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NEW YORK -- The Chicago Bulls lost Game 5 – but you can’t blame the replacements.

With Derrick Rose continuing to sit, and fellow starting guard Kirk Hinrich joining him on the sideline with a calf injury, coach Tom Thibodeau gave Nate Robinson a starting nod on Monday, along with second-year man Jimmy Butler.

Both played well, keeping the Bulls within striking distance until the final four minutes, when the Nets pulled away for a 110-91 victory.

Robinson scored a team-high 20 points, shooting 9-for-19 from the field, and also had eight assists. Butler scored 18 points, and had four steals as well.

Thibodeau said that rebounding was the difference in the game. The Nets outboarded the Bulls 44-33, including 17-11 on the offensive glass, and had a 24-12 advantage in second-chance points.

“Right from the start of the game I knew [the Nets] were reacting to the ball quicker than we were,” Thibodeau said. “So I was concerned about that right from the beginning. And it never changed.”

Robinson received the loudest boos of any of Chicago’s five starters during the pregame introductions -- not surprising, considering he sparked the Bulls’ incredible comeback in Game 4 with an electrifying 34-point performance, including 23 points in the fourth quarter.

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The NBA postseason brings with it an escalated level of intensity and physicality that most players can't fathom, let alone match in their first go-around. For the players that can adapt and elevate their performance levels, a newfound notoriety follows them, as well as respect, and (quite often), added leverage in future contract negotiation.

This is the NBA's biggest stage audition, where legacies are made (or tarnished), where everyone is watching. However, one of the things that I look forward to the most is seeing guys playing in their first playoff experience and flourishing.

Here are four players who caught my attention with auspicious playoff debuts in 2013:

Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors | PG

Regular Season: 22.9 PPG, 6.9 APG, 45.1 FG% 45.3 3P%
Playoffs: 24.5 PPG, 11.0 ASG, 46.5 FG%, 40.0 3P%

It should come as a shock to no one that Curry leads this list, as he's been sensational thus far, and has catapulted himself legitimately into the stratosphere of stardom: he's not only incredibly productive, but he makes his teammates better and he helps his teams win. About a month ago, I wrote about Curry being one of the most indispensable guards in the NBA, and features an incredible stat: in his career, the Warriors are 20-8 in games in which Curry has 10+ assists. Since that article, Curry's posted 10-plus assists six more times, and the Warriors have gone 5-1, including Tuesday's Game 2 victory at Denver, who boasted a 38-3 home record this season.

Curry's quick release and ability to make a variety of difficult shots (off one leg, off wrong leg, etc) make him an extremely tough cover in one-on-one situations, which necessitates help defense, opening up a world of passing opportunities for him. That's what makes him special: his willingness to move the ball to open teammates despite the fact that he can confidently know that he's got a good chance of making a "bad" shot. In fact, when I was with the Phoenix Suns and I scouted Curry at Davidson, I posed the question: if you could shoot like that, would you ever pass the ball?

The Game 2 demolition all started with Curry getting loose with his shot, sending the Nuggets into scramble mode, which lit Golden State's supporting cast's fuse. I still have Denver winning in six games, but we'll remember 2013 as the year Curry finally "got it." Hopefully, his most recent ankle injury will not derail that.

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NEW YORK -- Carlos Boozer stood proudly in front of his locker late Monday night after the Chicago Bulls' Game 2 victory and offered up an easy explanation as to why his team could bounce back so well after such an embarrassing performance in Game 1.

"We're pros," Boozer said. "We're pros. We make adjustments just like any other team. We have a team full of veteran guys that have been in the playoffs before."

Understandably, much of the talk after the 90-82 win centered around the fact that the Bulls' defense tightened up and forced the Brooklyn Nets into a more rigid game. What shouldn't go understated is the fact that the Bulls never panicked even after critics wrote them off on Saturday night. They always believed they could win this series and they proved they could respond in a major way on Monday.

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CHICAGO -- Regardless of whether the Brooklyn Nets are the ideal first-round matchup for the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the NBA playoffs, it's the matchup the team didn't shy away from and ultimately earned.

The Bulls' 95-92 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday in the regular-season finale wrapped up the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference and an opening playoff series which begins Saturday at Brooklyn.

Officially, the Bulls wrapped up the fifth spot late in Wednesday's game when the Atlanta Hawks fell to the New York Knicks to slide to the sixth spot, but the Bulls' victory meant they didn't back into the five-seed.

Yet while the Hawks rested key players, the Bulls did not as Luol Deng played 27 minutes, Carlos Boozer played 38 and Jimmy Butler played a whopping 43. At the very least, the Bulls head into the playoffs with their heads held high and their health as good as it's been in a long time.

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CHICAGO -- There was no rest for the weary Wednesday night as Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau elected to use nearly all the players available to him in a 95-92 victory over the Washington Wizards in the season finale.

Thibodeau has been known for giving extended minutes to his core players, with Luol Deng heading into the season finale as the leader in the NBA in minutes played per game at 38.9. Joakim Noah was 15th with 37.1 minutes per game played.

Around the league, though, coaches were using the final game of the season as an opportunity for their core players to get a break.

In the Atlanta Hawks-New York Knicks game, which directly affected the Bulls' playoff seeding, essentially all the core players were given the night off. The Knicks sat Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith, among others, while the Hawks sat Al Horford, Josh Smith, Kyle Korver, Jeff Teague and Devin Harris.

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DEERFIELD, Ill. -- While not expressing a preference for who they would like to face in the playoffs, the Chicago Bulls have been making preparations for one of two options.

Because they have known for some time now that they were likely to face the Brooklyn Nets or Indiana Pacers in the opening round of the postseason, the Bulls have been able to take a peek ahead while still focusing on that task at hand as the regular season comes to a close.

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CHICAGO -- As he watched Thursday night's gritty 118-111 overtime win over the New York Knicks unfold from the bowels of the United Center, injured Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson said, he and fellow injured big man Joakim Noah got so frustrated they almost broke the television screen on which they were watching the game.

They couldn't believe they weren't out on the floor with the rest of their teammates, but they never doubted that the Bulls could find a way to win despite the fact that they still have so many guys out because of various injuries. They knew the spirit and will they play with as a group doesn't change -- no matter who is on the floor. They knew that just because the talent might not have been there, it didn't mean the heart of this squad suddenly disappeared.

Most of all, Gibson, Noah and the rest of the Bulls understood the most true fact of all when it comes to this up and down Bulls season without Derrick Rose: Just when you're about to count out the Bulls and write them off completely, that's when they will find a way to surprise everyone.

"It was a big win," Gibson said. "It seems that we don't really get any respect around the East. ... We tried to make a statement. We tried to let people know that we're still a tough team. We got a lot of injuries. A lot of people don't understand we've had a lot of injuries on this team throughout the season and we're still playing well. But with this team, you don't know what you're going to get. We lose to below-.500 teams, and we come out and beat some of the best teams around the NBA."

In many ways, the past two weeks have served as a perfect microcosm for this team as it enters the final four games of the regular season. The Bulls have beaten the Miami Heat, who went into that game on a 27-game winning streak, and the Knicks, who went into Thursday's game on a 13-game winning streak. They've also lost to the Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors. They know they can beat any team or lose to any team on a given night, which gives them a perfect amount of confidence in games, such as Thursday's, that most people don't believe they can win.

"Honestly, there wasn't anything said about the [Knicks'] streak," Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich said. "It wasn't like, 'Oh well, they've won X amount of games in a row and we're going to stop them.' It was just focus on what we have to do, and for the most part, we did a pretty good job."

There's the key for the Bulls. When they are locked in and focused, they really can beat anyone. This notion is exemplified by the play of veteran point guard Nate Robinson. He has the rare ability to continuously make coaches furious and incredibly happy in the span of a single possession. He proved that again against the Knicks, going off for 35 points off the bench. For as much flak as Robinson takes because of some of his questionable decisions on the floor, he also plays with the type of swagger his teammates feed off.

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CHICAGO -- Let's take a quick look at how the Chicago Bulls earned a hard-fought 118-111 overtime win over the New York Knicks on Thursday night at the United Center.

How it happened: Nate Robinson had a huge game off the bench for the Bulls, scoring 35 points, and Jimmy Butler had another big game, pouring in 22 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. The energetic pair led the way for a Bulls team that overcame a 17-point deficit while still playing without Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and Derrick Rose. Given the way the Bulls have played over the last week, this is a win coach Tom Thibodeau and his team should savor as they head into the final four games of the regular season.

What it means: The Bulls win these kinds of games against high-level teams because they play together with no fear. No matter who is on the floor, no matter who is hurt, they believe they can win because Thibodeau has instilled confidence in them. Confidence is a trait that Robinson is never lacking. He always believes he can dominate a game and he always believes he can lead his team to victory. He plays with a swagger that can drive Thibodeau crazy, but it's the type of energy the Bulls desperately need down the stretch. To that point, Butler continues to improve day by day and is showing why so many people within the organization are encouraged by his success. Thibodeau clearly trusts in him more than he did earlier in the season, and he should. Butler has proven he can make a major impact against some of the best teams in the league. He has played 98 minutes over the last two games.

Hits: Rip Hamilton chipped in with 14 points, eight assists and three rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.

Misses: Carlos Boozer had 13 points and 15 rebounds, but he and Kirk Hinrich combined to go just 6-for-22 from the field.

Stat of the night: The Knicks' 13-game winning streak is over.

What's next: The Bulls are right back at it Friday night when they face off against the Toronto Raptors.

CHICAGO -- Jimmy Butler doesn't want to lie.

He's just played 48 minutes in a hard-fought 101-98 loss to the lowly Toronto Raptors and he looks exhausted. But while his body looks beat up as he sits slouched in a chair in front of his locker, his words paint a much a cheerier picture. The idea that Butler, who dropped in a career-high 28 points and pulled down seven rebounds could be the two-guard of the Bulls future, is very appealing to the Marquette alum.

"It brings a smile to my face, obviously," Butler said. "But I try not to get too caught up in the future because it's not promised. You never know what could happen. Right now I live for the moment and I praise every moment that I'm given because it's a blessing. But knowing that they want me to be here alongside Derrick (Rose), (Luol Deng) and all these other guys, that makes me smile."

Butler's recent performances should make Tom Thibodeau and the Bulls front office smile even brighter these days. In just his second season, Butler has proven that he should at least be part of the conversation as to who should replace Rip Hamilton at the two-guard spot when he Hamilton leaves this summer. Butler came into Tuesday night's affair averaging 8.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in almost 25 minutes. It's clear to his teammates why the happy-go-lucky 23-year-old is having more success this season.

"Confidence," Hamilton said of Butler. "From a physical standpoint, you look at him (he's) 6-7, 6-8, 225, strong. Just confidence. Understanding the NBA game. It's different than being in a college (setting)."

In Hamilton's mind, the key difference for his young teammate is the fact that he has improved his shooting dramatically. Butler has improved his field goal percentage by almost six percentage points from last year to now.

"Before when he came in he used to shoot darts," Hamilton said with a laugh. "He used to shoot dart shots and I used to say, 'Yo, just get underneath the basket and just shoot high-arching shots so you can practice and get a rhythm of shooting the ball up. You jump so high you think you can jump over everybody but you're shooting darts.' So (the difference is) just understanding his shot, how he can get his shot, how to play in the NBA is different than the college game."

Butler bridged the gap by putting in the work. Coaches have repeatedly praised his work ethic over the summer and they were happy with the time he spent working on his game. Instead of just being viewed as a defensive stopper, Butler worked out to prove he was an offensive threat as well.

He wanted to take the next step in his development and it appears that he has. Is he the two-guard of the future? Only time will tell -- but he has certainly given the Bulls plenty to think about.

With Butler's emergence, the Bulls have to think long and hard as to whether they should shop Luol Deng over the summer. If the Bulls feel like Butler is a long term solution, they could conceivably trade Deng for younger, cheaper pieces and move Butler to the three position while trying to go after a two-guard next summer. They could also decide to keep Deng and Butler and form a solid defensive duo. Either way, it looks as if Butler has worked his way into a lot more playing time in the future.

So does he prefer to be the two or the three of the future?

"No," he said firmly Tuesday night. "I'm doing whatever I want to do right now. The future? Hell, tomorrow's not even promised, not to even think (about) next season. We'll just keep going right now, keep winning these games and go into the playoffs."

CHICAGO -- Let's take a quick look at how the Toronto Raptors earned a 101-98 win over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night at the United Center.

How it happened: DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 20 points while Rudy Gay added 19 points in a wall-to-wall Raptors win that the Bulls tried to steal at the end. Jimmy Butler had one of the best games of his career, playing all 48 minutes while scoring a career-high 28 points, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out two assists. Carlos Boozer chipped in with 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. The Raptors had their way with a Bulls team playing without Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson and Luol Deng.

What it means: This is the way Bulls basketball is going to continue to look without so many key pieces on the floor. Butler was very good and played throughout the night but without all those important pieces the Bulls can't find a way to score. There's not enough offense to go around for a team that struggled to score even when everybody was healthy. The reality for the Bulls is that they are too banged up right now to feel solid about their chances in any game, especially when they allow a bad team like the Raptors to shoot 51 percent from the field.

Hits: Playing his first meaningful minutes as a Bulls, Malcolm Thomas had six points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes.

Misses: Nate Robinson and Boozer combined to go just 14-for-42 from the field.

Stat of the night: Rip Hamilton actually played 15 minutes after missing the last 19 games because of a lower back injury.

What's next: The Bulls face off against the New York Knicks, who have won 13 straight, on Thursday night.

DEERFIELD, Ill. -- While Derrick Rose's absence and the team's rash of injuries have dominated the story lines for the Chicago Bulls this season, not all news has been bad.

Carlos Boozer has shown some much-needed durability while also being productive, while Jimmy Butler has raised his profile mightily with extended playing time afforded by the injuries to others. Both have been keys in assisting a hobbled club into the playoffs.

"I don't try to think about it, I just try to play incredibly hard every possession on the offensive end and the defensive end," Butler said. "Just play my role but expand it a little bit more. I feel like even though I'm starting you still have to be that energy guy and guard and hit an open shot. I feel like that's my role for this team if it's 20 minutes or 40 minutes."

Way back in November, Butler played over 22 minutes in a game just twice. In the month of December he played 30 minutes twice. By January, injuries allowed him to play 40 minutes in five consecutive games, with the Bulls winning four of them.

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CHICAGO -- Twenty-three point eight seconds left, a one-point game, Vladimir Radmanovic's in, the Friday night United Center crowd is on their collective feet, where else would you rather be?

Yes, another night in paradise, which for Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau means another ugly victory, this time an inartful 87-86 win over the Orlando Magic.

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BROOKLYN -- Minutes after draining the game-winning basket that would ultimately give the Chicago Bulls an impressive 92-90 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, Nate Robinson summed up well the state of the depleted Bulls roster.

"It's like old-school wrestling, man," Robinson said. "Tag team. One guy goes in, tag him, the other guy goes out -- back and forth. We just got to keep playing and keep doing that and I think we'll be OK."

The Bulls were more than just OK Thursday night after a first quarter in which they shot a putrid 26.3 percent from the field. Playing without Joakim Noah (plantar fasciitis), Marco Belinelli (ab strain), Taj Gibson (knee), Richard Hamilton (lower back) and Derrick Rose (knee), the Bulls managed to find a way to claw back and win a game against a team they may see two weeks from now in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Bulls have more talent in street clothes than most teams have on the floor -- yet they still managed to find a way. Robinson hit big shots, Jimmy Butler provided a major spark, Luol Deng played his usual solid game, and Carlos Boozer played one of the best games of his Bulls' career, recording 29 points and 18 rebounds. It was the type of effort that has become the norm for a team that has gotten used to playing without so many major parts.

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WASHINGTON -- Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau and his players usually find ways to win close games. On Tuesday night against the Washington Wizards they found different ways to lose one.

Whether it was missed shots down the stretch (the Bulls shot just 39.3 percent in the game and managed just 17 points in the final 12 minutes), emotions that couldn't be controlled (Kirk Hinrich picked up two technical fouls and was ejected with just 3:19 left in regulation), blown free throws (Jimmy Butler and Nate Robinson missed four straight foul shots in the final three minutes) or simply plays that couldn't be made (the Bulls repeatedly missed chances down the stretch to pull out the win), this is the kind of game that will have Thibodeau pulling out the little hair that he has left.

Sure, the Bulls can point to the fact that they are banged up, already playing without Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Marco Belinelli, Rip Hamilton and now Taj Gibson, who injured his left knee again in the second quarter. The problem with that argument, while understandable, is that it doesn't hold as much weight in a game that the rest of the (relatively) healthy players knew they should have won.

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CHICAGO -- In a season full of ups and downs, the Chicago Bulls have hit the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in a five-day span.

On Wednesday night at home, the Bulls, playing without Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose, Marco Belinelli and Rip Hamilton, snapped the Miami Heat's 27-game winning streak and stunned the basketball world in the process.

On Saturday afternoon, playing without the same foursome, the Bulls blew a 12-point lead late in the fourth quarter to the Dallas Mavericks and lost in startling fashion.

Given the way the Bulls imploded in Texas, it wouldn't have been surprising to see Tom Thibodeau's team lose focus and drop a game to the lowly Detroit Pistons on Sunday night back home. But as has been the case repeatedly throughout the coach’s tenure here, his team found a way to pull out a 95-94 squeaker, securing its 18th consecutive victory over the Pistons.

Despite all the emotional circumstances, how do the Bulls continue to find ways to win after such painful losses?

"We don't like losing," Bulls forward Luol Deng said. "We've got great character guys. We prepare well. The coaching staff does a good job of getting us ready and recognizing why we lost and doing a better job the next day."

While there's no question the coaching staff has a lot to do with the fact the Bulls have found ways to succeed even when the deck is stacked against them, the reality is the game plan is only as good as the players who put it into motion.

In that regard, Deng's 28-point, nine-rebound performance in 42 minutes set the tone the rest of his teammates followed. On a night when the Bulls needed a jolt mentally and physically, Deng once again provided it when his team needed it most.

"I felt a little tired. But when you look over at Lu, it's just like you're not tired," Bulls guard Jimmy Butler said. "Because he does this constantly.”

“He does this 82 games [a season],” Butler added. “But whenever you've got the energy that we have, it's easier to push through the fatigue."

Or the heartbreak.

Butler was understandably tough on himself after Saturday's loss because he clanked two free throws in the waning moments. For him, Sunday's win was more than just another victory in an up-and-down season; it was a reminder that Deng and the rest of his teammates have his back in any situation.

"It meant a lot to me," Butler said of his own performance. "But I feel like even if I wouldn't have done well, my teammates would have been on my side, I can say that. They're with me whenever I was down in the dumps after [Saturday's] loss and they're here with me today on a nice bounce back.

“So I feel like no matter what, my team's always there with me."

There's the key to Thibodeau's recipe: No matter the situation, no matter the obstacles, he has conditioned his team to believe they can always find a way to come out on top.

The Bulls aren't successful just because they have talent; they're successful because they always believe that when they fall down, they will get back up and go higher.

"Because we believe in each other," Bulls forward Taj Gibson explained. "And we've got guys that could be starters anywhere else. But they're just humble and they understand what they have to do and nobody's pointing fingers. Nobody's like, 'It's all about me.'"

“It's all about the team, really,” he said, “and that's how we're playing. And we understand that we're playing for something great.

“We've got a great chance to do something special this year, and we just keep playing."

That's the message Thibodeau has been trying to sell since he came to Chicago, and that's the one his team is buying into more than at any other point this season.

"It's coming from the top down," Gibson said. "But everybody's kind of believing it now. Thibs can preach it all year long, but it's all about the players that really believe in it. And now I think that we're really believing in it, and it's showing the way we're playing."