Is Bulls vs. Celtics best series ever?

According to the unsolicited goosebumps we've accumulated, the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls are threatening to serve up the greatest playoff series in NBA history.

Defining "greatest" can be a nightmare of interpretation, but we'll get to that later.

So, just when the preamble to an expected Los Angeles Lakers-Cleveland Cavaliers showdown was threatening to ride a couple of controversial referee decisions into relevance, the Cs and Bulls mustered up enough drama to make TNT blush.

Thursday night's triple-overtime riot in Chicago put this series in the historically-debated cross hairs with a Game 7 still to come. For the record, we shouldn't bother comparing this Eastern Conference hayride to first-round series that have come before it.

That would be an injustice. But here goes:

The Phoenix Suns rallying from a 1-3 predicament in 2006 to knock off the Lakers in seven? Yeah, that was a nice first-round skirmish with Bryant taking down the Suns on a buzzer-beater in Game 4 and Raja Bell putting the clothesline on Kobe in Game 5.

The eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors taking down the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in 2007 might deserve consideration if the Mavs had actually put up a fight.

But instead of trotting out more meager first-round comparisons, we'll resort to Finals history before matching anything to the crazy goings-on between the Celtics and Bulls.

Before digging up some challengers, let's review what has occurred in Boston and Chicago.

2009 NBA PLAYOFFS


Thursday's games
Bulls 128, Celtics 127 (3OT) (Tied 3-3)
Magic 114, Sixers 89 (Magic 4-2)
Rockets 92, Blazers 76 (Rockets 4-2)
Wednesday's games
Hawks 106, Heat 91 (Hawks 3-2)
Nuggets 107, Hornets 86 (Nuggets 4-1)
FOXSports.com analysis
Playoff results, schedule
2009 NBA Playoff Central
Top 10 moments of Bulls-Celtics series
Rosen: Game 6 was extra special
Hill: Oh no! Refs rear their heads
Rosen: Heat don't make the grade
Hill: Stars with something to prove
Behrendt: Odom key to Lakers' win
Video
Thursday's playoff highlights
Photos
Thursday's action | Wednesday
With one game left to play, the Cs and Bulls have hooked up in four games that were decided in overtime (they already had a playoff record with three overtime games). In addition to the triple-OT classic of Game 6, the Bulls needed two overtime periods to win Game 4.

Only one of the first six meetings (Game 3) was decided by more than three points. The nail-biting nature of these games is enough to keep us entertained at a level that few NBA series have managed.

OK, so the caliber of play has, at times, been less than spectacular. But playoff basketball rarely is defined by flow and finesse.

It also should be noted that the story lines aren't bad.

We'll start with the defending-champion Cs, who are working without motivational and defensive kingpin Kevin Garnett. Minus Garnett, second-seeded Boston was expected to perspire a bit before eliminating a rising Bulls squad that rode a trading-deadline maneuver into the seventh seed.

Yeah, that's not working out so well.

The point guard showdown — co-starring Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose and an emerging Boston force named Rajon Rondo — was supposed to supply most of the intrigue. It certainly hasn't disappointed. With Rose gunning in a career-high 36 points, the Bulls won Game 1 in Boston despite a stat-sheet-stuffing performance from Rondo.

Paul Pierce, the erstwhile greatest player on the planet and defending Finals MVP, missed a free throw that could have prevented the opener from reaching overtime. Celtics guard Ray "Jesus Shuttlesworth" Allen, one of the world's greatest shooters and underrated thespians, couldn't lob a seed into a lake.

But Allen bagged a shot that took down Chicago in Game 2.

The Cs routed the Bulls on the road in Game 3 before Chicago rallied to take Game 4 in double OT. During this first stop in the Windy City, the series received a little jolt of controversy when it was reported that family members of two Chicago-based referees who worked Game 4 were seen wearing Bulls gear. What nerve.

Game 4 also reintroduced the Bulls to injury when gunslinger Ben Gordon strained his hamstring.

Gordon showed up for a Game 5 that was decided in a single overtime defined by Rondo's timely slap of Brad Miller's face. On the same day Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard had his celebrated elbow of Philly's Samuel Dalembert upgraded to a suspension-worthy act, Rondo's blow was clarified as nothing more than a fine basketball play.

Rondo and Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich were close to cage-match status in a Game 6 that also provided a wasted, 51-point effort from Allen.

And we still have one game to go.

So what defines great as it pertains to an entire NBA series?

Should we look at the contentious Lakers-Celtics Finals series of 1984, a collision of rivals that included hard (well, dirty) fouls, angry finger-pointing by future Hall-of-Famers, a choke sign by Cedric Maxwell and one ugly rout?


Or how about the Cs-Lakers donnybrook in '85 that included the Memorial Day Massacre?

How about a 1969 Boston-Los Angeles party that ended on a Don Nelson bouncer that put down a Lakers crew that offered Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain?

Or we could go with Chicago's Michael Jordan nailing a jumper to silence Craig Ehlo and the Cavs during a preliminary round in 1989.

In my opinion, the most compelling series in history may have happened in 1970, when the New York Knicks dropped the Lakers in seven. Although some of the games weren't brutally close, the series featured a 60-foot bomb by West to force overtime in Game 3 and Willis Reed's dramatic arrival on the court before Game 7.

OK, so for great players, great plays and championship-related significance, the Bulls vs. Celtics in 2009 wouldn't rank at the top. But for an unexpected thrill ride with almost every game hanging by a thread, this series is unbeatable.

It has made basketball fans outside of the cities involved actually care or at least choose sides.

And the NBA would like you to know that I'm not referring to gamblers. link...