The Bulls have been dispatching opponents with such ease and efficiency that nobody is mentioning the 325-pound force sitting quietly in the corner.

His name is Shaquille O'Neal, and he and his Miami Heat teammates are locked into the Eastern Conference's fourth seed.

That means if the Bulls slip Wednesday in New Jersey, and the Cavaliers win their two remaining games, all the good play and good vibes down the stretch turn into the sobering task of knocking off the defending NBA champions.

"So what?" forward Andres Nocioni said. "We'd need to beat Miami, and that's it. It's the playoffs, man. If you want to get something, you need to win tough games."

Guard Kirk Hinrich was even more blunt about the prospect of a rematch with team that eliminated the Bulls four games to two in the first round of the 2006 playoffs.

"I don't think we'd be really disappointed if we have to play Miami in the first round, other than losing home-court advantage in the second round [by not getting the second seed]," Hinrich said. "We're very confident against that team."

Three victories in four regular-season meetings, including a 42-point blowout on opening night, would seem to support the Bulls' tough talk.