accorded during the season to a team that’s only 26-32, but Obama — the “First Fan” if you will — is a Chicago guy, and he wanted to meet his team.

White House social secretary Desiree Rogers said that the idea for the chill session happened a couple of weeks ago when Obama was in Chicago playing basketball and heard the team would be playing the Wizards in Washington soon. (In fact, it appears Obama will attend the game tonight at the Verizon Center. How freaking cool is that?)

The President posed for pictures with a group composed of players, coaches, front office personnel and staff from the team — he asked to stand next to Ben Gordon because “‘Ben’s not that tall” — and was presented with the traditional team jersey with ”Obama” and number 44 on the back. He even chatted with the guys a bit before getting back to that whole “being leader of the free world” thing. (No word on whether the President and John Paxson got the chance to discuss a bailout on Kirk Hinrich’s contract or whether he instructed Vinny Del Negro to stop benching Derrick Rose in the fourth quarter. We can only hope…)

Reactions:
Said Derrick Rose: “It was a great experience. you’re nervous around a person of his stature and power, but he made us feel at ease. He was like one of the guys. He was laughing and joking with us and knew everybody on the team by name. ‘We toured the White House and took pictures with the president. [Assistant coach] Pete Myers gave me a copy of [Obama’s] book and he autographed it for me.

“I’m definitely reading the papers and online more often, and my Mom calls me a lot to talk about politics. She’s trying to make me more aware and involved, knowing that it will be good for me to really know what’s going on in the world. … He gives you hope. Just like no one thought he would become President, no one thought that I could grow up and become the first pick in the draft. I think it gives people everywhere a little extra hope.”

Added John Paxson: “Today was a very special day for the Bulls organization, and President Obama was extremely gracious to take the time to visit with us. Given the historical significance of his election, we felt very honored to be afforded this unique privilege.”

More media:
Bulls visit with Obama at the White House
President Hosts Hometown Bulls (He’s Got Next)
Bulls hang with Obama
Bulls in awe at the White House
Bulls visit Chicago’s own in the White House

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