(1) Chicago Bulls (50-16)

1st round foe: (8) Philadelphia 76ers (35-31).

Biggest concern vs. 76ers: Don’t have a true superstar, but enough good players to make you have to compete to beat them.

Last 10: 7-3 (Won 3)

Strengths: Defense. The Bulls lead the NBA in fewest points allowed (88.17 per game). They have front-court depth, great team chemistry and a closer in Derrick Rose.

Weaknesses: Key injuries to their two best players – Rose and Luol Deng – make them vulnerable. Although they’ve had success without Rose, in the playoffs, he’ll need to be close to 100 percent to reach NBA Finals.

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While I was at a college basketball game last week, this fan shouts, “Go back to Foot Locker!!” to the refs.

Where in the world did that come from?

I pose the question to the world of Twitter and got a response from Michael Clark (@MgoClark1). He claims Kevin “Special K” Daley of the Harlem Globetrotters made it famous.

Hmmm.

So I did a little research and found out this was the guy who played the younger Michael Jordan in the “23 vs. 39″ commercial done by Gatorade. Crazy.

It’ s been the talk of the NBA. Who had the better dunk?

Blake Griffin’s throw down over Kendrick Perkins or LeBron James literally jumping over John Lucas for a dunk?

I’m not a fan of neither. Yeah, call me Scrooge.

These thrown-in dunks like Griffin had over a guy who can’t jump does nothing for me. As for the one James had, catching a lob one handed is nothing new in today’s game. Had Lucas not ducked, that could have turned ugly.

I’ll take Vince Carter’s dunks over Mount Mutumbo or Alonzo Mourning or Kobe Bryant’s over Yao Ming or Tracy McGrady’s dunk over Shawn Bradley over Griffin’s and James’ respective jams because they went through them.

Then I’d take Michael Jordan’s pure posterization over Patrick Ewing over any of them.

If the NBA stays in lockout mode for the entire season, I may miss the interviews more than the play and the players.

Having been in my share of NBA locker rooms and at my share of press conferences over the years, you have a good idea of what a player might say. Most use cliche lines like, “We played hard” or “We wanted to come out with great energy.”

But then there are those who throw caution to the wind and either say what pops in their head or what has been on their mind for so long that they can’t contain it anymore.

Now we’re going to get some real doozys if the lockout goes all season, but right now, check out some of the ones that have always left me either laughing, scratching my head or amazed.

Allen Iverson – “We talking about practice.”

I miss A.I.

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He can still throw it down.

Today at a fantasy camp for season ticket holders of the Charlotte Bobcats, Michael Jordan was asked if he can still dunk.

The guy is the G.O.A.T (Greatest Of All Time) of basketball, but he’s 48 years old. Father time does have a way of winning in the end.

But as you’ll see below, he can still dunk.

The question is, could Jordan help a team win a title? Could he average double figures in the NBA at age 48?

Thoughts?

The Cleveland Cavaliers will likely draft Duke freshman Kyrie Irving in Thursday’s NBA Draft. ESPN is reporting that the Cavs are committed to doing so.

I understand the reasoning.

It’s a PG league.

Point guards are needed because a lot of the better teams have quality ones. Chicago has 2010-11 NBA MVP Derrick Rose. Oklahoma City has Russell Westbrook. Memphis has Mike Conley. Boston has Rajon Rondo. New Orleans has Chris Paul.

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Dallas SG Jason Terry has a tattoo he may have to get removed if the Miami Heat win the NBA finals./AP Photo.

Check out these articles into Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. on ABC.

1. LeBron James: I have a long way to go before being compared to Michael Jordan

2. Heat’s Big Three go from being selfish to successful

3. Spoelstra is Miami’s calming influence

4. Hyde 5: LeBron, Jay-Z and Dallas’ DeShawn Stevenson

5. Mark Cuban’s quiet time goes on, to Mavs’ delight

6. Actor Adam Pally, Rudy Gay talk Dirk or LeBron

7. Jason Kidd: ‘I still have a lot left to give’

8. Terry will get NBA championship tattoo removed if Mavs don’t beat Miami

I love Slim Chin.

“Cause I’m faaaaaaaaast.”

Dude is hilarious, but I must say, there have been better tandems in which the hip actor teams up with the b-baller.

Here’s my Top 5.

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“I already know. They’re going to come back harder. We’ve got to come back harder at them.” – Erie BayHawks forward Ivan Johnson on how he expects the New Mexico Thunderbirds to respond Saturday after losing 125-100 to the BayHawks on Thursday night at Tullio Arena.

Coach Darvin Ham is not pleased with his team's play of late./Photo by Layne Murdoch

Head coach Darvin Ham sure hopes his Thunderbirds will come out  harder than they did Thursday night.

Ham is largely known for having shattered a backboard on a dunk while at Texas Tech, but he was an undersized power forward (6-7, 220) who played eight NBA seasons and was with the Detroit Pistons when they won the 2004 NBA title.

“I had a big chip on my shoulder which I still have to this day,” he said. “People tell me I’m not going to be an NBA player. OK. I was an NBA player. You’re not going to be successful. I won a championship. You’re not going to be able to do analysis work on TV. I did that. You’re not going to become a head coach. I became that. I just love the challenges. That feeds me. The naysayers feed me.”

Now he’s trying to get New Mexico to play with that same ferocity. The Thunderbirds will carry a four-game losing skid into Saturday’s 7 p.m. game at Tullio Arena. Here’s what a disappointed Ham had to say after having a 30-plus minute talk with his team in the visitor’s locker room at Tullio Arena after Thursday night’s 25-point loss.

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LeBron James and the Miami Heat head to Los Angeles for a Christmas Day showdown with the Lakers.

The NBA has five games scheduled for Christmas Day with the big one being the Miami Heat taking on the L.A. Lakers in Los Angeles.

You’ve got Miami’s Big 3 going up against the two-time NBA champions with all the celebrities sitting courtside.

By the time that game comes on, I’m might be snoozing after eating my mom’s turkey and dressing, but as long as I wake up by the fourth quarter, I’m good to go.

Anyway, the other four games aren’t too shabby either, but is each one worth missing out on a meal or gift giving? Will you fall asleep on them or fight fatigue to tune in? Here’s how I see the appeal of the five games on a scale from 1-10.

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