A team with a solid mix of savvy veterans and young players should have all the ingredients to make the playoffs. The youthful exuberance of the younger players produces flashes of brilliance. But then again, for the Chicago Bulls, they have yet to be more than flashes.

Bulls GM John Paxson believes that the time is now.

"At some point everybody has to accept the fact that we're in this business to get into the playoffs and win," Paxson said to ESPN.com.

I want to believe that the Bulls will attend the postseason show called the NBA playoffs. I really do. Perhaps it's a Cubbie postseason hangover, but many analysts have virtually guaranteed the Bulls a playoff berth.

There have been comparisons for Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler that have stated they should have a breakout season since it's their third season in the league. Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune compared their development to that of Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady. This comparison is arbitrary. T.Mac, KG and Bryant are an exceptionally talented group that the NBA is really lucky to have, considering they did make the quantum leap from high school. Either way, Chandler and Curry are talented, but not that talented yet.

They are solid players, and I believe Curry will eventually be a 20 point, 10 rebound guy. He has soft hands, good footwork and a primal instinct on the offensive end. Chandler is energetic and leads the NBA in rebounding thus far, despite having a sore back. However, I'm not sold on Curry being a legit low-post center just yet. A true low-post center does not average 4.4 rebounds per game. So far, Curry has only averaged five per game so far. In fact, little-used reserve Lonnie Baxter played only 15 minutes in the loss against the Bucks, but had eight rebounds. Curry played for 25 minutes, and only had a meager five. For someone who resides primarily in the low-post, it is really pathetic to see only four to five rebounds per game. The Bulls need to get tougher, and it has to start with Curry being less soft.

It was absolutely imperative that the Bulls get off to a good start not only at home, but mainly on the road. Many NBA gurus have forgotten about a 3-38 road record from last season. Additionally, the Bulls only went 22-32 against the lowly Eastern Conference. The Bulls not only got blown out by the Washington Wizards in their home opener, but were routed in a 98-68 loss on the road to the Milwaukee Bucks. Even their recent win against the Atlanta Hawks was a nail-biter, with the Bulls blowing a second half lead.

Head coach Bill Cartwright insightfully analyzed his Baby Bulls after their home opener to Rick Telander of the Chicago Sun-times.

"We're gonna have to find people that can play."

These games against the Bucks, Wizards and Hawks are games the Bulls must win if they want a place in the playoffs. They have to beat up on the lower tier teams in the league, and play about .500 ball against the top tier teams. They should be 3-0 right now instead of 1-2.

As far as the rest of the season goes, the Bulls need to play better team defense, which means continuing to rotate more on defense after double teams and pick n' rolls. They also need to rebound the ball better not only as a team, but also individually with players like Curry. Point guard Jamal Crawford cannot lead the team in shots attempted, which he is doing thus far. Finally, the Bulls need to compete more and bring more effort onto the court, instead of merely their expectations.

"I can understand missed shots and breakdowns and things like that," Paxson said stonily to the Chicago Sun Times, "But never, never, accept when you don't feel the team competed. To be honest, that's what I saw. They didn't compete.''

If the Bulls want to improve this year, they must forget expectations and just improve. Otherwise they will be just a flash-in-the-pan, instead of maintaining their flashes of brilliance.

Ashley A. John is a senior is materials science and engineering. He can be reached at sports@dailyillini.com