NBA Eastern Conference Finals Preview

Okay, I just finished my serving of steamed crow, thanks to the Boston Celtics for allowing that to happen. So the Miami Heat move on to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Chicago Bulls led by League MVP Derrick Rose and NBA Coach of the Year Tom Thibodeau, the Bulls disposed of the Atlanta Hawks in six games and now face a Miami Heat team that they swept in the regular season.

Let’s look at the matchups.

Don’t be fooled by the Bulls 3-0 sweep of the Heat in the regular season, the Heat were without out either LeBron James or Dwayne Wade in two of those games and the third defeat was in the midst of the Heat’s struggles. If you need further clarification – ask the Celtics what a season sweep of the Heat means in the Playoffs.

Guards: The Heat will try to attack Derrick Rose in a number of ways, they’ll start out with Mike Bibby and Mario Chalmers. If Rose gets off to a fast start expect Wade to take some of the defensive slack. Lack of a great on the ball defender make this an uphill climb for the Heat. The Bulls have a little more flexibility in their approach to Wade. Look for them to start out with Keith Bogans, and mix in Ronnie Brewer over the course of the game. Both Bogans and Brewer are capable defenders. They goal isn’t to shut Wade down but to make it difficult to settle into his game.

Forwards/Centers: This is where the series will be won. Chicago should be careful not to try and outmuscle the Heat, not that they can’t but because it will do more harm than good. Luol Deng on LeBron James is THE matchup of the series Deng is a proven defender and has done a decent job facing James look for the aggressive Taj Gibson to take his chances against James as well. Against the Bulls this season James averaged 22.5 ppg. against the Bulls, not bad numbers but sub-par if you’re LeBron James. The Heat hope
that James Jones can be a boost off of their thin bench

The matchup between Carlos Boozer and Chris Bosh should be interesting. Boozer really struggled in that Hawks series before breaking through last night, the question is which guy is going to show up – to be honest Boozer’s been lukewarm all season. Bosh doesn’t post the power numbers of James or Wade but he can run off four or five straight buckets just the same. If Bosh gets warmed up from the outside, it usually makes for a long night if you’re the opposition.

Watching Joel Anthony and Joakim Noah do battle will be worth the price of my cable bill this month. Both guys have a high motor that runs hot, while Anthony isn’t as outwardly expressive as Noah, he does the intangibles that make the difference in a game. Anthony has been very impressive in these playoffs.

Bench: The Bulls bench is significantly deeper and more versatile than Miami’s, but the Heat have proven that they can get by with minimal offensive production from their reserves and that’s the difference in facing this team.

Prediction: There is more to the Chicago Bulls than Derrick Rose, they don’t have the collective experience of the Celtics but they don’t have their aging legs either. This is a Bulls team that will run with and past the Heat, there will come a point in this series where Derrick Rose will look like he’s out there by himself, ditto for James and Wade. The question is will Rose continue to play within himself when the Heat are up 10 in the third quarter, will he still be in control of his game.

The Bulls are facing the Heat at a time when everything is clicking unlike their regular season meetings this is a team that can see the finish line. LeBron James’ performance in closing out the Celtics was an all-timer for me. Wade is still the catalyst and Bosh just quietly does what he’s supposed to do. After all of the X’s and O’s, it still comes down to keeping THREE guys in check. The test comes now for the Heat this is a team with depth, speed and power. Just like them, I picked the Bulls to win it all in the beginning of the playoffs and I’m reluctantly sticking to it. Bulls in Seven.