Czar’s Playoff Preview

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Czar’s Playoff Preview: Heat vs. Bulls Game 5

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

The Bulls turned up the heat in Game 4, but Miami made out with the 101-93 overtime win at home on Tuesday. The spoils of war add up to a commanding 3-1 lead for the Heatles in the Eastern Conference Finals. Once again, limiting King James to a mere mortal’s game proved a tough assignment. LeBron kicked it into gear and closed out Game 4 with a 35-point finish, his biggest of this series.

Chris Bosh contributed another solid 22-point performance. And the Heat got an extra dozen-point, nine-board boost from Mike Miller off the bench, as well as nine points from Mario Chalmers. Dwyane Wade still hasn’t broken out yet. The Bulls have done a great job containing him so far, but he’s like a sleeping giant who could bust out at any moment.

Whether or not Wade plays at the top of his game tonight, MVP Derrick Rose has to figure out how he’s going to attack Miami’s defense in Game 5 if he wants to keep his team in title contention. And Coach Tom Thibadeau must devise a plan to get him away from LeBron, who put a blanket on Rose for Chicago’s two most critical shots down the stretch in Game 4. Carlos Boozer needs another big game. And the bench has to contribute more to give Chicago the edge in tonight’s elimination match.

Miami knows that Dallas is ready and waiting to meet the winner of this grueling series. Every day that they allow it to go on gives Dallas that much more of an advantage in terms of preparation time and rest. Erik Spoelstra and his team are just one win away from manifesting their three-star master plan to compete for an NBA Title. But unlike last night’s contest in which the Mavericks’ execution and experience enabled them to seal the deal, I think Chicago has a good chance to capture the W and send this series back to Miami for Game 6. The Central Division Champion Chicago Bulls will host the Southeast Division Champion Miami Heat tonight in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals at 8:30 PM ET on TNT.

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Czar’s Playoff Preview: Thunder vs. Mavericks Game 5

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

Led by the unstoppable Nowitzki, the Mavericks bounced back from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals in overtime 112-105. It will be interesting to see how the very young Thunder team responds in Game 5 after that crushing defeat. Oklahoma City have to claw their way out of a daunting 3-1 hole against a veteran team that is playing outstanding ball. Will the deflated Thunder collapse, or do they still have the belief that they can take down Dallas on the road and get back into this series one win at a time?

Dallas only needs to grab one game at home to advance to the NBA Championships, and they will be very eager to get it in front of their faithful fans tonight. The Mavericks can use all the rest they can get before facing whichever formidable Eastern Conference opponent awaits the winner of this series. And more importantly, they know OKC is too dangerous to let them hang around. Dallas wants to put them away as soon as possible. After beating OKC twice in their own building, the Mavs will come out in Game 5 with tremendous confidence in their ability to best them again. It’s been a thrilling, hard-fought series so far and I expect another spectacular effort in this evening’s elimination match.

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Czar’s Playoff Preview: Bulls vs. Heat Game 4

Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

The Miami Heat protected their turf in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Chris Bosh scored 34 points to lead his team past Chicago 96-85. The Bulls haven’t suffered consecutive losses since early February. They must win Game 4 on the road tonight in order to reclaim home court advantage and salvage a legitimate shot at advancing to the NBA Championship.

It will be interesting to see whether Chicago changes up its defense in order to shut down Bosh and prevent him from having another huge game. However, in doing so they risk the possibility of allowing LeBron James and/or Dwyane Wade to put up big numbers. Head Coach Tom Thibodeau will have to decide whether to implement a new strategy or to play the same way in order to contain James and Wade (who were held to 22 and 17 points respectively) while doing a better individual job on Bosh.

On the offensive end of the court, Chicago needs to figure out a way to score more points against Miami’s outstanding defense. Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer both produced in the last game, combining for 46 total. But a third starter needs to step up and give the Bulls a boost. Ball movement and bench productivity will also be critical to their success.

The Heat see the opportunity in front of them to end the Eastern Conference Finals in five games and will be anxious to seize the pivotal Game 4 in front of their enthusiastic fans. This is a veteran Miami team that will try to take advantage of the younger Chicago squad’s relative lack of experience in order to take control of their series like Dallas was able to do last night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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Czar’s Playoff Prevew: Thunder vs. Mavericks Game 4

Monday, May 23rd, 2011

The Oklahoma City Thunder stole Game 2 in Dallas only to give home court advantage right back to the Mavericks in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. I’m wondering if this young Thunder team is starting to collapse not only from the physical fatigue, but also the mental exhaustion of fighting through so many playoff games in a row.

In order for OKC to beat this experienced Dallas squad in Game 4 they must get all cylinders firing at once. Both All-Stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook need to have a big night. And just as the reinforcements came through in Game 2, sixth man James Harden must deliver off the bench in conjunction with at least one of their other guys.

Dallas understands they have a huge opportunity to close out this series in five and get some rest while the Heat and Bulls battle back East. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Mavs’ veteran mentality and all their years of playoff experience pay off in a great performance tonight that allows them to return home with a 3-1 lead in this series.

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Czar’s Playoff Preview: Bulls vs. Heat Game 3

Sunday, May 22nd, 2011

The six-time champion Chicago Bulls, owners of the NBA’s #1 overall seed in these 2011 Playoffs, come to South Florida tonight to take on the Miami Heat, the East’s number two seed and the league’s most discussed, dissected and debated team this season, in the pivotal Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

After absorbing a 21-point trouncing at the hands of MVP PG Derrick Rose and teammates in Game 1, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and fellow ‘Heatles’ bounced back in Game 2 on Wednesday night at The United Center and evened the ECF at a game apiece. Now the simultaneously adored and vilified Miami squad has home court advantage in the series. With Games 3 and 4 in Miami, Coach Erik Spoelstra and team president Pat Riley both must feel good the position their team is in given that the Heat were 30-11 at the American Airlines Arena in the regular season and are undefeated on Biscayne Boulevard so far this postseason.

This series has been a physical, bloody (literally) and aggressive battle thus far, with team rebounding playing a monstrous factor. Of the 30 teams in the world’s best basketball league, the Bulls ranked first in defensive field goal percentage at .430, and the Heat were second at .434. Interestingly, Miami shot exactly 32 for 68 from the
field in both Games 1 and 2, a 47.1% clip. The key difference for the Heat was that in their Game 2 road-victory they outrebounded Chicago 45-41 and upped their defensive rotations and intensity. In the opening game they got destroyed on the backboards, 45-33, allowing the Bulls to grab 19 offensive boards. Also, in Game 2 Chicago made only three 3-pointers compared to the ten they connected on from 23’ 9” in the first game.

The Bulls have the deeper more impactful bench, while the Heat have the best 1-2-3 punch in the league with their summer 2010-formed Sunshine State Big 3 of All-NBA First Teamer King James, All-NBA Second Teamer Wade and 6X All-Star PF Chris Bosh. In the opening two Illinois-based contests, 2011 Coach of The Year Tom Thibodeau counted on his non-starters for an average of 79 minutes per game as a group.  In comparison Miami, with so much skill and firepower in their first five, only averaged 61.5 bench minutes per game, with Coach Spoelstra leaning especially heavily on his stars in Game 2, playing his 6 through 11 only a combined 55 minutes.

Both sides can be optimistic about their chances in tonight’s third 94-foot, 48-minute rumble. The Heat are fantastic at home and have had almost four full days to rest their minute-weary stars. But the Red & Black have proven to be remarkably resilient after a loss. The bounce-back Bulls haven’t suffered consecutive defeats since the first week of February. Tune in to find out which title contender will take control of this series when the Chicago Bulls and the Miami Heat meet for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals at 8:30 PM ET on TNT.

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