Bulls vs. Heat: East's Best Will Battle Down to the Wire with Defense in Miami

The Chicago Bulls (17-4) and Miami Heat (14-5) will battle in South Beach on Sunday afternoon (3:30 PM ET, ABC) to determine which team is the Eastern Conference's best.

LeBron James and the Miami Heat welcomed back Dwyane Wade on Friday night against the New York Knicks, and now have a crucial defensive piece back in the lineup when they take on the Bulls.

Wade stuffed two shots and racked up five steals in his return to action on Friday night. It is that kind of defensive effort that will turn Sunday's premier matchup into a grinder. 

The Bulls, meanwhile, are allowing just 87 points per game to the opposition this season. They will have their hands full on Sunday, though, when they face off against the NBA's second-ranked offensive unit in Miami. The Heat are scoring 104.3 points per game this season despite having missed one of their Big Three for a significant amount of time.

Offense will give way to defense in this matchup, however, as MVP candidates Derrick Rose and LeBron James both make a living on that side of the ball, as well as Wade. 

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"It'll be a little different, but the principles are the same," Wade told ESPN. "They live on their defense and obviously this year we've been scoring, but our defense is what wins games and hopefully one day wins championships for us."

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LeBron is averaging nearly two steals per game this season and has the strong body to defend virtually any position on the floor. Rose's athleticism, on the other hand, negates the speed and quickness of opposing point guards and their ability to penetrate into the paint. 

Sure, the loss of Luol Deng on the both sides of the ball will hurt the Bulls, but it's team defense that ultimately decides whether Chicago sinks or floats. 

Neither team will give an inch on Sunday, much to the chagrin of offense-loving NBA fans. But it was defense that determined the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals between these two ball clubs, and it is defense that will determine a close, back-and-forth battle on Sunday afternoon. 

There will be playoff intensity and championship-caliber defense on display as one team makes a statement heading into the crucial stretch of the season.