CHICAGO -- Joakim Noah loves to keep his mind in the present. He believes in positivity and staying focused on the task at hand. But as his Chicago Bulls get set for yet another showdown with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon (ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET), Noah will have to deal with the reality that James' presence always provides. Playing against the reigning king of the NBA always forces Noah to think about topics he would rather not dwell on -- namely the past and the future.

When asked what he thought it would take to beat James and the Cavs in a seven-game series, Noah demurred, trying to focus his energy on the one-day-at-a-time mantra instilled in him by his college coach at the University of Florida, Billy Donovan, and his current coach, Tom Thibodeau.

"To tell you the truth right now, it's not about LeBron," Noah said after Friday's win over the Detroit Pistons. "We got to stay focused on us. And if that opportunity comes, we'll welcome that and be very excited about it."

The truth for the Bulls, and for Noah, is it's always about LeBron.

Since Noah came into the league, and especially since Thibodeau took over as coach in the summer of 2010, every Bulls season has been measured through the prism of whether or not Noah and his teammates could get past James in the playoffs.

And every time, with another matchup against James and the Cleveland Cavaliers staring them in the face in the upcoming postseason, the Bulls haven't been able to get over the hump. Bulls All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler admitted that a big challenge in facing James is the mental aspect that comes against playing the league's best player night after night in a series.

"You got to play damn near perfect, to tell you the truth," Butler said, of trying to win a series against James. "We can't beat ourselves, and we just got to play hard. I think if we turn the ball over and we don't rebound, that's not winning basketball for us. We just got to guard, man. They got a really, really good team -- deep team, also. So I think as long as we don't beat ourselves, we're giving ourselves a chance."

LeBron James might be getting right up in Joakim Noah's face, but the Bulls are 9-9 against James in the regular season since 2010-11. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

The Bulls are 9-9 against James in the regular season since the 2010-11 season, according to ESPN Stats & Information. But they are just 3-12 against James all time in the postseason. In the 2010 playoffs, during James' first run in Cleveland, the Cavaliers dispatched the Bulls in five games in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. A year later, James and the Miami Heat, dispatched the Bulls in five games during the 2010 Eastern Conference finals. In 2013, the Heat dominated the a Derrick Rose-less Bulls quad in five games during the Eastern Conference semifinals.

So why do the Bulls feel differently now? Why are they so confident that this time it will be different for them against James in the playoffs? The answer is due to offensive depth that they have -- a luxury they haven't had over the last five years. The Bulls come into Sunday's game against the Cavs playing the best offensive basketball of the Thibodeau era. They are averaging 100.8 points a game this season according to ESPN Stats & Info, the highest mark in any of Thibodeau's five seasons. That is over two points higher than the 98.6 points the team averaged in 2010-11, the year they went to the Eastern Conference finals.

The Bulls are ranked 10th in the league in offensive efficiency and playing better in the half court than at any other time during the Thibodeau era. Their .913 points per possession rate is a testament to the impact veteran Pau Gasol, and the reemergence of Rose, has had on the lineup.

"Anytime you add a Derrick and a Pau -- you got to remember, the second year, I think, we were fifth in offensive efficiency," Thibodeau said. "So this team has had that capability -- but when you lose players, you're going to feel it. But when you add a point guard like Derrick and you add a center like Pau, that's going to add a lot to your team. And of course Jimmy going to that next level really helped us. And then [Nikola Mirotic's] a stretch four, so that opened up the floor."

Bulls Defense 2014-15 Points Allowed Rank 1st 56 Games: 99.2 ppg 13th Last 20 Games: 95.1 ppg 3rd x-Through March 4

Up until this season, the Bulls were built around Rose on the offensive end. He was hub of the Bulls' universe -- both on and off the floor. But after Rose went down with a torn medial meniscus in his right knee in November 2013, Bulls general manager Gar Forman and executive vice president John Paxson knew they could no longer build around Rose, especially on the offensive end. After missing out on Carmelo Anthony, Forman and Paxson went to work quickly, locking up Gasol, as well as working out a deal for Mirotic to make his way over from Europe.

But it's Butler's progression that has been the single biggest surprise. Few in the organization believed Butler could turn into an All-Star, let alone becoming an All-Star who averages 20.2 points a game after averaging just 13.1 points and shooting 39.7 percent from the field a year ago. In so many ways, it is Butler, not Rose, who has become the face of the Bulls' offensive metamorphosis.

While Gasol has been the Bulls' most consistent offensive player, and Mirotic has been one of the league's most pleasant surprises as a rookie, Butler's offensive explosion has been the most unexpected plus for a team that badly needed a jolt on that end of the floor.

Bulls' Team Defense 2014-15 Defensive Efficiency Rank 1st 56 Games: 102.1 ppg 13th Last 20 Games: 101.0 ppg 10th x-Through March 4

Butler's offensive confidence has evolved to a point where he feels comfortable attacking the rim at any time, a trait that has defined his team this year, as well. They are attempting 25.3 free throws a game, which is third-best in the league and a high point in Thibodeau's tenure. Their free throw rate (free throws attempted/field goals attempted) is .305, also good for third in the league. Butler is averaging 7.2 free throws a game, three more than his career average.

It's no wonder, then, why he is so confident that the Bulls are better equipped than they've ever been to go against James.

"I think so," Butler said. "I think we've got a lot of guys that can score baskets."

But it's at this point Butler identifies one of the major differences between this team and ones from years' past. For all the progress the Bulls have made on the offensive end, they have taken a step back on the defensive side.

"That hasn't been our problem all year," Butler continued, in regard to his team's robust offense. "I think everybody would agree that our problem is our defense. We try to outscore people too many times. In the playoffs, if you want to win a championship, you got to guard."

It's a message Thibodeau has tried to impart to his team all along. After stumbling through a majority of the regular season, the Bulls finally appear to be taking the defensive attitude to heart. In their first 56 games, the Bulls allowed 99.2 points a game, good for 13th in the league. In their past 20 games, the Bulls allowed just 95.1 points a game, good for third in the league.

This group remains confident in its ability to hit the right switch when the playoffs start. The feeling being that they've been too good for too long on the defensive end under Thibodeau to continue playing as poorly as they did earlier in the season.

"Defense is all about if you want to do it or not, to tell you the truth," Butler said. "Putting your body here, taking a charge, going and getting a ball on a rebound, a loose ball. It's all your will and your determination. If you want to do it, you can. If you don't want to, you won't."

The Bulls remain emboldened by the belief that the defense will come around as the offense hits new heights. Thibodeau's group is playing at a faster clip than ever before, averaging 95.2 possessions a game, which is about 2.5 more than at any other point in the past five years. They're also averaging just 13.9 turnovers a game, the best of any season under the veteran coach.

The offense is in a good place and seems to be hitting a groove. As always with the Bulls though, nobody is quite sure what to expect with Rose. He has already been ruled out of Sunday's game, and it's unclear exactly when he will return. The Bulls need Rose in order to take down James in any series, but the pressure on his shoulders isn't nearly as heavy as it has been before night to night. No longer is he the lone option who can create for himself. Butler has elevated his game, Gasol is in the middle of a resurgence, Mirotic has made a late push for Rookie of the Year and Aaron Brooks has provided a big spark off the bench. Rose is still incredibly important, but he is surrounded a much deeper cast that can help him as he finds his way in his first playoff games in three years.

"I think we're better equipped, but the key word is: Are we healthy?" Bulls forward Taj Gibson said. "Can we get healthy enough to make the push? It's like we're never healthy no matter what, we're always having this issue where we can't never really be full strength going into something. We always got a lot of nagging injuries, but every year [it's] something different.

"You look at the Heat teams -- one thing we were one up on them with, we rebounded the ball really strong against them. That kept us in the game a lot with the Heat. We limited second-chance shots, our defense was strong. And then, now this year, you look at our offense, it's extremely better than it ever was, but then you look at our defense, and you look at our rebounding -- Cleveland's rebounding the ball extremely well."

To find a way to topple James this time, the Bulls know they must get back to their roots. They have to play tougher than they've been this year, and they have to continue playing at a high level offensively, but it's a challenge they seem ready to embrace. They thrive in the role of underdog, they believe that this is the time to get over the hump. After five years of preparing for this moment, they feel like they are ready to knock off basketball's king.

"I think they have a lot of hype," Butler said. "I'm not saying that they're not a really good team, but you can't just buy into that he's LeBron, that they have Kyrie [Irving], that they have Kevin Love, that they've got all of these guys with big names. I think you just got to go in there and just play."