Empty the Bench

These young Chicago Bulls sure have confidence to burn, don’t they? Back in March, breakout forward Luol Deng predicted the Bulls would finish the season with a 17-0 run (they went 12-5). Now, with a week of down time before their second-round series against the Detroit Pistons, Argentinean forward Andres Nocioni is letting his postseason inexperience show by running his mouth to the press and giving the Pistons free bulletin board material:

Only days after Nocioni correctly predicted he and the Bulls would beat the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs, the forward was more specific about the outcome vs. the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“We are going to win. We are going to win, of course,” Nocioni said Tuesday. “I believe we can win. We are going to play seven games, and we are going to win (Game 7) in Detroit. It will be nice. Nice.”

Nothing wrong with having a little confidence in yourself and your teammates during the postseason. And after sweeping the defending champs out of the playoffs in the first round, the Bulls certainly have the right to feel good about their chances against Detroit. He’s right, Chicago has more than a sporting chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Still, don’t expect to hear any comments even remotely close to Nocioni’s come out of the Pistons’ camp this week. This squad knows that talk is cheap, and there’s no reason to give your opponent added motivation before what promises to be a heated series. Check back at Empty the Bench later this week for a full preview and our final predictions.