It was a clean sweep. The closest game was the first, which the Bulls won 96- 91. The third-game was won by eight-points. But the Bulls beat the heat by 13-points in Miami to win game four and take the series! Very few analysts picked Chicago.

So what happened? Well, Ben Wallace, late of the Pistons, has proven to be a major signing for Chicago. Wallace averaged 11.5 RPG, dominating the boards. Swingman Luol Deng pulled down 8.3 RPG. More importantly, The Bulls hit their free throws and three-pointers, while Miami did not.

Sweeping the defending NBA champs—how often has that happened? It’s happened to six teams—1957 Philadelphia Warriors by the Syracuse Nationals (1957- 2 games); the Lakers by the Philadelphia 76ers (1983 in four) and by the Detroit Pistons (1989 in four); and the Detroit Pistons by the Chicago Bulls (1991 in four).

This series win was the first for the Bulls since Michael Jordan played for them! Pat Riley coached three of the six teams that have been swept. The Bulls have done the sweeping twice now.

Chicago finished in third-place in the NBA Central at 49- 33 behind Cleveland (50- 32) and first-place Detroit (53- 29). Chicago will meet the Pistons next. In an even stranger twist, the 8th Golden State Warriors are about to beat the 1st Dallas Mavericks in round one! The Warriors made the playoffs on the final day of the season. Dallas lost only 15 games all season and finished 25 games ahead of Golden State!

The NBA post-season has, in the first round, revealed

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