(1) Miami Heat vs. (5) Chicago Bulls
The series will tip off Monday in Miami beginning at 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT on Sportsnet ONE. Game 1 of the Spurs-Warriors series will immediately follow afterwards.
Season series: Tied 2-2
Heat starters: LeBron James SF (26.8 ppg 7.3 apg, 8.0 RPG); Shane Battier PF (6.6 ppg, 2.3 RPG); Chris Bosh C (16.6 ppg, 6.8 RPG); Mario Chalmers PG (8.6 ppg, 3.5 apg); Dwyane Wade SG (21.2 ppg, 5.1 APG, 5.0 RPG).
Bulls starters: Luol Deng SF (16.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3 apg); Carlos Boozer PF (16.2 ppg, 9.8 rpg); Joakim Noah C (11.9 ppg, 11.1 rpg); Richard Hamilton SG (9.8 ppg, 2.4 apg); Kirk Hinrich PG (7.7 ppg, 5.2 apg).
Historical note: Chicago may have an advantage in the all-time playoff history between these two teams (17-9), but Derrick Rose isn’t lacing up his adidas kicks anytime soon. So with Miami rolling with their big three healthy, there’s a clear and decided edge to Miami in this series.
For Heat to win: Miami just needs to stay healthy. So far in the playoffs stars like Rajon Rondo, David Lee, Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Blake Griffin, Dwyane Wade and Russell Westbrook have all missed playoff games due to injuries.
“It’s terrible that we don’t have Derrick Rose, and now Russell Westbrook, David Lee, and a lot of guys that’s just not in the lineup,” James lamented this weekend.
The Heat rarely felt as though they were tested as they seemed to turn it on and off against Chicago. While injuries have robbed the Bulls of some of their frontline talent, they will prove to be a much tougher out than Milwaukee as they are a team with the will to win.
Miami will have to continue to move the ball and James skills on the defensive end will be tested if he is forced to play a lot of power forward as Carlos Boozer is about as physical as any player in the NBA today.
For Bulls to win: An injury to any of Miami’s core three players. Sadly, that’s just about the only way the Bulls have a chance of stealing this series.
Or is it cheating to say a healthy Derrick Rose? For two straight playoffs we have been wondering what if with regards to the bulls point guard. With him, they would create an interesting dilemma as the Bulls strengths mirror the Heat’s weaknesses.
Since that isn’t happening, the Bulls need to shake whatever flu bug has infiltrated their locker room and get all their injured players close to being healthy. Having the minutes restriction lifted from Joakim Noah is a good start.
Despite the injuries, Chicago does hold one advantage as the inside trio of Noah, Taj Gibson and Carlos Boozer is a clearly head and shoulders and above Chris Bosh and others.
Key matchup: The most interesting showdown in this series will be between Bosh and Boozer. Both players are capable of popping off for 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds — capable being the key word. Bosh has averaged 8.9 rebounds over his career but has only grabbed more than 10 rebounds once since Mar. 8th and his scoring has dipped to 16.6 this season (lowest since his rookie season). Boozer has shown flashes this season but he needs to have a monster series for Chicago to have a chance.
Big question: Can Luol Deng return from spinal tap complications to have an impact on this series? Basketball fans hope so because he’s one of the class acts in the NBA.
Best bet: Heat in five.
[polldaddy poll=7083711]
