Bulls Can't Take The Heat: Don't Expect Chicago to Beat Miami Tonight
Chicago is playing Miami tonight in one of the most anticipated games this season. The Bulls have high expectations despite an injury to their defensive anchor Joakim Noah. When Jo is back, I think the Bulls have as good of a shot as any to beat the Heat in the other matchups and even the playoffs.
However, today, Bulls fans probably should not have any sort of expectations for a win.
The Heat is the hottest team in basketball despite losing its last two games. In those games, LeBron either was limited or sat out due to a sprained left ankle. LeBron is optimistic that he will play tonight after the day of rest in between Miami's last two games.
The Heat just don't match up well with Chicago when it doesn't have Joakim. Its help defense just isn't as good; it is extremely important tonight because Wade and LeBron can get to the bucket at will.
The Bulls just played last night too. For whatever reason, Luol Deng played a ridiculous 43 minutes. Boozer's and Rose's minutes were handled fine, but Deng will be tired after the long playing time and short rest. As well, Deng has to guard the best player in the NBA, LeBron James. For this reason, don't expect Deng to have much going on offense. His defense may be limited too.
The key to look for is whether Rose and Boozer can be effective. Rose should be effective because he will either be initially guarded by Carlos Arroyo or Mario Chalmers.
This seems to be a game that Kyle Korver or Ronnie Brewer should really be starting. Korver would mean that Wade would have to stay with him instead of switching on to Derrick Rose.
Wade versus Rose might be a much harder matchup. Brewer's presence would at least mean that the Bulls have a lockdown defender playing against Dwyane Wade, one of the best players in the league. However, Bogans will start and both of these two things may go wrong.
Boozer should abuse Bosh on offense. Typically, Boozer struggles somewhat against length, but not if that length is weak. Bosh is very weak compared to Boozer, so Boozer should be able to just bully Bosh in the post. However, Bosh may beat Boozer in the post when Carlos is on defense, but that will be remedied with the return of Joakim Noah.
Really, the Bulls when healthy are just as good as the Heat. If they can show some positive signs and keep it relatively close, that bodes well for our future matchup. However, the only way the Bulls can really win this game is if LeBron doesn't play. The Heat is just better right now, but today is all about looking ahead.
