NBA Playoffs 2011: Miami Heat vs. Chicago Bulls Keys to Victory and Predictions
Two of the best teams in the NBA square off in the Eastern Conference Finals as the Chicago Bulls meet the Miami Heat in the third round of the NBA Playoffs.
Chicago swept the season series against Miami by a total of eight points in three games, but all of that can be thrown out the window.
The Bulls are the younger team that play with a lot of energy, while the Heat are the experienced team that rely on their Big Three to carry them. However, the role players in this series could determine the outcome of each and every game.
Many people will peg the winner of this matchup as the favorite to win the NBA Finals, but the Dallas Mavericks or Oklahoma City Thunder will present a tough matchup for either team.
Without further ado, here are the keys to victory for each team.
Chicago Bulls
1 of 7
Rose became the youngest player to ever win the MVP award this season, and carried the Chicago Bulls to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the best record in the NBA.
The Bulls are going to need everything they can get out of Rose if they want to beat the Miami Heat. Rose averaged 25 points and nearly eight assists per game this season, but the Bulls are going to need more than that from him this series.
Rose has stepped up his game so far this postseason, averaging nearly four more points per game than he did in the regular season. He is going to be going against inferior defenders in this series and the Bulls need him to take the game over early and often.
Miami Heat
2 of 7
Team Defense
The Miami Heat were one of the premier defensive teams in the NBA this past league, but they are going to need to step it up against the Bulls.
The Bulls were in the bottom half of the league in scoring this season, but Derrick Rose excels at getting into the lane and finding open looks for his teammates. Mario Chalmers and Mike Bibby are not going to be able to contain Rose on their own, and are going to need help from the rest of the team to contain him.
The issue for the Heat is going to be if they collapse their defense too much and leave Luol Deng and Kyle Korver open for easy jumpers.
Chicago Bulls
3 of 7
Offensive Production from Role Players
Derrick Rose has been single-handedly carrying this team on the offensive end in the playoffs until Carlos Boozer's big game against Atlanta in Game Six.
The role players, including Boozer who has been less than stellar in these playoffs, need to step up and contribute more on the offensive end.
Everybody knows that Luol Deng is going to be his steady self and score between 15 and 20 points per game, but Boozer, Joakim Noah and Kyle Korver are the X-factors.
If Korver can consistently knock down jump shots, and Boozer can dominate the post against Chris Bosh, the Bulls should be able to win this series. However, if these players don't show up the Bulls are going to have a difficult time winning games against the Heat.
Miami Heat
4 of 7
Mario Chalmers and Mike Bibby
Mario Chalmers and Mike Bibby are both going to be very important in this series for the Miami Heat on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
On defense, they will be asked to shut down the MVP of the league, Derrick Rose. On offense, they are going to be asked to challenge Rose, in an attempt to make him work on both ends of the floor.
If neither Chalmers nor Bibby can be productive on offense, Rose will be able to save most of his energy for the offensive side of the ball. Rose plays a lot of minutes for the Bulls, as they cannot afford to leave him on the bench for long. If they can tire Rose out and wear him down by forcing him to exert a lot of energy on defense, the Heat will have a real advantage.
Chicago Bulls
5 of 7
Dominate the Glass
The Bulls were the second best rebounding team in the regular season, as they brought in over 44 rebounds per game. They are going to need each and every one of those rebounds, plus some against the Miami Heat.
The Heat were also a top-10 rebounding team as well, so the Bulls will not be able to dominate the glass easily. Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and Carlos Boozer are the three primary rebounders for the Bulls and will be the ones responsible for limiting the Heat to one possession on offense.
Not only is it important for the Bulls to limit the Heat to one possession, but it is also important for the Bulls to get extra possessions on offense. As mentioned previously, the Bulls are not a premier offensive team, so they could use all the extra possessions they can get against Miami.
Miami Heat
6 of 7
Pass the Basketball
The Miami Heat have been notorious this season for running isolation play after isolation play. They finished near the bottom of the league in assists, averaging only 20 assists per game.
The Heat will not beat the Chicago defense without passing the ball. Luol Deng is a solid defender that has a lot of experience playing against LeBron James. Keith Bogans and Ronnie Brewer are also very consistent defenders who will alternate shifts covering Dwayne Wade.
Those guys are not going to be beaten on a consistent basis with isolation plays, the Heat are going to need to create easy baskets by passing the ball.
The Heat need to get the Bulls defense moving, if they continue to run isolation plays, they will have no chance of beating Chicago's stout defense.
Prediction
7 of 7
Chicago Bulls Win Series 4-3
There is no doubt in anyone's mind that this is going to be a long series. Both teams are extremely talented, and there is no question that the Heat have more talent than the Bulls.
However, the Bulls have the NBA MVP and the NBA Coach of the Year. Tom Thibodeau has done a terrific job with the Chicago Bulls this season, and there is no chance Erik Spoelstra can out-coach Thibodeau in this series.
Thibodeau has plenty of experience coaching against both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, and will put together a terrific game plan to shut those guys down.
Carlos Boozer should have no problem getting his rhythm back against Chris Bosh, whose defense has been the worst aspect of his game for much of his career.
The biggest advantage for the Bulls is that they get their best defenders matched up against Wade and James, while Rose is going to have Mario Chalmers and Mike Bibby matched up against him. Chalmers and Bibby both made a one-armed Rajon Rondo look like a star in the series against Boston, so Rose should have no problem finding his game.
In the end, this series could go either way, but the coaching, defense, and energy of the Bulls should be enough to get the Bulls out of the Eastern Conference.
