Photo by Tony Quinn

By DCist contributor Jamel Johnson

After six years of waiting, playoff basketball is back in D.C. And it’s back with a bang: the Washington Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls 102 to 93 last night in Game one of the NBA’s Eastern Conference playoffs. In the final weeks of the season, the Wizards slid down to seventh place in the conference (the top eight make the playoffs), but then rallied hard and wound up with the fifth seed. With the late push, finishing their last 10 games with a 7-3 record, the Wiz avoided strong Indiana and Miami teams in the first round. That said, the Bulls are a formidable opponent as well. Let’s take a look at the teams and the matchup for the rest of the series.

The Bulls:
Despite a season-ending injury to star point guard Derrick Rose (his second in two seasons) the Bulls remain consistently good: this is their ninth playoff appearance in 10 seasons. The main reason is defense. They’re 30th in the league in points scored per game, but first in points allowed per game. They lock opponents down with all-out team defense anchored by center Joakim Noah, who leads the team in rebounds, blocks, and assists. He’s also not afraid to speak his mind.

Chicago’s coach Tom Thibodeau is a defensive mastermind and one of the best coaches in the league. He’s coached for more than 20 years, and while he’s only been a head coach for a few years, he was named the 2011 NBA Coach of the Year.

As for the players, look for forward Taj Gibson to make his mark on the series: this year was the fifth-year veteran’s best season statistically, and he’s been delivering some nasty dunks. Starting point guard and former Wizard Kirk Hinrich is getting up there in age, but has several years of playoff experience. Bulls leader in steals shooting guard Jimmy Butler will probably be guarding Wizards point guard John Wall throughout the series.

The Matchup
Though the Raptors had the best record against the Wizards in the regular season, one could argue that the Bulls would be the toughest team to face. Chicago is a very different squad than the Wiz: they’re more focused on team rather than individual play and rely on defense while the Wizards rely on speed and potent offense.

The Bulls also have more experience playing together in the playoffs, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Wizards’ youth and energy can keep the tempo up during these games. If they can, it’ll look more like last night’s win or the close win in January. If not, it’ll look more like the 18-point win the Bulls had in April.

With a best-of-seven playoff series, health and bench play will be key. One pair to watch will be how Wizards guard Martell Webster and Chicago’s DJ Augustin perform in backup roles. Augustin especially has been hot to end the season. And like we wrote earlier, Wizards big man Nenê is back from injury, and the team will hope he can keep contributing like he did last night, with 24 points and eight rebounds. If not, it may be a short series for the home team.

Game 2 is Tuesday in Chicago at 9:30 pm ET. It’ll be shown on Comcast SportsNet.