This is the Clash of the Titans that a lot of experts expected to see in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Bulls were undefeated against the Heat during the regular season but that’s a moot point as the Celtics also played well against the Heat before the playoffs started. Here’s a look at the matchups in this series:
POINT GUARD: The ancient Mike Bibby looks way past his prime and he’s going to have to deal with Derrick Rose? Good Luck! Bibby has played in 10 games (all starts) for the Heat during the playoffs and he is averaging 20.5 minutes, 3.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Bibby will have to start taking more shots this round because Rose is going to be a bear for the Heat to stop if he doesn’t have to work on D.
Derrick Rose has been stepping his game up in the playoffs. He has played in 11 games (11 starts) so far in the playoffs this year and he is averaging 40.0 minutes, 28.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game. The Heat often get abused by good point guards so look for Rose to explode in this series.
EDGE: GIGANTIC FOR THE BULLS
SHOOTING GUARD: Dwyane Wade is the guy who makes the Heat go. This is his team. Wade has played in 10 games (all starts) for the Heat in the playoffs and he is averaging 39.6 minutes, 26.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocked shots per game. I have a hard time believing that Wade will be able to average those kinds of rebounds against the Bulls who have a huge front line, but he should have no problem getting his points.
Keith Bogans is the starting shooting guard for the Bulls, but he’s not much of a threat. He has played in 11 games (all starts) for the Bulls so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 19.5 minutes, 5.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Bogans has shot 48.7% from three-point range in the playoffs, so if the Heat leave him open he can make them pay for it. His main job will be chasing D-Wade around defensively.
EDGE: GIGANTIC FOR THE HEAT
SMALL FORWARD: LeBron James is the best small forward in the NBA. He finally stepped up in a big game against the Celtics in Game #5 when he pretty much ended their season by himself in the last few minutes of that game. The Heat will need him to play that way in this series too if they are going to beat the Bulls. James has played in 10 games (all starts) for the Heat in the playoffs and he is averaging 43.4 minutes, 26.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocked shots per game.
Luol Deng is the unsung hero of the Chicago Bulls. He will take this as a challenge as many people in Chicago wanted the Bulls to replace him with LeBron James over the summer. Deng brings his hardhat to work and he will once again in this series as he’s not intimidated at all by James. Deng has played in 11 games (all starts) for the Bulls during the playoffs and he is averaging 43.2 minutes, 16.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
EDGE: HEAT
POWER FORWARD: Chris Bosh is counted as one of the “Big Three” but he’s by far the weakest link. The Heat will need Bosh to be consistent in this series as they will need him to man up against Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah in the paint. Bosh has played in 10 games (all starts) for the Heat in the playoffs and he is averaging 39.0 minutes, 16.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.1 blocked shots per game. The Heat can’t afford Bosh to play soft in this series.
Carlos Boozer is a thick bodied power forward who has a nice jumper while being a fierce rebounder at the same time. Boozer has played in 11 games (all starts) in the playoffs for the Bulls so far and he is averaging 30.9 minutes, 11.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. This is a key matchup for the Bulls as they need Boozer to really step up and keep the Heat off the glass.
EDGE: EVEN
CENTER: The Heat are likely going to start Joel Anthony at center in this series because of his defense and rebounding. Anthony has played in 10 games (2 starts) in the playoffs for the Heat and he is averaging 31.3 minutes, 4.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 1.6 blocked sots per game. The Heat need Anthony to really help out on the glass in this series because there is no way that they are going to get an average of 17.0 rebounds out of D-Wade and LeBron James in this series (that’s what they are averaging between them in the playoffs so far).
Joakim Noah is one of the most fierce centers in all of basketball. Most of his points come from putbacks and dunks. He plays like his hair is on fire at both ends of the court as he plays full-go the entire game. Noah has played in 11 games (all starts) for the Bulls so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 32.7 minutes, 9.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.2 blocked shots per game.
EDGE: BIG FOR THE BULLS
BENCH: The Heat have not used the bench much in the playoffs and I look for that trend to continue. Mario Chalmers will likely be chasing around Derrick Rose in this series. He has played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Heat so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 24.8 minutes, 6.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game. James Jones will likely be the long range assassin off the bench for the Heat as has shot 44% of his shots from three-point range so far in the playoffs. Jones has played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Heat in the playoffs and he is averaging 24.6 minutes, 7.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Zydrunas Ilgauskas will get some minutes in this series in the pivot. He has played in 10 games (8 starts) in the playoffs for the Heat so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 11.6 minutes, 3.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Juwan Howard (2.0 points, 1.0 rebound), Mike Miller (0.7 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.7 assists) and Udonis Haslem (1 game, 3 scoreless minutes) have the potential to help the Heat if called upon.
The Bulls also don’t use their bench much, but it’s not from a lack of talent. Kyle Korver is the best three-point shooter in the NBA, period. He is hitting 47.4% of his three pointers in the playoffs so far, and he will kill the Heat if they don’t have a guy in his face when he’s on the court. Korver has played in 11 games (0 starts) so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 18.3 minutes, 7.8 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Power forward Taj Gibson provides a lot of muscle off the bench. He has played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Bulls so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 17.5 minutes, 6.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.6 blocked shots per game. Backup shooting guard Ronnie Brewer is known for his defense but he’s going to be seriously tested by D-Wade. Brewer has played in 11 games (0 starts) in the playoffs so far and he is averaging 13.9 minutes, 2.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game. Point guard C.J. Watson will give Derrick Rose a break when he needs one (not to often). Watson has played in 11 games (0 starts) in the playoffs for the Bulls and he is averaging 9.0 minutes, 3.2 points, 0.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Centers Omer Asik (0.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.1 assists) and Kurt Thomas (2.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists) will likely share minutes behind Joakim Noah in this series.
EDGE: EVEN
COACHING: Early this season, it seemed like Erik Spoelstra was going to lose his job. But, he figured out how to get the guys to play their best and the rest is history. Spoelstra has improved his career mark to 12-10 (54.5%) during the playoffs as he has the Heat running hot right now.
Bulls’ head coach Tom Thibodeau burst onto the scene this year for the Bulls. He won the Coach of the Year Award as a rookie as he led his Bulls to the best record in the Eastern Conference. Thibodeau has continued to show his chops as a coach in the playoffs as his Bulls are 8-3 (72.7%).
EDGE: EVEN
PREDICTION: The Bulls match up perfectly with the weaknesses of the Miami Heat. Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah are going to control the paint while Derrick Rose goes ballistic. I like the Bulls to win this series in 7 very hard fought games.
