Heat, Bulls prep for Eastern Conference showdown

If the Eastern Conference is to produce an NBA champion for just the fourth time in 14 seasons, it can be reasonably assumed that it will be either Miami or Chicago that pulls off the feat. There have been nice stories this season in East outposts like Philadelphia and Indiana, and it’s possible that Orlando could juggle its roster in the coming days, but it certainly appears, as it has since the beginning of the season, that the Bulls and Heat are on a collision course for a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference finals, which Miami took in five games.

The Heat won the only meeting between the teams this year, 97-93, back in January in Miami. They’re getting a Bulls team that has won 10 of its last 11 games, and is averaging 100.9 points in that stretch. But they’re also getting a team that is still a little ticked off about the way things have been going lately. Even after Monday’s win over the Knicks, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said, “We have to get better. We’re not playing well.”

And then there’s point guard Derrick Rose, who had one of his most aggressive performances of the year against New York, attempting a season-high 29 field goals and scoring 32 points. After the game, Rose, too, was unhappy. He took the rare step (for him) of complaining about the referees and the fact that he took a lot of contact but wound up with just nine free-throw attempts. “I gotta be the only superstar in the league that’s going through what I’m going through right now,” Rose said. “But, can’t say too much about it.”

Those comments earned Rose a $25,000 fine. Still, Rose can expect to see even more physical defense from the Heat, who will have 6-8, 240-pound LeBron James matched up on Rose for stretches of the game and will play very aggressive defense on the ball. Rose—and his Bulls teammates—must figure out how to adjust to that.

Going back to last year’s playoffs, the Heat have beaten the Bulls five straight times, and they have done it with much the same formula that the Knicks used, almost successfully, on Monday—let Rose have his shots, but be physical and dare the referees to make calls. In the five losses to the Heat, Rose has taken an average of 25.2 shots but has gone to the line just 8.0 times per game, and that includes the 14 free throws he took in the last meeting with the Heat. Miami has a knack for getting Rose to take too many 3-point shots, and in the last five games against the Heat, he has hoisted 27 from beyond the arc, making just four.

When Chicago signed shooting guard Richard Hamilton in the offseason, it was for this reason precisely. The Bulls hoped that, when the Heat were harassing Rose, Hamilton could step in and remove some of the offensive pressure. But Hamilton has played only 16 games this year and will remain out for the Miami game with a shoulder injury. The Bulls could also be without All-Star forward Luol Deng, as Deng has been bothered with by a persistent wrist injury.