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Certain NBA teams simply do not match up well against specific other teams. And in the 2005 NBA playoffs, the Wizards have met that fate in the first round. The Bulls' tough, blue collar, rugged style of defensive basketball is doing a number on Washington.

The Wizards are built to score, and they're very good at that. They have a fairly complex motion offense that uses perimeter shooting and good, crisp passing to produce easy baskets underneath. Shooters like Gilbert Arenas, Juan Dixon, Larry Hughes, and Anthony Peeler make it work. Plus, all of those players can pass, and they have Antawn Jamison, a tweener-forward that can out-quick some of the bigger power forwards in the league.

When their game is on, the Wizards are poetry in motion, with players moving, passes flying, and shots falling in rhythm. Their precision makes great highlight reels and fun tape to watch.

The Bulls, meanwhile, use post play and defense to win games for them. They dive on the floor, and play frantic, physical ball. Gilbert Arenas even called them 'dirty' before the series.

When you compare the two styles on SportsCenter, the Wizards game looks much more effective, but the tape can lie, and it does in this situation. The Wizards game is suited for pretty highlights and big numbers in the stat box for players on their team. For the Bulls, their success relates to the numbers, or lack there of, in their opponents box score.

Because the Bulls game plan is usually to take you out of yours. They showed that by chasing Gilbert Arenas around, and finally flustering him into a poor shooting night in Game One. Larry Hughes dropped 31 on them in the first three quarters, but he was shut down in the 4th by Bulls defensive adjustments.

The Bulls wore them down in the first game, as they forced 'uglyball' in the final frame, creating loose balls, and when the officials allowed them to make some contact, the Bulls ran away with it.

Matched up, it's always going to be the Bulls, because they can play both styles, while the Wizards can only play one. The Bulls can create points against a lax Wizard defense, even when the game is smooth and pretty. While Washington is at their best running a ballet of a game, the Bulls can hang in there.

Unfortunatly for the Wizards, the same cannot be said when the game becomes a tug of war, a game of 'uglyball.' The Bulls have figured out how to play when the set isn't drawn up in the huddle or barked out by the coach. They can improvise on loose balls and scrappy second chance opportunities.

Washington, on the other hand, looks lost when not in their sets. They have a lot of trouble stepping up their defense, and their lack of size gives teams multiple chances underneath the basket.

Washington is not a team built for the NBA playoffs. These current Bulls, even with their injuries, are. If the Wizards were to match up with Boston or Philadelphia, their chances would be much improved, but against the Bulls, a team that never quits on defense, Washington may not last very long.

I love feedback. E-Mail me at gurt14@comcast.net with your questions and comments.