Chicago is back in the Eastern Conference finals f

ATLANTA -- The logic of it all was a bit lost on Derrick Rose, but not to the extent that he refused to embrace the position the Chicago Bulls Jerseys find themselves in right now.After dismantling the Atlanta Hawks with a suffocating defense in a 93-73, series-clinching victory in Game 6 on Thursday night at Philips Arena, the Bulls moved deeper into uncharted territory. Chicago is back in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since the tail end of the Michael Jordan era.But that's not what left Rose shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders. It's the notion that, despite owning the NBA's best regular-season record and top-rated defense in addition to having both the league's MVP and coach of the year, Rose's Bulls will essentially open the conference finals Sunday as the underdogs and relatively overlooked in their matchup with the Miami Heat."We're fine with that," Rose said of the blue-collar Bulls. "To us, we're not here by surprise. Our confidence is very high. We know we have something special in front of us. We just have to still put the work into it."The Bulls didn't just beat the Hawks. No, they smothered them into submission. And it's a level of tenacity they will have to carry over into the next series to improve their chances of beating the Heat.
Rose and his teammates emerged from their tougher-than-expected 4-2 series victory over the Hawks secure in Chicago's role in the mega series that comes next. It will be the ultimate head-on collision for the right to advance to the NBA Finals.NBA JerseysThere's the Heat's style versus the Bulls' substance.There's Miami's star-studded trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh versus Chicago's tenacious defense that perfectly complements Rose's take-charge ability on offense.And there's even a contrast in how these teams went about assembling their rosters to get to this point. Earlier this week, Miami's Pat Riley and Chicago's Gar Forman were named co-recipients of the NBA's executive of the year award.But whereas Riley hauled in the three biggest catches of last summer's free-agency circuit, Forman regrouped admirably after missing out on James, Wade and Bosh by putting together a solid supporting cast around Rose and hiring defensive mastermind Tom Thibodeau to coach them into a cohesive unit.When it was time to close out the Hawks on Thursday, it was Noah and Boozer who stepped to the forefront to support a 19-point, 12-assist outing from Rose. Boozer and Noah were a combined 15-of-23 from the field for 34 points, 16 rebounds and six assists.
The Heat might roll into Chicago for the first two games of the series garnering the majority of the national headlines, hype and hoopla. But the Bulls insist they will remain rooted in the three elements that have fueled them all through their breakthrough season: defense, depth and D-Rose's guidance."We haven't peaked yet," said forward Carlos Boozer, who recovered well enough from a nagging toe injury to finish Game 6 with 23 points and 10 rebounds in his best playoff effort as a member of the Bulls. "We do it by committee. We don't have one, two, three [key players]. We have everybody."The Bulls are far from cocky, yet firmly confident in their chances as they take the next step toward their goal of winning a championship for the first time since Jordan,Air Max Shoes, Scottie Pippen and coach Phil Jackson finished off their second run of three consecutive titles in 1998.After struggling and splitting the first four games of the series against the Hawks, the Bulls transformed into the version of themselves that had been a headache for the league's other elite teams this season.