NBA Playoffs 2011: 7 Keys for the Miami Heat to Beat the Chicago Bulls
Bar a major upset, the Miami Heat will face the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals, in a battle of the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds.
In three meetings this season, Miami has fallen short, losing by a combined seven points in all three matchups.
If this is any indication, this series will be hotly contested and will certainly be entertaining for fans everywhere.
Either team can really come out and take this series, but as a Heat fan you already know who I am rooting for.
So, without any further ado, lets look at how Miami can beat the Chicago Bulls.
1: Control the Glass
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In all three matchups against the Bulls, Miami has been out-rebounded 131 to 99.
Chicago also boasted 13 extra offensive boards over Miami.
In a regular season series were the two teams were only separated by a grand total of seven points, you can tell how those 13 extra possessions for Chicago were so influential on the Bulls being able to sneak away with wins.
For Miami, Chris Bosh in particular needs to step up. In the three games, he averaged only 6.3 boards. Compare that to his counterpart in Carlos Boozer who averaged 9.6 rebounds, 3.3 of which were offensive.
2: Dominate the Paint
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Chicago also led Miami in points in the paint, holding a 16-point advantage over the course of the three meetings.
This is a crucial component for Miami, as when they are in attack mode and bombarding the paint, they are nearly unbeatable.
The Bulls are a great defensive team under the watchful eye of defensive mastermind Tom Thibodeau, so you know they will be denying the drive every chance possible, as they want to turn Miami into a jump-shooting team.
Much like the Celtics did in their playoff series against Miami, look for Chicago to create a wall of defenders whenever LeBron James or Dwyane Wade drive to the basket.
LeBron and Wade, however, did a solid job of reading what the defense gave them, and generally executed well depending on the situation.
They will need to be on their best, along with Chris Bosh, if Miami wants to take advantage close to the hoop.
3: Try to Slow Down Derrick Rose
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The key word here is try.
There is no doubting that Derrick Rose is now a dominant force in the NBA, with the ability to take over basketball games with his mix of speed, strength and general knowledge of the game.
Miami needs to try and slow down his production, because if he is struggling, then Chicago is probably going to struggle too.
Miami will throw their three best perimeter defenders on Rose throughout the series in Wade, LeBron and Mario Chalmers.
It will probably be either Chalmers or Wade on Rose for the majority though, as they are better suited in guarding the swift moving MVP.
But expect LeBron to try his hand, especially in the clutch. His combination of size, speed and length may be enough to trouble Rose.
I expect Derrick Rose to have a tremendous series, however, as great offense usually trumps great defense.
Miami will be fine with this, though. Their main goal will to simply limit how effective Derrick Rose can be.
4: Bench Production
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The bench for the Heat has been the weak link in the chain. With injuries to Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller (who were pretty much going to make up the entire production for Miami off the pine), Miami's bench was in trouble.
Contrast this to one of the best benches in the league with Kyle Korver, Omar Asik, Ronnie Brewer, Taj Gibson and C.J. Watson, and you can see why I am a bit worried in this regard.
However, in the postseason, the bench for Miami has stepped up astronomically.
Chalmers has been solid, having big games (Game 5 vs. 76ers, Game 3 vs. Celtics) while also playing solid defense on Rondo and Delonte West.
Joel Anthony has proven to be the ultimate workhorse, but I'm not even sure if he qualifies as a bench player anymore with his recent promotion to the starting unit.
James Jones has been on and off (25-point performance in Game 1 vs. Celtics), but is known to come in to hit big shots when needed.
The big looming question mark resides over Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem, by far Miami's two best bench players.
Miller has seemingly lost his shooting touch after thumb injuries to both hands. His minutes have been cut, with James Jones being the more favourable option for Erik Spoelstra.
Udonis Haslem came back for a brief cameo in Game 4 against the Celtics, in which he offered up two fouls, and a technical.
Look for him to be big in this upcoming series, as the extra time off will do nothing but help him recover from his injury.
His return will be critical, as he brings an inside presence, toughness and much needed rebounding for Miami.
5: Dwyane Wade and LeBron James Must Be Extraordinary Again
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The Dynamic Duo were simply unstoppable against the Boston Celtics.
They boasted near identical statistics in every possible category.
Wade would get the ball rolling, dominating first halves and making sure Miami kept within striking distance.
Then LeBron would take over with some awe inspiring performances, especially in Games 4 and 5.
If Wade and LeBron can keep up this level of play, it is hard to see how any team in the NBA can beat them.
They not only need to be good on the offensive end, but they need to keep up their superb defensive efforts as well.
Most notably, it will most likely come down to a combination of Wade and LeBron guarding Derrick Rose throughout the series, with whoever isn't on Rose to be on the second-best offensive perimeter threat in Luol Deng.
6: Chris Bosh Must Outplay Carlos Boozer
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Quite simple: In games where Chris Bosh outplayed Kevin Garnett, Miami won.
The same needs to be done in this series going up against another All-Star power forward in Carlos Boozer.
Both of these forwards have seen their fair share of struggles this postseason, Boozer especially, being plagued by injury.
Bosh notably struggled against the Bulls this regular season (not even going to mention the 1-for-18 shooting game, I still shudder when I relive it), so he should look to come out aggressive against them in this series.
These two guys are definitely the X-factors, due to the fact that when they are on top of their game, so is their respective team.
7: Miami Must Execute Down the Stretch
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The final slide in this slideshow is reserved for the major problem that troubled Miami throughout the regular season, particularly against the Chicago Bulls.
Miami couldn't close out these tight, down-to-the-wire games.
The good sign?
Games 4 and 5 against the Celtics.
What a beautiful thing confidence is.
Miami now knows, after all the trouble and suffering they went through, they finally broke through the wall that Erik Spoelstra stressed in every postgame interview in which Miami had lost a close game.
In both Games 4 and 5, Miami was down late in the fourth.
In both games, they found a way to win.
Whether through good defense, or simply amazing offense (looking at you, LeBron), Miami finally executed in late-game situations.
And what a better way to boost your confidence then by doing it in back-to-back games against one of the elite teams in the NBA in the Boston Celtics.
They need to continue this if they want any chance of beating the Chicago Bulls.
