1.   Because Jordan still cannot be stopped, the Bulls are motoring toward their first finals appearance in three years.

2.   Foreshadow even a finals appearance?

3.   In the first finals appearance of his career, Kemp shined almost as bright as his go-to counterpart, Michael Jordan.

4.   Meanwhile, the Pacers took a decided step back after their first NBA finals appearance.

5.   Murray thinks Potvin is most associated with Toronto, where he played seven seasons and led the Maple Leafs to back-to-back conference finals appearances.

6.   The Bulls will leave the plane and take their first giant steps of this finals appearance with the trepidation of an astronaut.

7.   They will meet the winner of Japan-Turkey, a game involving teams which had a total of two finals appearances and one victory before this year.

8.   Three straight conference finals appearances.

9.   Two straight conference finals appearances.

10.   Agassi was coming off two consecutive finals appearances and a win last weekend in Arizona.