On the night the Heat received their championship rings and raised their banner, they initially appeared to be headed to their typical battle with their archrival. The 2-point lead they nursed after one quarter suddenly mushroomed and they never looked back. Poor shooting for their opponent was one thing, but they did the most damage with their quick transition offense and crackdown defense which took away passing lanes. John Stockton would have had trouble making quality passes tonight.
A 17-0 run in the second quarter put away any doubt who would come away victorious. Never mind that the Bulls somewhat made a game of it by getting to within eight in the final minutes. Even the most optimistic fan had trouble believing the comeback would actually be completed. Miami made it so by scoring enough points down the stretch to fight off any chance of a true rally. A good time was had by all who backed the team from South Beach.
There was no one player who shined for the Heat. LeBron James led the team with 17 points and eight assists, but this was a team effort every coach in the league would love. All but two of the nine Miami players who saw action scored in double figures. The champions shot 51 percent from the field and 11-for-20 from three-point land. Not only did they take advantage of a Bulls team that just looked lost, but they gave an effort that would have given any other NBA team trouble.
Carlos Boozer led all scorers with 31 points, a very bright spot on a downer evening. Jimmy Butler finished behind with 20 and Derrick Rose scored 12 in his first meaningful game in 18 months. Joakim Noah grabbed 11 rebounds, but only had one field goal. That was far from the Bulls' biggest problem though. Butler and Luol Deng had to take early seats in the first half when they each picked up three fouls. Miami walked all over their foes with two prime defenders out of the picture. That duo finished with four fouls apiece, but Kirk Hinrich fouled out towards the end of the game. The Bulls were never really allowed to play that hard-nosed defense they're known for when it counted.
Most of the game, the Bulls put on a shooting clinic not even worthy of a 16-seed during March Madness. That 42 percent from the floor makes it look better than it actually was. Mike Dunleavy, the club's supposed three-point shooter, had brick after brick in the first half, yet somehow recovered enough late to finish with 10 points. As a whole, the team continually took shots from places they don't normally go to and always came up short. They found very little offensive rhythm and paid for it dearly against a club with superior talent.
A hard lesson was learned tonight in that nothing can be assumed in the NBA no matter how good prognosticators make you out to be. The Bulls are much better than what they showed most of tonight, but they need to be better prepared when it comes to playing quality opponents. Maybe it was just a bad night, or maybe they were a little overconfident in the aftermath of their perfect preseason. Whatever it was, these games need an overall better effort if this team wants to keep everyone thinking they might actually take the East this year.
Some individual lessons were learned as well. In his first NBA shift, Tony Snell tried to go right after James, but got called for a foul on a continuation. He also lost a battle in going after a loose ball. This is a whole new game here, kid. The ball doesn't stay on the floor as much at this level because someone will scoop it up very quickly. He'll learn even more over the next 81 games.
The Bulls will try to get their first win again in their home opener Halloween night against the New York Knicks. Derrick Rose will play a game with the stakes at the United Center for the first time since his ACL tear. A great ovation is sure to be had for him. Hopefully, he'll respond to that energy by turning it a much better performance, with his teammates following suit. The offense can only get better, but will it?
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