Bulls vs. Heat: How Chris Bosh and Carlos Boozer Will Determine Both Teams' Play

Last season's Eastern Conference finalists are engaged in yet another titanic struggle to bring home a championship. The Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat have once again proven too talented and well-coached for most of the league to handle.

The credit for these teams' success typically goes to some combination of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose and Coach Tom Thibodeau—and rightfully so. These are the individuals who excel at what they do, even on a stage comprised of the world's best athletes.

Yet, these usual suspects may not be the ones who ultimately determine the fates of their respective teams. After all, they are the constants, the ones we can rely upon.

It's the less sure bets that may be the difference between a title and another season ending in disappointment.

Since Chicago acquired Carlos Boozer as a free agent in 2010, the sometimes maligned power forward has actually managed to maintain a pretty consistent rate of production, especially when taking account of his slight reduction in playing time. Nevertheless, with Boozer set to make over $15 million in each of the next three seasons, nothing short of consistent All-Star caliber play will satisfy Bulls fans hungry for another dynasty. And while Boozer has solid, he has been anything but consistently great.

Besides his tendency to sometimes disappear from games altogether, he's relying more than ever on mid-range jump shots and getting to the line just over two times a game (compared to his average 4.9 free-throw attempts in his last season with Utah.

If Boozer becomes more aggressive, calls for the ball and forces the action inside the paint, the Bulls may have the second option they need to do damage in the postseason.

If not, there will be a lot riding on Luol Deng.

Miami, meanwhile, faces a similar predicament—the third member of the Big Three that many (including Boozer himself) view as more of a third a wheel than third option.

To his credit, Bosh has remained very much the same consistent, versatile power forward he was with the Toronto Raptors—minus a few shot attempts, of course. You'd like to see him collect more than his 7.9 rebounds a game, but Bosh shouldn't be confused with a dominant paint presence.

He is, however, a steadying presence. When his mid-range game is clicking, Miami's margin for error improves dramatically.

When opposing defenders elect to collapse on James and Wade, Bosh's ability to spread the floor gives Miami a weapon that could be essential against elite competition.

That certainly looked to be the case in last year's Conference Finals when Bosh twice topped 30 points en route to sending Bulls home after five games. Bosh shot over 70 percent from the field in both of those games, proving to Boozer's dismay that he remains more than capable of carrying his weight.

The Heat will need him to carry that and more if Miami's title dreams are to become a reality.