Other than Pierce, you've got middling all over the place. Of course, the Celtics did some substituting, continued on a devastating 29-6 run and went into the half with a 52-39 lead.

And that, ultimately, tells you all you need to know about the '09 Bulls .

They may be better than average.

But not by much.

When it seems they have a chance, they can't make it work.

Up and down, back and forth. When you felt certain they'd win their regular-season finale against the bad Toronto Raptors, they lost. The Bulls finished the season .500. They finished the playoffs 3-4.

''We had a chance to win the game,'' said Bulls forward John Salmons. And they did.

But closing is hard to do.

Of course, the Celtics didn't want to be dragged through the thrilling, exasperating and exhausting seven overtimes in this series to get to this point -- a 109-99 win in Game 7 for the right to move on and play the well-rested Orlando Magic.

But that's what pests do to you.

And that's why the better team has home-court advantage in the postseason. No visiting team -- the Bulls were the No. 7 seed to the Celtics No. 2 -- can afford to start the third quarter in a 12-point hole.

''My players played hard,'' said Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro. ''They fought. And they care.''

This is all true. But there are many weaknesses on the Bulls , and it's possible growth and maturity will help them round the corner into actual contention.

ROSE LEARNS ON THE JOB

When asked what he had learned in his first playoff series, Bulls rookie guard Derrick Rose (18 points, three assists, three turnovers) said, among other things, ''Every possession of the game means so much. Too many turnovers.'' So true.

In fact, the Bulls only had 14 turnovers in the game (bad but not horrible), but eight in that miserable and game-changing second quarter.

Bulls guard Ben Gordon gave about all he could in this series, finishing with a game-high 33 points, which included 15 of 15 on free throws.

But Gordon is a limited player --think a small, high-performance motorcycle rather than a luxury sedan -- and the Bulls need so much more than his firepower to beat the very good teams.

For instance, they need an actual scoring, game-changing power forward. Tyrus Thomas (four points and some typical lackluster enthusiasm) is not that person.

The Celtics are the defending NBA champs, but star Kevin Garnett has not played for weeks, and rugged sub Leon Powe went out early in the series with a severe knee injury.

So the Celtics as now composed -- until Garnett comes back -- are not a great team at all.

There are so many ''World Champion'' banners in the rafters at the TD Banknorth Garden that they look like draperies. And there are an astounding 22 retired jersey numbers wafting up there.

If the Celtics were to somehow win a second consecutive crown this season, they might reasonably someday add Paul Pierce's, Ray Allen's and Garnett's numbers to the cloth-works.

This is a proud franchise, but some day players may have to wear decimals for identification.

But enough of the Celtics.

IMPROVEMENT NEEDED

If the Bulls are to improve, these things must happen.

- Joakim Noah, an active and aggressive rebounder, has got to learn how to shoot something that resembles a real shot so he is a scoring threat and not just an offensive pylon.

- Young Rose has to learn how to be a steadying yet super-confident floor leader -- something that is within his reach.

- Thomas needs to figure out the game of Basketball and build up his stature.

- Salmons -- well, isn't he already giving you more than you expected? Did anybody think he'd be the go-to forward on this team when he came in the trade from Sacramento late in the season?

- Old Brad Miller needs to go to Oz and ask for a jumping spring -- just a tiny one -- for each shoe.

- The Bulls need to grab a dynamic big scorer, somebody like Chris Bosh. How they get a guy like him, I don't know. But they must. Nobody wins it all with a guard-scoring team.

And rookie coach Del Negro needs to realize he has now been to the playoffs and entertained a lot of people. Nice. Fine.

But beating the good teams and the best is all that matters.

THE RECAP

Bulls 28 11 33 27-- 99

Boston 23 29 26 31--109 FG FT Reb

Bulls Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Salmons 42:09 3-12 5-6 0-4 3 5 12

TyThomas 16:57 2-4 0-0 1-5 2 2 4

Noah 32:21 1-2 5-5 2-15 1 6 7

Rose 43:26 9-18 0-0 1-4 3 4 18

Gordon 46:05 7-23 15-15 1-3 4 3 33

Miller 27:44 3-8 3-4 1-7 2 6 9

Hinrich 29:01 5-10 4-6 1-2 2 2 16

Hunter 2:18 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0

Totals 240:01 30-77 32-36 7-40 17 29 99

Percentages: FG .390, FT .889. 3-Point Goals: 7-24, .292 (Gordon 4-12, Hinrich 2-5, Salmons 1-5, Miller 0-1, Rose 0-1). Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 15 (13 PTS). Blocked Shots: 7 (Miller 2, Noah 2, Ty.Thomas 2, Rose). Turnovers: 14 (Rose 3, Gordon 2, Hinrich 2, Miller 2, Noah 2, Salmons 2, Ty.Thomas). Steals: 10 (Hinrich 4, Salmons 2, Ty.Thomas 2, Miller, Noah). Technical Fouls: Miller, 2:53 fourth. FG FT Reb

BOSTON Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Pierce 43:17 6-17 7-8 1-9 4 3 20

Davis 32:01 6-16 3-7 1-2 3 3 15

Perkins 30:05 6-8 2-3 5-13 1 4 14

Rondo 37:38 2-8 3-6 1-5 11 3 7

RAllen 35:36 6-14 9-9 3-7 3 4 23

Scalabrine 25:00 3-6 0-0 0-3 0 3 8

Marbury 11:46 0-3 2-2 0-2 1 0 2

House 21:58 5-5 2-2 0-2 2 3 16

Moore 2:39 1-1 2-2 1-2 0 0 4

Totals 240:00 35-78 30-39 12-45 25 23 109

Percentages: FG .449, FT .769. 3-Point Goals: 9-17, .529 (House 4-4, Scalabrine 2-3, R.Allen 2-5, Pierce 1-4, Marbury 0-1). Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 12 (8 PTS). Blocked Shots: 7 (R.Allen 2, Pierce 2, Rondo 2, Perkins). Turnovers: 12 (Rondo 4, Pierce 3, Perkins 2, Davis, House, Scalabrine). Steals: 7 (House 3, Rondo 3, R.Allen). Technical Fouls: Defensive three second, 7:34 first; Rondo, 3:44 third; House, 8:48 fourth; Perkins, 2:53 fourth.

A--18,624 (18,624). T--2:56. Officials--Steve Javie, Monty McCutchen, Greg Willard.