While the Knicks invent fascinating new ways to infuriate their fans, the Nets continue providing few reasons to consider them as a viable alternative.

New York’s N.B.A. market has not had a championship celebration since 1973. The Bulls have not won a title since the basketball Beatles — headlined by Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson — disbanded in 1998. But how much would the people holding those budget-busting season tickets at Barclays and Madison Square Garden be willing to claim what Chicago has, a team that seldom leaves its followers clamoring for order and effort?

Remember how the Bulls came into Barclays for Game 7 of their first-round series against the Nets two years ago with Rose out, Luol Deng in a hospital and Joakim Noah limping around on a bad foot, as if he had been walking barefoot on glass? Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson have never shaken the residue of that defeat, the justifiable belief that they are much less than the sum of their salaries and parts.

The Bulls are not without problems and ultimately may never be more of a threat to LeBron James in Cleveland than Patrick Ewing’s Knicks were to Jordan.

Their bulldog of a coach, Tom Thibodeau, has reportedly been feuding with management, and there is speculation that he may not return next season. The versatile Noah continues to grapple with an assortment of ailments. Assuming Rose’s knees hold up, he must dial back a proclivity for quick shots from the perimeter to make the most of increased scoring capacity with the additions of Gasol and Mirotic and the emergence of the shooting guard Jimmy Butler.

But as much as he has been in and out, a challenge for his teammates not only as the resident star but as the point guard charged with keeping the offense humming, Rose has seldom seemed the doubt-ridden and dour presence Williams has been in New Jersey and Brooklyn. His teammates appear genuinely invested in his return, believing that Rose near his past form puts them in the N.B.A. finals conversation.