Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010Posted: 2:31 p.m.
By Aggrey Sam
CSNChicago.com
Carlos Boozer cautioned against a letdown. "I don't think Minnesota cares" about whether the Bulls beat the Lakers on Friday night, said Joakim Noah.
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All of the pomp and circumstance -- including a celebrity-studded crowd more reminiscent of the Staples Center -- will be gone when the Bulls face the Timberwolves on Saturday evening. This won't be a statement game, there's no revenge factor and the only challenge presented will be if Chicago can summon the same focus and energy against Minnesota, one of the league's perennial cellar-dwellers, as it could against the defending champions.
On paper, it isn't much of a matchup. Even with Michael Beasley -- once seriously debated as the No. 1 pick alongside Bulls All-Star Derrick Rose in the 2007 NBA Draft -- now playing with renewed purpose, former No. 2 draft pick (ahead of the likes of Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony in the 2003 draft) and power forward Kevin Love putting up monster numbers, including a 30-point, 30-rebound game earlier in the season, the Timberwolves are clearly inferior competition.
In some respects, that makes the Bulls' job more difficult, as Wednesday's close call against Cleveland showed. But with the momentum gained from the Lakers win and the opportunity to increase their current winning streak to five games, it's unlikely that Tom Thibodeau's squad will succumb to boredom.
You see, Thibodeau consistently preaches a message of treating every game the same way. While his players admit to feeling different about certain contests (such as the Lakers game), such is the power of Thibodeau's influence that they will at least take heed to his gospel.
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"At the end of the day, a Cleveland win is just as big as a Lakers win, if you look at it," said Noah after the Lakers win. "I mean, think theres a difference, if you ask me, but at the end of the year -- Thibs was trying to explain this to me because I dont really understand that concept yet -- Thibs was trying to tell me, at the end of the year, it doesnt matter because every game is just as important.
If Noah and his teammates aren't just paying lip service, then the players' concentration won't wane, regardless of the opponent. After all, if the Bulls truly hope to ascend to the NBA's elite, no game can be taken for granted.
Aggrey Sam is CSNChicago.com's Bulls Insider. Follow him @CSNBullsInsider on Twitter for up-to-the-minute Bulls information and his take on the team, the NBA and much more.