Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat: Seven Final Thoughts on Bulls' 97-93 Loss

The Chicago Bulls' late run in the fourth quarter, capped off by Derrick Rose's missed free throws and game-tying floater, fell short, as the Miami Heat defeated the Bulls 97-93 at home.

In a game which was hyped up to be the league's best so far, it proved to be everything but boring. The game saw no lead changes, as Miami led every single minute of the game. The Bulls fell down by more than ten three times in the contest, including an eleven-point deficit less than two minutes into the fourth quarter. However, the Bulls stormed back, eventually tying the game at 84 with 6:54 left.

The Heat then went on yet another run, bringing the game to a 94-86 score in favor of the Heat with 2:33 left. The Bulls answered with a 7-0 run that included two huge baskets by power forward Carlos Boozer and ended with a three-point play by Derrick Rose. That was as far as the Bulls went, however.

A wild turn of events ensued, which included two rare missed free throws by Rose which could have put the Bulls ahead by one with 22 seconds left; a questionable inadvertent whistle by the refs; two free throws missed by LeBron; and a failed floater by Rose to put the game away for good with less than three seconds left.

LeBron James led all scorers with 35 points, which included 11 rebounds, five assists, and six turnovers on 12-of-23 shooting. Chris Bosh also chipped in a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds. However, Dwyane Wade continued his struggles against the Bulls, scoring only 15 points on 4-of-16 shooting.

On Chicago's side, Derrick Rose led all Bulls' scorers with 34 points. Rose also added six rebounds and six assists on 11-of-28 shooting. However, his poor field goal percentage (39 percent) doesn't tell the true story of his performance.

Rose carried the Bulls' offense the entire game and hit many key shots to keep the Bulls alive, despite being down by as many as twelve points at times. Joakim Noah also added a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

And while Rose did keep the Bulls in the game, it was Rose who doomed the Bulls at the end. He missed two free throws that would have put the Bulls ahead with under 25 seconds left, and eventually missed the game-tying floater with three seconds left.

However, despite Rose's choking at the end, it was Luol Deng and C.J Watson's absences that proved to be fatal. The Bulls had no answer for LeBron James and Chris Bosh, and despite Rose's best attempt to pull out a win, the Bulls had no second scoring option. Rose also logged in 45 minutes and was not able to rest on the bench with Watson out.

The game marks the Bulls' fifth straight loss to the Heat, dating back to last year's Eastern Conference Finals. And so, without further ado, here are seven final thoughts on Sunday's afternoon game.

Richard Hamilton's Movement on Offense Gives the Heat Fits

One of the biggest reasons the Bulls lost to the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals last year was their inability to get scoring from the shooting guard position. To go even deeper, one of the Bulls' biggest problems at the shooting guard position last year was getting movement from then-starter Keith Bogans.

Over the offseason, the Bulls' front office seemed to solve that problem by acquiring ex-Piston Richard Hamilton. Hamilton seemed to be exactly what the Bulls wanted. Over a career that has spanned 13 years, Hamilton has averaged almost 18 points a game on 45 percent shooting. That's a huge upgrade from last year's starter Keith Bogans.

And so far this season, Richard Hamilton has proved his worth. Despite missing ten games, he has averaged 14.5 points on almost 48 percent shooting. One of the biggest reasons for the Bulls' improved offense this season is what Hamilton does for the offense.

To put it simply, he moves. Hamilton is one of the best offensive players in the NBA when it comes to off-ball movements. He's able to get by screens for an open shot, make smart cuts to the lane to get easy buckets, has a quick release jumper, and also has the speed to get by defenders to make running jump shots.

Sunday was no different for Hamilton when it comes to his off-ball movements. He had Dwyane Wade chasing him around the court all game and was one of the main reasons Derrick Rose was able to put up 34 points.

See, when Rose used to drive to the lane against Miami, whoever was guarding Bogans (usually Wade) was able to collapse on Rose. This wasn't the case Sunday. Wade had to stick to Hamilton all game, and that allowed Rose to blow by his defender and get easy looks at the rim.

The only problem with Hamilton's performance was his stat line. He only had 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting, despite getting many clean looks at the rim.

Rip is going to have make those easy baskets if the Bulls want to beat Miami in a seven-game series.

Carlos Boozer Is Still Disappearing Against Elite Competition

Two summers ago, the Bulls signed power forward Carlos Boozer to a five-year, $76 million deal, thinking that he would solve the Bulls' longtime problem with finding efficient post scoring. At the time, it didn't seem like a bad idea, considering Boozer averaged 18.6 points and 10.2 rebounds in six seasons playing for the Utah Jazz. The only problem was Boozer's inconsistency with staying healthy.

Well, Carlos Boozer has done everything but be the franchise player VP John Paxson and GM Gar Forman envisioned he would be.

While his stats with Chicago do not seem that bad (16.3 points and 9.1 rebounds in two seasons), it is his performance against good competition that has left many Bulls' fans questioning his contract and value to the team.

Quite frankly, I don't blame them.

Boozer has not been a low-post threat in Chicago. His performance Sunday proves that (10 points on 5-of-10 shooting). Boozer just disappeared against the Heat. But this is a reoccuring image for Chicago. Boozer just disappears against good competition.

 At times, he looks like a shooting guard with the way he depends on his fifteen-foot jumper to go in every time. He struggles to muscle his way into the post, often leading to charges. It's become almost a given that Boozer will take the jumper instead of trying to score in the post.

This was not the power forward the Bulls envisioned. Despite playing in all 22 games this season, Boozer has struggled to find an offensive game, only managing to average 15.2 points a contest.

But the stats go further than that. In nine games against winning teams this season, Boozer is only averaging 12.1 points and 7.6 rebounds a game. Even worse than that, Boozer is only averaging 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds a game in the Bulls' five losses this season, four of which have come at the hands of winning squads. Yikes!

On the contrary, Boozer is averaging 16 points and 9.1 rebounds against losing teams, including 16.4 points and 9.4 rebounds in wins this season.

Clearly, the Bulls play better when Boozer is on. I guess the real question here is, "Will the real Carlos Boozer please stand up?"

Joakim Noah Is Back

Joakim Noah is one of the most hated players in the NBA. And most of the hate comes from NBA players themselves. While I used to question why players hate him so much, I now am beginning to understand where the hate stems from.

He's mean. He's dirty. He's loud. He's gritty. But most of all, he's the Bulls' emotional leader. And his blue collar style of play was the main reason he was selected to the NBA's All-Defensive Second Team last season.

Despite playing in only 48 games a season ago, Noah managed to average almost 12 points and 11 rebounds a contest. But it wasn't his stats, defense, or flashy passing that did justice for his play a season ago.

It was his unquestionable emotional leadership and energy that helped turn the Bulls from a .500 team to the best team in the league record-wise (62-20).

While many people expected Noah to make huge strides in his play this year if he can stay healthy, Noah came out of the gates early in the year flat.

In the first fifteen games of the season, Noah averaged a lousy 6.4 points and eight rebounds a game. But it wasn't just his stats that were flat. He just seemed dead on the court. Compared to the Noah of last year, he was a totally different player.

He wasn't playing in-your-face defense. He wasn't getting up and down the court. He was missing at the rim. He wasn't playing the role of enforcer for the Bulls like he usually does.

His play was so bad that Tom Thibodeau started to give the majority of his fourth quarter minutes to bench specialist Omer Asik.

However, Noah has turned things around drastically. In the last six games, Noah has been averaging 12 points and 12 rebounds a contest. More importantly, Noah has returned as the Bulls' emotional leader.

Noah is back. Start feeding him the ball in the post more.

Luol Deng's Defense Might Have Not Helped, but His Offense Would've

For the first 36 minutes of the game, LeBron James is unstoppable. He's almost inhuman on the court. In the first 36 minutes of the game, LeBron James is the most gifted player to ever grace an NBA court.

But sadly, an NBA game goes to 48 minutes. And in the last 12 minutes of the game, LeBron James is a completely different player.

He doesn't want the ball. He doesn't want to take the last shot. And even when he wants the ball down the stretch, he just can't deliver. In a league filled with some of the best athletes in the world, LeBron is the king of them. LeBron is his only competition, but he manages nearly all the time to beat himself when it counts.

It's like a switch just turns on that makes LeBron this way.

And Sunday's game was no different. In the last four minutes of the game, Lebron managed to put up just two points on 0-for-2 shooting. And if Derrick Rose managed to hit the game-tying floated he attempted with three seconds left, LeBron's two missed free throws with under twenty seconds left would have proved him to be the ultimate choke artist.

However, thanks to Derrick Rose's late shortcomings, LeBron escaped this game untouched. He put up 35 points on 12-of-23 shooting which included a double-double with 11 rebounds as well.

Ronnie Brewer did his best to slow down James, but just couldn't contain him. LeBron was firing on all cylinders. Many people believe that Luol Deng's defense would have instantly made LeBron go from red-hot to ice-cold. Let me be the first Chicago fan to tell you that it wouldn't.

Even during the ECF Finals last year, Deng let James average almost 26 points, eight rebounds and seven assists a game. On the contrary, Deng managed to put up almost 18 points and eight rebounds against James.

While Deng may have not been able to completely contain James on Sunday, Deng would have given the Bulls a much-needed second scoring option. Ronnie Brewer only shot the ball eight times for eight points and had no assists.

And in a game that came down to the last few seconds, Deng's offense was the only thing the Bulls needed to win. Derrick just couldn't do it alone, and self-glorified post presence Carlos Boozer certainly wasn't stepping up either.

The Bench Mob Is Like a Centipede

Many people have complained about Tom Thibodeau's relentless playing of his starters lately. It should come as no surprise to most as the Bulls have suffered many injuries as of late.

Richard Hamilton has missed over half the Bulls' game this year. Derrick Rose missed five games due to turf toe. C.J. missed a handful of games earlier in the year due to a dislocated elbow, and missed this Sunday's game due to a sore wrist.

More recently, however, Luol Deng went down with a torn ligament in his non-shooting wrist. The injury proved fatal against Indiana and Miami for various reasons.

Luol Deng's absence leaves the Bulls with no second scoring option to compliment Rose. Deng also gives the Bulls priceless defense at the wing spot, as it is more often than not that Deng is guarding the opposing team's best scorer.

However, despite what Deng does with the starting lineup playing in the game, most people fail to realize that Luol Deng is the chieftain of the bench mob.

While the Bulls' other starters are getting their pretty rest on the bench, Deng is still in the game running the floor with the bench mob. He is the one that is hustling, playing one-on-one defense, and scoring when the starters are on the bench.

See, the Bulls' bench is a collective conscious. It's a centipede. The bench mob only works when all legs are standing. When people are confused as to why the Bulls' bench can spark runs out of thin air, it is because they are unaware of the chemistry that the bench displays.

When Deng is out, Ronnie Brewer is starting, and C.J. Watson is out, the bench mob ceases to exist. And that is why Tom Thibodeau has been heavily reliant on his starting lineup to log in 35 minutes+ every game.

He knows that the bench mob is only the bench mob when all the pieces are healthy just as well as I do. It's rather funny.

When most people talk about depth, the Bulls are usually given the title as the deepest team in the league. That's a fairly easy thing to agree on.

But the Bulls just aren't deep. They essentially have two starting lineups. And when that second starting lineup is missing pieces, it doesn't work. It can't flourish. The bench mob has a special chemistry that only allows it to work when all the pieces are together.

And that usually spells trouble for opposing teams.

Stats Can Lie: Rose's Performance Doesn't

At first glance at Sunday's box score, many people will believe that Derrick Rose was off on his shooting game. He only managed to average 39 percent shooting on 28 attempts. While his 34 points, six rebounds and six assists may seem gaudy, his shooting percent certainly wasn't.

But don't get your head twisted around that stat line. The truth about Rose's performance was that he carried the Bulls all four quarters. Even when he picked up two early fouls, Rose was still in the game. It was clear that the Bulls just couldn't do it with Derrick on the bench.

He logged in 45 minutes during Sunday's game, his most of the season. And with Luol Deng out, Rose had to pick up Deng's slack on his own without much help. Despite all five starters scoring in double figures, the Bulls struggled to find a consistent second scoring option all game.

Rose attempted 28 shots, but rightfully so. Rose was the one who sparked all three of the Bulls' runs when they were down by 10 or more. It was Rose who was slashing to the lane and sacrificing his body to score points. It was Rose who was finding the open man who just couldn't seem to capitalize on Rose's performance and hit the open jumpers.

Rose nearly willed his team to victory by himself.

But to put it plain and simple, Rose just ran out of gas. He played in nearly every minute of the game, but fell short. Many people can say he choked. But those are the people who aren't appreciative of the fact that it was Rose himself who kept Chicago on the brink of victory all game.

I'm not disappointed or even the slightest bit mad that Rose missed his free throws and choked at the end. If anything, Rose showed me Sunday that he is ready to win a title. He's willing to take the shots that egotistical players won't take to boost their shooting percentage.

Say what you want about Derrick Rose's talents. But you can't belittle his humbleness, leadership, and the sacrifices he makes to win.

Final Word

Sadly, someone had to win this game.

In a game that saw no lead changes, many would expect the Bulls' 93-97 loss to the Heat as a rather unexciting game.

But don't let the stats fool you. This game proved that the hype was worth it. It was electrifying, unpredictable, and wild. The game's finish was a nail-biter, and had me out of my seat many times. I think I smoked a half of a pack of cigarettes down the stretch because my nerves wouldn't settle.

However, this type of game has become almost a routine for the Bulls and the Heat. In the Eastern Conference Finals last year, all four of the Heat's wins could have gone the other way if someone not named Derrick Rose or Luol Deng stepped up.

But hey, a loss is a loss. And the Bulls took that series to the chin. For Derrick Rose, it was growing pains. The reigning MVP and superstar is going to be dealt blows like that in his career. Nobody said winning a NBA Championship would be easy.

Over the offseason, both the Heat and the Bulls made moves that improved their roster. The Heat acquired longtime three-point and defensive specialist Shane Battier and drafted a solid young point guard in Norris Cole. The Bulls also made a key move, solving their shooting guard woes by acquiring longtime Piston Richard Hamilton.

There is no doubt in my mind that Chicago and Miami are the two best teams in the NBA. And I would have to say that both squads are on an equal plateau.

Moving forward, Sunday's game essentially means nothing to the success of each team heading down the stretch in the regular season. After all, it is just a regular season game.

But considering the hype that surrounds both these teams each time they play, it might trick you into believing that Sunday's contest was indeed a playoff game.

That's the beauty of the rivalry, though. It's relentless and vicious. You never know who is going to win. All 24 players on each team play their toughest basketball every time they see each other. If you're a true basketball fan, you can appreciate these battles. It shows the truth about what basketball is about: the desire to win.

So don't feed the Internet trolls. Just grab some popcorn and whatever beverage calms your nerves down during a basketball game, because this rivalry is about as entertaining as sports gets!