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

May 26 by Leave a Comment

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: Bulls vs. Heat Game 4

May 24 by Leave a Comment

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 Preview: Bulls vs. Heat Game 3

May 22 by Leave a Comment

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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Czar’s Playoff Preview: Heat vs. Bulls Eastern Conference Finals

May 15 by Leave a Comment

The two teams with the best records in the East have held their ground in the postseason. Last year’s MVP King James and newly crowned MVP Derrick Rose will go head to head when the Miami Heat battle the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals for a shot at the ultimate title. The hugely anticipated series is loaded with superstars who are excited to compete at this level and eager to pack the highlight reels.

The Bulls will be making their first appearance in the conference finals since 1998, when Michael Jordan led his team to their third straight title. Now All-Star PG Derrick Rose, who’s so hard to contain off the dribble, will try to lead the Bulls to the first championship of the post-Jordan era. Although Chicago won all three regular season games against Miami, the Heat are playing their best ball of season. Rose will certainly need all his teammates to step up and deliver in order for the Bulls to get past the Heat. Perhaps the best news for Chicago is that Carlos Boozer, who suffered a toe injury in the first round, appeared to be returning to form in the last few games against Atlanta. Chicago labored through the early playoff rounds against less talented teams, so they need to get off to a quick start in this series and capitalize on their home court advantage.

The Heat has been the team everyone loves to scrutinize and beat ever since LeBron James announced that he would be heading down to Miami to make history. So far in the postseason the title-hungry Heat have put their money where their mouth is. They’ve been playing outstanding ball and will be riding a tidal wave of confidence after disposing of last year’s Eastern Conference Champion Boston Celtics in the Semis. The Heat will try to steal one of the opening games along with the home court advantage before returning to Miami for Games 3 and 4. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have been simply fantastic in the playoffs. Chris Bosh has been a very solid third performer for the Heat as well. And the sharp shooting of James Jones coming off the bench has been vital to their success.

These are two of the best defensive teams in the league so both sides will have to earn their win-worthy buckets. Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals tips off at 8:00 PM ET on TNT.

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Czar’s Playoff Preview: Heat-Celtics and Thunder-Grizzlies Game 5

May 11 by Leave a Comment

The Miami Heat, up three games to one, return to South Florida to try and close out their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the proud 17-banner Boston Celtics team tonight. Coach Erik Spoelstra’s guys were 30-11 this season along Biscayne Bay. Boston had their opportunities at the end of Game 4, but failed to make critical baskets and weren’t able to match Miami’s intensity and clutch shot-making, losing 98-90 in OT. Twenty-somethings LeBron, D. Wade and Chris Bosh may prove to be too much for the aging thirty-something Celtics. The three combined for 83 of Miami’s 98 points and 35 of their 45 rebounds and scored all 12 of Miami’s points in overtime. Kevin Garnett (who scored 28 points in the Celtics’ lone victory) could not produce the same type of numbers that helped his team to victory in Game 3. Fifth-year PG Rajon Rondo performed admirably considering his dislocated left elbow, but the Celtics just didn’t have enough.

To survive Game 5 Boston must play the best game of their season and find a way to stop at least one of Miami’s Big Three from having an impactful game. The C’s must also attempt to prevent King James and D-Wade from putting up monster scoring numbers so that the Heat’s much maligned bench unit will be forced to contribute. Coach Doc Rivers said that he doesn’t expect 19th-year C Shaquille O’Neal to play. Boston’s only concern tonight is winning one game to get the series back to their building. I’m sure they would feel confident that they could win Game 6 at home. If Miami can end this contest tonight it may allow them some time to rest up before the next round as the Chicago-Atlanta series could very well go to seven games.

Over in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder regained home court advantage by winning Game 4 and turning this into a best of three series. They will return to the highly-charged environment of their own arena with extreme confidence after coming back from 18 points down to win the fantastic triple overtime classic. Led by their two young superstars third-year PG Russell Westbrook and 2X NBA scoring champ Kevin Durant, the Thunder were able to get big stops down the stretch and find enough offense to produce a huge victory over the Grizzlies.

Memphis has to get some better play out of their backcourt in Game 5. Although C Marc Gasol and PF Zach Randolph played a great game on the front line, fourth-year PG Mike Conley getting into early foul trouble was instrumental in enabling Oklahoma City to get back into the game. He had to sit on the bench for too many minutes and ultimately fouled out. In order to retake the momentum and home court advantage in this series, the Grizzlies’ perimeter players need to step up and get off to a quick start in Oklahoma City’s building. Memphis must also limit their turnovers. The 19 turnovers by Memphis in Game 4 led to 26 points for the Thunder including a number of fast break opportunities.

Field goal percentage has been difficult for both teams. As they grow more familiar with each other after every game it becomes tougher to get open looks. Baskets from transition opportunities, second shot opportunities and free throw opportunities become more and more important to whichever team is going to wind up winning this series. Due to the Thunder winning Game 4 and having two out of the remaining three games on their home court, I see them moving on to the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.

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