The Chicago Bulls have an excellent chance to secure either the first or second seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, which unmistakably makes their path to the Finals a far less arduous one.

Boston reached the 2010 Finals despite not owning homecourt in three of their four playoff series, but the teams we see in the Finals typically are a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in their conference. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds also have better regular season records and therefore tend to be more title-worthy in general, but playing 57% of seven-game series at home becomes an important tipping point in match-ups that are incredibly even and go the distance.

More interestingly as we examine the title chances of the 2010-11 Bulls is the fact that they haven’t won a playoff series together. Furthermore, their best player hasn’t won a playoff series.

Returning to the current core of the Celtics, they won the 2008 title during their first playoff run together, but Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen had each won multiple playoff series in the past as their team’s best player. Even so, the Celtics needed seven games to beat the Atlanta Hawks in the first round before finding their postseason rhythm in convincing series wins over the Pistons in the ECF and Lakers in the Finals.

In order to find an instance of a team winning the title under the criteria currently facing Derrick Rose, as well as Kevin Durant for that matter, we need to dig deep into the NBA's history.

2009: The Kobe Bryant-Pau Gasol Lakers lost in the 2008 Finals before beating the Magic in five games in the following season.

2006: The Dwyane Wade-Shaquille O’Neal Heat lost to the more experienced Pistons in the 2005 ECF before winning it all the next season.

2000: The Shaq-Kobe Lakers won at least one playoff series in each of their previous three seasons together before being eliminated twice by the Jazz on their way to the Finals and in 1999 by the Spurs.

1999: The Spurs beat the Suns in the first round during Tim Duncan’s rookie season before losing to eventual Western Conference champion Utah in 1998. They won a lockout-shortened title in the following season.

1994: Hakeem Olajuwon went to the Finals all the way back in 1986, but the Rockets went through a four-year stretch of first round exits before missing out on the playoffs entirely in 1992. In the 1993 Playoffs, Houston at least won a first round series against the Clippers.

1991: This is the classic case of a team clawing and fighting before finally getting to where it wanted to go. The Bulls made first round exits in 1985, 1986 and 1987 before finally winning a series in 1988 against Cleveland. Chicago was then eliminated in three consecutive playoffs by the Pistons before finally beating them in 1991. Even Phil Jackson was around for that final defeat to the Pistons in 1990, proving they even needed one season with him before advancing.

1989: Strikingly similar to the Michael Jordan Chicago teams, the Pistons were eliminated in 1985 and 1987 by the Celtics with the second instance coming in a seven-game series in the ECF. Detroit even needed one trip to the Finals against the Lakers in 1988 before beating them the following season in the rematch.

1983: The Sixers had won plenty of postseason battles before their 1983 title, losing in the Finals in 1977, 1980 and 1982. They also lost in the Eastern Conference Finals multiple times. The difference in 1983 was the acquisition of Moses Malone.

1981: The Celtics defeated the Rockets in the 1981 Finals, but were defeated in the Eastern Conference Finals in five games by the 76ers during Larry Bird’s rookie season. While their win in the first round of the playoffs the previous season over Houston was important, I think we can call the additions of Robert Parish and Kevin McHale as being more pivotal.

1980: On some levels this is the half-exception since Magic Johnson led the Lakers to a six-game victory of the 76ers as a rookie with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar injured for Game 6. But the Lakers were already a team winning playoff series without Magic, who won the Finals MVP.

1979: The Sonics reached the Finals in 1978, losing to the Bullets one season before winning the rematch.

1978: The Bullets went to the Finals in 1975 with Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes, winning a ton of playoff series along the way before finally getting their ring.

1977: Rip City provides the true exception, as the Blazers failed to even reach the playoffs in each of Bill Walton’s initial two seasons in the NBA before winning the 1977 title under Jack Ramsay.

Like Walton in ‘77, Rose is in his third NBA season and he has never won a playoff series. But Rose has experienced four playoff victories, even if he’s needed 11 tries as an eighth seed against the Celtics in 2009 and Cavaliers in 2010. Durant and Russell Westbrook won two games in last year's first round match-up against the Lakers.

While 'The Bill Walton Title Exception' exists and gives the Bulls and Thunder some reason to believe, the importance of even winning a single series is a building block worth valuing and respecting.