At the point, Kirk Hinrich and Mario Chalmers have Kansas national title games in common, but that's besides the point. Hinrich has had to work hard his entire career and lately, he's shown that even though he's a little older, he can play like a warrior and find good looks for his teammates, routinely becoming the assists leader in games. If Hinrich can't go however, Nate Robinson is more than willing to step in. His performance in the Nets series only proved further that he'll try to get into a zone at all costs and once he does, there's no stopping him as his energy and lust for the big play will be too much to overcome. Chalmers has done a nice job acting as a facilitator for Miami's Big Three and is a key part of their equation. He's been around winners for almost his whole career, so he knows what it takes to perform in high-pressure situations. I still have to give the edge to the Bulls since there seems to be more talent at that position.
Jimmy Butler will be starting every game this series barring injury, but let's assume he's the starting shooting guard. As we've seen time and again this season, he'll go the full 48 if he has to. He's a competitor and his ceiling is high. Even now, we'll see him go all out and a bunch of little plays on his part will keep the Bulls in a lot of games this series. He'll face a tough matchup in Dwyane Wade who, even though his body is a little worn, remains one of the top players in the league. He can easily cut and drive to the basket to show off his pure scoring ability. With his energy and potential to explode at any time, it's hard to pick him against anyone else at his position. The edge here goes to Miami.
Small forward will be intriguing. Whenever Luol Deng returns from his illness, which he should, he'll provide a great relief to this Bulls lineup. As he quietly finds ways to score and remains tough on defense, the Bulls would normally be able stop relying so much on energy and grinding it out as he provides the star power that was badly missed at that spot in Games 6 and 7, even though they were able to close out Brooklyn. The grind and energy will have to stay up however as LeBron James will wreck havoc whenever he feels like it. Having just won his fourth MVP in five years, James can expect to see whoever's guarding him to give everything they've got. That won't be enough however. He's in the prime of his career and with his pure offense, hard-nosed defense and natural athleticism, he won't lay down for anybody in his quest to a second straight title. Maybe the Bulls can make him uncomfortable, but the Heat are advantageous in this spot no matter who they play.
The power forwards are good in their own ways. Carlos Boozer is good for a double-double almost every night he plays. Though his defense is suspect, he'll always be on the block and can score from most places on the floor. You can always count on him to give you good minutes and use the best of his abilities, even if they aren't the best skill set around. Udonis Haslem has been around the Heat as long as Wade has. These days, he'll give the Heat good minutes before turning it over to Shane Battier and Chris Andersen off the bench. His scoring and rebounding, while serviceable, don't match those of Boozer, so the Bulls win this battle.
Everyone will be watching the center battles of Joakim Noah and Chris Bosh. Noah feeds his energy to the rest of his team thanks to his warrior-type play. He'll clean up on the boards and while he's not the best offensive option, he'll have games in which he'll give everything he's got to get good close looks at the basket. His emergence as team leader is all the more remarkable when you consider he's performed his latest heroics while battling plantar fasciitis. His will to win is unmatched by most players in today's NBA. That said, Bosh remains comfortable as the third head of Miami's three-headed monster. No, he's not as skilled as the other two, but he's the perfect supporting player in making that machine work. While his numbers are slightly down from the past couple of years, he would still make any lesser teams better on a nightly basis even if their record doesn't show it. Many are actually picking Noah as the winner in this match-up, but I think this is a wash.
Talk about two unique coaches going head-to-head. Each are very effective for their teams, though they seem to represent two different schools of thought. Tom Thibodeau is old school, thriving on riding his guys hard every night and getting the most out of his team. Without his motivation, the Bulls would likely be sitting at home already. Erik Spoelstra is new school, but probably because he can afford to be. Yes, he draws up the strategies and can get his players to respect him. Besides that, he allows his star players to create on their own and be their own leaders. That freedom allows them to pass it on to the rest of their teammates. Put it all together and you have the best team in the NBA. Consider this another wash.
Adding it up, I have two Bulls advantages, two Heat advantages and two washes. Does that mean it will be an even series destined to go down to a seventh game? Probably not. Miami has a chip on its shoulder. Win the title and the dynasty talks can officially commence. Come up short and they'll have to prove even more next year while the doubters continue to make their voices heard. The Bulls are perhaps the toughest team they've played all year and they'll be damned if it's all derailed because a team with less talent just won't go down when they're stepped on. In other words, anything less than another championship is unacceptable. It's too early to even think about them going down. It will still be a fun series to watch. The Bulls always take their game to another level whenever they face the Heat, so they'll have no reservations about making them earn their way to the conference finals. They can steal a couple of games and the fan base will love it when they do. Winning a seven-game series like this is tough though. Miami has a lot of talent, explosive offense and a crackdown defense that they'll use when they need to. More importantly, they know they have an obligation to win and can easily come back, even when faced with a tough deficit. They also have no reservations about putting an opponent away early. I pick the Heat in six.
Game 1 is tonight in Miami. Luol Deng is out and possibly Kirk Hinrich. Don't be shocked at all if this first contest doesn't come easy. The Bulls will make their move at some time in this series. It just might not be tonight. The big test is here, Bulls fans. Time to pull for the biggest upset in franchise history.
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