Miami Heat vs. Chicago Bulls Prediction: Bulls Beat the Heat in 7 Games

The Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls are the only two teams remaining in the Eastern Conference. They will face off in the playoffs as they attempt to advance to the NBA Finals.

This series will have everything that can be asked for in a playoff series: drama, great names and the potential to go seven games. The Bulls will have home-court advantage, since they finished the season with a better regular season record.

That could be crucial in a series that should be close. The Miami Heat boasts the Big Three, otherwise known as the “Heatles”, in LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. The Bulls have the reigning MVP in Derrick Rose and a solid supporting cast that thrives on defense. 

The latest basketball betting odds have the Bulls as underdogs in this series. Despite the lack of big names, the Chicago Bulls are the better team and will win this series.

The Bulls have several intangibles that are being overlooked due to the bright spotlight shined on the Heat in this series.

The Bulls' resurgence and return to the finals for the first time since Michael Jordan can be attributed to many things.

Tom Thibodeau deserves credit for getting the young Bulls to get serious about playing defense. Thibodeau was the defensive mastermind behind the Celtics' championship run in 2008 and subsequent Finals appearance in 2010. The reigning coach of the year has the Bulls focused and ready to make a run at an NBA title.

Derrick Rose is one of the best players in basketball and has the skills to carry the Bulls past the Heat in this series. He can take over a game and can energize his team when they need it the most. He challenged his team to respond in Game 6 against the Hawks, and they answered the call with their most impressive win of the postseason.

Rose will get a challenge by Mario Chalmers and D-Wade on defense, but will be vital in advancing past Miami in the playoffs.

Carlos Boozer was being viewed as a flop early in the NBA playoffs. The Chicago fans were booing him and it looked as though he could be benched. However he has turned his game around and posted back-to-back double-double games. Boozer can wreak havoc inside against the Heat and leads to another area on the floor the Bulls have excelled at: rebounding.

The Bulls dominated the Hawks in rebounding and there is no reason to believe they will not beat the Heat on the boards. Joakim Noah is one of the most aggressive rebounders in the game and will be a pest inside. This leads to the final area that the Bulls will use to beat the Heat, the “Bench Mob.’’

The Bulls affectionately call their bench players the “Bench Mob’’ and they have been known to change the game. Kyle Korver can hit from long distance as a sharp-shooter from the outside. Taj Gibson and Ronnie Brewer fill in nicely with a quality mixture of offensive output ad stern defense.

This undoubtedly will be a great series to tune into and should be filled with great plays, but in the end the Bulls will win. The Bulls have more depth and strength inside than the Heat are used to dealing with. The Heat will play tough and this series will go deep, but look for the Bulls to prevail.

Heat vs. Bulls Prediction: Bulls in seven games.

Matt Regaw is a B/R Featured Columnist and the founder of BookieBlitz.com, your one-stop shop for sports articles, previews and predictions. Feel free to contact Matt at [e-mail].