FIRST LOOK

* Records: Bulls 69-13, Jazz 64-18.

* Home records: Bulls 39-2, Jazz 38-3.

* Road records: Bulls 30-11, Jazz 26-15.

* Playoff records: Bulls defeated Bullets, 3-0; defeated Hawks, 4-1; defeated Heat, 4-1. Jazz defeated Clippers, 3-0; defeated Lakers, 4-1; defeated Rockets, 4-2.

* Season series: 1-1.

* Bull leaders vs. Jazz: Michael Jordan 33.5 points, Dennis Rodman 13 rebounds, Jordan and Bill Wennington 3.5 assists.

* Jazz leaders vs. Bulls: Karl Malone 31.5 points, Malone 13 rebounds, John Stockton 12 assists.

* About the Bulls: They have immediate concerns other than the Jazz. With the Bulls preparing for a fifth trip to the finals in seven years, Scottie Pippen is day to day because of a soft tissue injury on the bottom of his left foot. Coach Phil Jackson said Friday that he won’t decide whether to use Pippen until just before tip-off Sunday. Pippen said he isn’t concerned but acknowledges that the foot is tender. Much of the talk this series will be about whether Jordan, Rodman and Jackson are also day to day since this marks the end of their contracts. Of course, look how much the same speculation about the same people last year bothered the Bulls.

* About the Jazz: This isn’t just the franchise’s first trip to the finals. For all its experience--Stockton, Malone, Jeff Hornacek, Antoine Carr--the Jazz does not have a player who has previously reached the championship round. That would be a concern with other teams, but this is a group with textbook composure, so don’t expect the Jazz to get rattled. Don’t expect Utah to be tired, either. Getting two days off since beating the Houston Rockets isn’t the most desirable of situations, but the Jazz had made such quick work of previous opponents that it has played only 14 games in five weeks.

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BEST VERSUS BEST IN FINALS

In this year’s NBA finals, the teams with the best records will play for the title for the 16th time. In the previous meetings, the team with the second-best record has won only three series. A look:

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YEAR TEAMS RESULT 1995-1996 Chicago (72-10) d. Seattle (64-18) 4-2 1991-1992 Chicago (67-15) d. Portland (57-25) 4-2 1988-1989 Detroit (63-19) d. Lakers (57-25) 4-0 1986-1987 Lakers (65-17) d. Boston (59-23) 4-2 1983-1984 Boston (62-20) d. Lakers (54-28) 4-3 1982-1983 Philadelphia (65-17) d. Lakers (58-24) 4-0 1978-1979 Seattle (52-30) d. Washington (54-28) 4-1 1973-1974 Boston (56-26) d. Milwaukee (59-23) 4-3 1964-1965 Boston (62-18) d. Lakers (49-31) 4-1 1962-1963 Boston (58-22) d. Lakers (53-27) 4-2 1961-1962 Boston (60-20) d. Lakers (54-26) 4-3 1960-1961 Boston (57-22) d. St. Louis (51-28) 4-1 1957-1958 St. Louis (41-31) d. Boston (49-23) 4-2 1954-1955 Syracuse (43-29) d. Fort Wayne (43-29) 4-3 1952-1953 Minneapolis (48-22) d. New York (47-23) 4-1

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THE SCHEDULE

* Sunday--At Chicago: 4:30 p.m.

* Wednesday--At Chicago: 6 p.m.

* Friday--At Utah: 6 p.m.

* June 8--At Utah: 4:30 p.m.

* June 11--At Utah: 6 p.m.-x

* June 13--At Chicago: 6 p.m.-x

* June 15--At Chicago: 4:30 p.m.-x

x-if necessary