Miami Heat vs. Chicago Bulls: Keys to Victory for Chicago in Game 4

The Chicago Bulls' backs are against the wall as they prepare to face the Miami Heat in Game 4 of their playoff series.

A loss to the Heat would mean the series is all but over, with Game 5 back in Miami. On the other side of the coin, if the Bulls can even things up at two games apiece, their postseason hopes would be very much alive.

Here are the areas the Bulls need to focus on in order to pull out a win Game 4.

Defense

After limiting the Heat to under 40 percent shooting from the field in the series opener, Chicago has not played well defensively in the last two contests.

In Game 2, Miami connected on 60 percent of its shot attempts in a 115-78 victory and followed that up with a 50 percent shooting performance in Game 3.

It is difficult to beat any opponent when you allow them to shoot the ball at a high percentage. This principle especially holds true against a team with as much offensive firepower as Miami.

Therefore, unless the Bulls start doing a better job with contesting shots and containing Miami’s perimeter players, they will find themselves down 3-1.

Rebounding

One of the advantages the Bulls had over the Heat coming into this series was the fact they were a better rebounding team.

However, that has not been the case over the last two games, both of which were losses for the Bulls. 

In Game 1, the Bulls pounded the Heat on the boards, 46-32, but were out-rebounded 41-28 in Game 2 and 39-37 in Game 3.

Per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, Bulls forward Jimmy Butler offered this excerpt on the importance of the team being more effective on the boards:

"When they do miss, we have to get the rebound. If they get the offensive rebound and a layup, that’s 50 percent. That’s where that whole 50 percent thing comes in."

The lesson here is when the Bulls do a good job of rebounding the basketball, not only do they limit the opportunities for second-chance points, they also hinder Miami's ability to get out in transition.

Controlled Physical Play

When two teams have a mutual dislike for another, as is the case with the Bulls and the Heat, the games will usually get physical at some point.

The only problem is that while Chicago is holding its own by not shying away from this kind of play, they are not going about it in the right way.

Nazr Mohammed was ejected early in Game 3 after shoving LeBron James to the floor near half court, increasing the number of players the Bulls have lost due to ejections to three.

I applaud the Bulls for not being afraid of the Heat while showing a willingness to fight them tooth and nail along the way.

By the same token, Chicago needs to find a way to channel its aggressive energy into executing Tom Thibodeau's game plan on both ends of the floor.

In other words, if the Bulls can play with their heads and not allow themselves to be distracted with aspects of the game that are not important, they have a chance of turning this into a best-of-three series.