Read More: LeBron James (F – MIA), Dwyane Wade (G – MIA), Udonis Haslem (F – MIA), Derrick Rose (G – CHI), Taj Gibson (F – CHI), Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat

In a low-scoring final quarter, the Miami Heat came away with an 85-75 victory over the Chicago Bulls to tie the series at one game apiece. The Heat used a 12-2 run to finish the game after the Bulls had been able to maintain a tie game at 73 with less than five minutes remaining.

The Heat entered the fourth quarter with a six-point lead, but Taj Gibson and Derrick Rose were able to take advantage of the Heat’s inability to score. But it all shifted in favor of the Heat with less than five minutes to go. LeBron James scored nine of the Heat’s 12 points. James finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Dwyane Wade scored the remaining three points of that 12-2 run and totaled 24 points and nine boards. Udonis Haslem provided a spark off the bench with 13 points and five rebounds.

Though the Bulls were able to stay late into this game, they were hampered by poor shooting tonight. They shot 34.1 percent for the field (47.1 for Miami) and made just 3-of-20 from beyond the arc. Derrick Rose made just 7-of-23 shots for a team-high 21 points.

This series shifts to Miami on Sunday, May 22.

Be sure to check out our Heat vs. Bulls hub for full series coverage. For more on the Heat, visit Peninsula Is Mightier. For more on the Bulls, visit Blog a Bull and SB Nation Chicago.

Read More: Udonis Haslem (F – MIA), Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat

The Miami Heat extended their lead to six points after the third quarter, 71-65. Udonis Haslem has played a huge role for the Heat so far in this game. He’s been all over the floor to score points, grab a rebound or even block a shot. He has 11 points and five rebounds in 17-plus minutes of play.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are neck-and-neck for the game-lead in points. Wade leads James, 21-20, for the moment. They’ve chipped in for 13 rebounds and well. Chris Bosh is the other Hear scorer in double-digits with 10 points (and he has six boards).

Derrick Rose leads the Bulls with 19 points on 7-of-19 points. Luol Deng has added 13 points, while Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah have combined for 15 rebounds.

Be sure to check out our Heat vs. Bulls hub for full series coverage. For more on the Heat, visit Peninsula Is Mightier. For more on the Bulls, visit Blog a Bull and SB Nation Chicago.

Read More: Chris Bosh (F – MIA), LeBron James (F – MIA), Dwyane Wade (G – MIA), James Jones (F – MIA), Joakim Noah (C – CHI), Joel Anthony (F – MIA), Derrick Rose (G – CHI), Taj Gibson (F – CHI), Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat

By Sebastian Pruiti

After going into halftime with the game tied, the Miami Heat came out half and saw themselves get outscored by 21 points in Game 1 against the Chicago Bulls.  This series is far from over, and if the Heat want to steal Game 2 and take the home court advantage from Chicago, there are a few adjustments that they can make.

Offense: More Bosh Pick-And-Rolls

According to Synergy Sports Technology, the Bulls are one of the best defenses when it comes to stopping opponents’ isolation plays.  Naturally, you want to get away from the isolation plays (especially when Chicago had so much success stopping it in Game 1), but you have to replace those possessions with other offense.

My suggestion?  More pick-and-rolls with Chris Bosh as the screener.  In Game 1, 16 of Bosh’s 30 points came off of 11 possessions where he was the roll man on the pick-and -roll. One of the reasons for Bosh’s success is that he has a very good feel for space, knowing how to find it, when to roll to the rim, and when to pop out:

Here, Bosh notices that his defender (Joakim Noah) is committing to Mike Bibby’s dribble penetration, and he rolls hard into the vacant spot, getting the pass and finishing.  

Maybe more dangerous than his rolls after setting a screen is when his teammates go away from the screen.  When that happens, you would normally assume there is no roll, but Bosh again uses his feel to find the open space and make himself available for the open pass:

Bosh just has a great feel when it comes to how LeBron James (and Dwyane Wade, though it isn’t shown here) wants to use screens.  As soon as it becomes obvious that James isn’t going to use the screen, Bosh shuffle steps to the rim with his chest always facing James, always making himself available to catch a pass.  So when the defense does step up to James, instead of forcing a tough jumper, James always has an option to drop it off to Bosh, who has the ability to go up quickly and finish (or at least draw the foul).

If Miami wants to get away from isolation (which they probably should do), the pick-and-roll with Bosh as the screener is probably your best option to replace it with.

Defense: Finish Rotations And Box Out

In Game 1, the Bulls absolutely dominated the Heat on the offensive glass.  In my opinion, the biggest problem that the Heat had on the offensive glass was their rotations.  The Heat are a quick defense that does a fantastic job helping and rotating to the basketball.  However, last night, the Heat never finished off their rotations, meaning that the help man came and stopped/bothered the shot, but nobody had his back, allowing for an offensive rebound:

On this play, there is a loose ball/scramble situation and Joel Anthony ends up matched up with Derrick Rose.  Rose drives baseline, and James Jones does a good job of stepping up and forcing Rose to take a floater that he misses.  LeBron James slides over to get in front of Taj Gibson, but nobody slides over to get the man he leaves (Joakim Noah).  This allows Noah to go up tap the basketball and keep it alive, eventually allowing Taj Gibson to get the rebound and get fouled.

On this play, the Bulls run a pick-and-roll on one side, reverse it to Kyle Korver coming off of a pindown screen.  Korver makes a great pass to Noah who is wide open and that pass forces Joel Anthony to step up.  Anthony does a great job of forcing Noah to put the ball on the floor and making him miss.  However, Mario Chalmers, who rotates down to try and defend Carlos Boozer doesn’t fully commit, and this allows Boozer to slam home the offensive rebound.

Here, we have almost the same exact situation.  Noah drives baseline off of a great pump fake, again forcing Anthony to step up.  Again, nobody covers his back and that allows Boozer to slam home the dunk.  Hard to figure out who is at fault here, but it is either Wade or James Jones as both men had a chance to get in front of Boozer.  Wade drops down but never gets in front of Boozer and Jones chooses to retreat to the corner and defend Korver instead of boxing Boozer out.

Here, you have the Bulls running that pindown dump pass with Korver again, and again, the Heat do a great job of defending it initially.  The ball goes into Asik and to Gibson along the baseline, but there is nothing there.  The ball gets kicked out and this is where the rotation breakdown takes place.  You have two guys rotating out to Ronnie Brewer, leaving Gibson wide open to throw down the offensive rebound off of the tip.

In my opinion, Chicago’s dominance on the glass was due to things the the Heat can correct.  It wasn’t as if it was Rose penetrating and the defensive rotation to him created offensive rebounding opportunities.  That would be far more troubling.  If the Heat just finish their rotations and help the helper on the backside, they will find themselves in better position to secure the defensive rebound.

Read More: LeBron James (F – MIA), Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat

LeBron James had a very bad game in the Miami Heat’s Game 1 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Sunday night, shooting just 5 of 15 for 15 points. That game was three days ago. Now, James has made clear to reporters that he was battling a cold then and is still struggling with it prior to Wednesday’s Game 2.

With temperatures in the 50s, unseasonable even for Chicago, since the Heat’s arrival, James said he has been dealing with a cold even prior to Sunday’s 103-82 Game 1 loss. He shot an uncharacteristic 5 of 15 in that game, for 15 points,

“I’m taking everything you can get from 7-Eleven,” he told reporters Wednesday morning. “I’ve been sick since we got here.”    

James spoke in a “nasal tone” at Wednesday’s shootaround, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. It seems hard to believe that he would be dramatically affected in Game 2, but you never know, I guess.

Be sure to check out our Heat vs. Bulls hub for full series coverage. For more on the Heat, visitPeninsula Is Mightier. For more on the Bulls, visit Blog a Bull and SB Nation Chicago.    

The Bulls are 4-0 this season against the Heat.


The Heat are down 1-0 in the Eastern Conference finals following their 21-point loss in Game 1. And, although it’s a small sample of just two games, the Heat were 0-2 during the regular season in games immediately after a 20-point loss.

• On Jan. 13, the Heat lost by 28 points at Denver then lost their next game, which was at Chicago, 99-96. (LeBron James missed both games with a sprained ankle.)

• On March 4, the Heat lost by 30 at San Antonio, and followed that up with a 1-point loss at the Bulls.

A bigger sample is this, courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau: Each of the previous 23 teams that lost Game 1 of a best-of-seven playoff series by more than 20 points ended up losing that series.

One more note working against the Heat is that LeBron James has lost four of the previous five postseason series in which his team (the Cleveland Cavaliers) lost Game 1. Dwyane Wade and the Heat have lost five of the seven playoff series when losing Game 1, although one of those series wins came when they were down 2-0 in the 2006 NBA Finals and came back to beat the Dallas Mavericks in six games.

Game 2: What To Watch

The Bulls’ ability to rebound at the offensive end (19 offensive boards in Game 1) not only resulted in 31 second-chance points, but put the brakes on Miami’s transition game. In the first two rounds, 52 percent of the Heat’s transition opportunities came from defensive rebounds, and they scored 54 of their 114 transition points on those plays. In Game 1 against Chicago, Miami was able to generate transition opportunities on only two of their seven defensive boards, scoring just two points.

Miami will have to shoot better from the perimeter tonight. The Heat made just seven field goals outside 15 feet in Game 1, matching the fewest they made from that distance in a game, regular season and playoff games combined. Conversely, the Bulls shot 44.2 percent from the perimeter in Game 1 (19-43).

James was not able to attack the basket in Game 1, thanks in part to Luol Deng’s defense. James averaged 14 points per game in two regular-season games when he was guarded by Deng, but was held to just six points against Deng in Game 1.

Although Deng was able to stop James for one game, no one this postseason has been able to shut down Derrick Rose. He’s averaging nine points per game inside of five feet — only Dwight Howard has averaged more this postseason (12.7).

By Tom Ziller

– NBA Contributor

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May 18, 2011 – The bad taste of Game 1 — and make no mistake, a 21-point defeat is one bad taste — can all be erased with a Miami Heat win in Game 2 on Wednesday, as the Chicago Bulls host their challengers with a 1-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Bulls took a 103-82 win on Sunday in Game 1, completely dominating in the second half.

LeBron James struggled in his matchup with Luol Deng; James scored 15 points on 5-15 shooting, and only managed to draw four free throws as Deng and the Bulls’ interior help defenders forced LeBron into jump shots and difficult attempts closer to the rim. Without LeBron’s offense, Miami couldn’t capitalize on a surprisingly strong effort from Chris Bosh (30 points on 12-18 shooting). Dwyane Wade also struggled to draw fouls (four free throws, 17 field goal attempts).

But Miami’s defense was a problem, too. Chicago scored 103 points in 83 possessions — an offensive efficiency of 124, way, way too high. Derrick Rose and Deng went nuts from beyond the arc (7-13 combined), and that should perhaps cool off, but Chicago also drew more fouls than Miami (untenable for the Heat) and got assists on 23 of 38 made field goals. Chicago was able to get into rhythm, and that just burned the Heat.

James getting back on track is the biggest step back on the path to Heat success, though. It should be quite a battle between he and Deng. Game 2 begins at 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT.

Be sure to check out our Heat vs. Bulls hub for full series coverage. For more on the Heat, visit Peninsula Is Mightier. For more on the Bulls, visit Blog a Bull and SB Nation Chicago.

Read More: Luol Deng (F – CHI), LeBron James (F – MIA), Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Miami Heat at Chicago Bulls, May 18, 2011 8:30 PM EDT

Read More: 2011 nba playoffs, 2011 eastern conference finals, miami heat vs chicago bulls, LeBron James (F – MIA), Dwyane Wade (G – MIA), Derrick Rose (G – CHI), Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat

Game 1 between the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat was an interesting affair. It was a tight game through the first half and then the Bulls defense locked up LeBron James and Dwyane Wade and held the Heat stars to just 11 combined points. Game 2 of the 2011 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals is on the schedule for Wednesday and should answer the burning question of this series — are the Bulls that good or were the Heat just mentally and emotionally unprepared for this series.

There’s a lot of noise out there that the Heat are going to collapse after their 21-point loss but I don’t see it happening. There was a time earlier in the season when it was fair to question the mental toughness and heart of LeBron’s “Super Friends” but these guys have bounced too many times. As much as we might want to hate them, I would expect a much better Game 2 showing against Derrick Rose and his group. 

Even with the Heat playing better, as they almost certainly will, the game is still in Rose’s hands on the offensive end. In his last two games he was much better with his shot selection and the Chicago attack was far more balanced. But Rose alone won’t win this series with his shooting. Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer need to play big on the offensive end and since Rose has the ball at the start of every possession, it’s on him to make that happen.

Game 2 between the Bulls and Heat tips off at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT on TNT. (Video preview via NBA.com.)

Miami Heat’s LeBron James, left, looks to the basket as Chicago Bulls’ Luol Deng defends during the second quarter in Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals basketball series Sunday, May 15, 2011 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

The Bulls are 4-0 against LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat this season. Maybe the Bulls just haven’t seen the so-called Heatles yet when they’re really mad.

So what should they expect heading into Wednesday’s second game of the Eastern Conference finals at the United Center? Derrick Rose isn’t sure.

“I really don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said Tuesday at the Berto Center. “Especially in the playoffs, you really don’t know what’s going to happen until the ball’s in your hands and you see what’s going on the first play.

“Other than that, we know we have to come out with a lot of intensity.”

The Bulls know with absolute certainty that Miami has the star power to be a dangerous opponent. But they should also be able to handle anything the Heat throws at them in Game 2. Here are some possibilities:

An intense start

Against Atlanta in the second round, whether or not the Bulls got off to a fast start usually dictated how the entire game would go.

The matchups with Miami have been different. The Heat’s Power Trio usually is pumped up for a fast start. In all three games when Miami had its full lineup against the Bulls, it led after the first quarter. James sat out the first meeting Jan. 15.

In Game 1 on Sunday, the Heat opened the scoring with dunks by Wade and James, and took its biggest lead at 19-11.

But when the Bulls’ defense settles in, it tends to wear Miami down. After scoring 48 points in the first half of Game 1, the Heat had 34 in the second half.

The same thing happened in the regular season. In all four games between these teams, the Heat scored at least 10 fewer points in the second half than it did in the first. Miami averaged 51 points by halftime, 38 the rest of the way.

“I think we made good adjustments against them,” Luol Deng said. “We haven’t started well against them, but as the game went on, like last game, when we went in the locker room at halftime, the thing we discussed the most was turnovers and them getting layups.

“We really focused on that. We played them half-court. We just said, ‘Let them see our defense’ and it worked out for us.”

The Bulls actually have scored more points in the second half of every game against the Heat (51 average) than in the first half (45).

Changing lineups

The Heat can shuffle centers, rotate point guards and trot out several long-range specialists. However coach Erik Spoelstra chooses to do it, Miami is still three stars and a bunch of guys who rarely touch the ball.

The Bulls’ perpetual rebound advantage figures to be there regardless, because it’s as much a function of the big guys looking to help against Derrick Rose as it is the simple inability to get a body on Joakim Noah and friends.

The Heat played Joel Anthony and Jamaal Magloire at center in Game 1, while former starters Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Erick Dampier were inactive. Miami also could turn to veteran Udonis Haslem, who went out with a foot injury Nov. 20 and made two brief appearances since.

The Bulls dominated the offensive rebounds 19-6 in Game 1.

“It’s not about bigger bodies. It’s just about wanting the ball,” Miami’s Chris Bosh said Tuesday. “Collectively as a team we have to do a good job of keeping bodies on those bigs, containing the screen and roll with D-Rose and doing our job the way we’re capable of.

“We’ve done it all season. We just have to capitalize tomorrow.

“I was always looking for the answers to the rebounding and all that stuff. A dude just told me go get the ball one day. It made sense. It’s all about having the will to go do it. You have to be a bit of a maniac.”

Spoelstra split point-guard duties evenly between starter Mike Bibby and Mario Chalmers. Chalmers and James Jones were the only supporting cast members to make a 3-point basket.

“You float with it,” LeBron James said. “We’ve had enough minutes with every lineup as far as who has been the starting point guard and who has been the starting center, we can be comfortable with it when it happens.”

Feel the burn

The most obvious adjustment Miami has talked about is bringing more intensity. As mentioned above, quick starts often flame out against the Bulls. But if Wade and James are both at their best, it’s bad news for any opponent.

The Bulls have beaten the Heat with Wade scoring 33 and 34 points. They also won when every member of the Power Trio scored at least 20.

A little more ball movement is what Miami’s offense craves the most. When Wade or James holds the ball and dribbles down the shot clock, the Bulls’ defense is working.

“We’ve built up tremendous habits as a tough, physical, defensive team that rebounds the basketball all season long,” Spoelstra said. “We did not do that the other night. Now it’s our turn to bounce back.”

“Our job is to come up here and steal homecourt advantage and win one game,” Wade added. “We didn’t do that in Game 1. We have an opportunity to do it in Game 2. That’s our focus.”