What a great time to be a Chicago sports fan. The White Sox win the World Series in 2005, the Bears go to the Super Bowl in 2006, the Cubs are finally spending money, and the Bulls just swept the defending champions and are moving on to the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time since the Jordan Era.

We expected the Bulls to win this series, but the way in which they did surprised pretty much everyone. The Bulls didn’t just beat the Miami Heat, they dominated them. They played harder, smarter, and wanted to win more. Most importantly, the Bulls proved definitively that they were the better team. Games 2 and 4 were near blowouts and there was never a point in the series where the Bulls were in serious jeopardy of losing a game.

We said in our playoff preview that the most underrated aspect of this series could be the Bulls big 3, Hinrich, Deng, and Gordon, wanting to earn some respect, and that is exactly what happened. Those three guys carried the Bulls all season and were the reason for this year’s improvement more then anything else. They finally got to show it on a national stage, sweeping the reigning champs in a series few people thought they would win.

The past two seasons Gordon, Deng, and Hinrich have all heard the criticism. All of them were considered nice players, but the Bulls needed more if they were ever going to compete. Radio hosts and columnists said they took too many jump shots, needed an inside scorer, and had to find a go-to perimeter player. The negative press reached its apex when the Bulls lost their final regular season game to the New Jersey Nets, in the process blowing the second seed in the playoffs and assuring themselves a first round matchup with the Heat.

Well all that did was make the Bulls hungrier and they showed losing to the Nets was the best thing to ever happen to them. Before that loss they were coasting, blowing through people and waiting for the playoffs to start, but the New Jersey loss woke them up.

The Bulls big 3 woke up against Miami big time, carrying them throughout the series. While most people wondered how the Bulls would defend Wade and Shaq, the question quickly turned into how would the Heat defend Gordo and Deng. Those two guys established themselves as the two best players on the team and two guys that should average over 20 points a game for the foreseeable future.

It was Deng who became everyone’s new favorite player after an inspired 33 point effort in Game 1, and his steady play continued throughout the series. Scoring 22 or more points in every game, Deng took his game to a new level when the series went to Miami, pulling down 23 rebounds in Games 3 and 4. We’ve said it before, but Deng really is one of the NBA’s most complete scorers and he just proved it in this series. While his first two years in the league were spent hoisting up treys, he added more to his offensive repertoire this season then any Bull since MJ retired. He’s true small forward: a slasher who can create his own shot, beat his man off the dribble, and finish around the rim. Don’t overlook his deadly midrange game either, something very few 22 year olds in the NBA have going for them, as he knocked down jump shot after jump shot during the Bulls four game sweep. He also humiliated anyone who said the Bulls should have dealt him to the Grizzlies for Pau Gasol; no one can now argue the Bulls would be better team had that trade gone through.

While Deng is probably the Bulls most complete player, it’s Gordon who proved once again that he is there most important. The Bulls offense seems to go as does Gordon, who continued to show that he’s a go-to scorer in the NBA, after finishing 15th in the league in scoring in the regular season. Already a deadly shooter (we’ve never seen a sweeter shot then Ben’s), Gordon took a page out of D-Wade’s book during the series and was able to drive inside and get to the foul line. We don’t want to get too carried away here, but if he can continue to do that on a consistent basis, Gordon will become close to unguardable. He’s a threat to shoot from 25 feet and out, and this new found ability to draw contact and get to the foul line makes him even more dangerous.

Hinrich was clearly overshadowed by his teammates, but he too proved his importance to the Bulls organization. Deng and Gordon’s improvement has let Kirk focus more on running the show, and he has become a true point guard. He no longer carries an immense scoring burden and it’s reflected in his shooting percentages and defensive ability. He did a great job on Wade throughout the series and hit a number of key 3 pointers in Games 2-4. Ironically, Hinrich still posted a career high in scoring this season, averaging just over 16 and a half points per game.

So the big 3, along with the cast of role players John Paxson and Scott Skiles surrounded them with this season, are now moving on to the second round of the playoffs where they will meet the Detroit Pistons, the team that has dominated the East for the past decade. Though we were still shooting on a 3 foot Little Tikes rim at the time, this has to remind people of the 1980’s when Jordan’s Bulls squared off with Isaiah’s Pistons under similar circumstances. It looks like their could be a changing of the guard atop the Eastern Conference, and Bulls can prove they’re the people to take it over during the next playoff series.