The Bulls are back

It appears on the cusp of happening: the Chicago Bulls are on the verge of becoming a title contender once again. After amassing 47 regular-season wins and clinching homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs, Chicago is convincingly up 2-0 on the Wizards in their first-round series.
They'll probably get bounced by Miami in the second round if they get past Washington, but man, are the Bulls ever setting themselves up for the future. They're playoff good now, but if they land a Michael Redd or Ray Allen in free agency this summer, they'll be NBA Finals good. Again.
Everything the Cavaliers should have done to build around LeBron James, the Bulls have done with no superstar. Not surprisingly, the Bulls are light years ahead of the Cavs in rebuilding. Who would have thought it a year ago?
General manager John Paxson (it turns out the Paxson brother with the most playing and the most general managing talent) set to work with a plan to surround his youngsters, Eddie Curry and Tyson Chandler, with college players from top programs. He drafted Kirk Hinrich from Kansas, Luol Deng from Duke and Ben Gordon from Connecticut. All three played key roles in getting the Bulls back to respectability this season. Gordon, all 6'-3" of him, led the NBA in fourth quarter scoring this year.
The Bulls used to have another guy who was pretty good in the fourth quarter. Wore the same number as LeBron. His name escapes me at the moment ...
Paxson topped off his team by hiring a coach who was known as a pretty feisty undersized player in his day, Scott Skiles. Skiles preached relentless defense as the ticket to success. The Bulls players, free of the ego and pretensions than plagued the Cavs this year, bought into the plan hook, line and sinker.
The result is a team that is fundamentally sound, plays defense for four quarters, and believes in their coach and each other. (Dan Gilbert, are you taking notes? Seriously?)
A superstar such as LeBron can make building a team without jealousy more difficult, simply because other players will quickly realize how long a shadow the superstar casts. But a superstar who can pass and is willing to get teammates involved like LeBron should help soothe sore egos not belonging to Jeff McInnis.
But, as we in Cleveland are finding out, a superstar is not the whole equation. Sometimes, he's not even the most important part.
The Cavs and Bulls both last made the playoffs in 1998. The Bulls, with a team concept, broke their drought this year. The Cavs, despite leading the Bulls in the standings for more than half the year, did not.
Who knew? Less than a decade after the last Bulls title, we in Cleveland are once again talking about the Bulls as a template for success.