Bulls can win Game 7

There is no way to make a truly informed prediction in a series like this, so let's put it this way -- The Bulls can win Game 7 in Boston on Saturday night.

Will they? Well, they could easily lay an egg, miss important shots or break down defensively at the wrong time. But they've played three competitive games at the Garden, winning once, and are 3-1 in overtime games during this season. Playoff pressure and a hostile environment haven't bothered the Bulls yet and shouldn't in Game 7.

Here are some avenues to a strong Bulls performance, in approximate order of importance:

1. Rely on the rookie: Derrick Rose's three best games have all led to Bulls' victories and no one needs to tell him what's at stake. What's the best way for Rose to get going? Knock down a few of those quick-spinning jumpers. Nothing is better at deflating the crowd and opponent, because they all know they're in trouble if Rose is hitting from the outside.

2. Swim with Salmons: By scoring 35 points in Game 6, John Salmons suddenly looked healthy again after battling a groin strain for the past month. Something else was obvious, Salmons at 100 percent (or close to it) is a very tough cover for Paul Pierce. If Salmons can get it going again, anything the Bulls get from a hobbled Ben Gordon is almost a bonus.

3. Play fast: The short-handed Celtics are gassed and it's anyone's guess how much energy they'll have left after falling short in triple overtime on Thursday. Ray Allen, 33, played 59 minutes. Boston's bench has been useless in this series. During last year's title run, the Celtics had Glen Davis, Leon Powe, P.J. Brown, James Posey and Sam Cassell in reserve. Now Davis is a starter and everyone else is gone.

4. Stick together: The Bulls have blown double-digit leads in the fourth quarter in two straight games. When the Celtics turn up the defensive heat late in games, keep moving the ball. Resorting to desperate one-on-one behavior plays right into their hands.

5. Ignore the whistles: The technical fouls in this series are 7-1 in favor of the Bulls. Not all of those were for complaining to the refs, but the Bulls might as well deal with the fact that they'll get some bad calls and not give up extra free throws.

WAITING FOR KG
Kevin Garnett making a Willis Reed-style appearance in Game 7 was a topic of discussion Friday, but seems a long way from reality. Boston GM Danny Ainge reiterated that Garnett is out and the Celtics all-star only has to look at Grant Hill's example for direction. Remember, Hill insisted on playing through a leg injury during a meaningless first-round playoff loss in 2000 and barely played for the next three years. The Celtics are getting old, but should have at least a couple years of contention left. Garnett trying to play now would be flat-out stupid.

HINRICH'S TOUGH MISS
Here's what Kirk Hinrich had to say about his missed layup with 21 seconds left in the third overtime, which gave Boston possession trailing by 1. Replays were inconclusive, but it's possible Rajon Rondo was guilty of goaltending on the play. His hand was definitely in the cylinder after the ball hit the backboard.
“That was my first thought, 'He had to.' Because I couldn't believe it didn't go in. I was already running back,” Hinrich said. “Somebody said he might have taken it off or hit the rim. I was just shocked and hoping that didn't end the season for us.”
Hinrich was rescued by Derrick Rose blocking Rondo's jumper with about five seconds on the clock.

UNNECESSARY ANALYSIS
When Derrick Rose missed those 2 free throws with 3.2 seconds left in the third overtime, TNT's Doug Collins chose to draw a comparison to Rose's single missed free throw in the 2008 NCAA title game, even though Lindsey Hunter could be heard yelling at Rose to miss the second shot intentionally because Boston was out of time outs.

UNSUNG HERO
Before closing, credit should go to the true MVP of Game 6 – Portland's Brandon Roy. If Roy doesn't have a big fourth quarter and send the Blazers-Rockets series to a sixth game, the Bulls and Celtics would have tipped off at 8:30 p.m. Central time and probably ended as the sun began to rise on Cape Cod.