The Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat game tonight was a fantastic game to watch, especially for us Bulls fans. I know alot of people will say that the Bulls got lucky in this game, because the Heat played their second straight game without arguably the league's best player, LeBron James. LeBron was out with a sprained ankle, and the Bulls took advantage, defeating the Heat in a closely contested, 99-96 basketball game.
The fun part about this game, for me, was that it was kind of like games were when I was a kid. I saw so many games where Michael Jordan would go at it with whoever the best player on the other team was (Dominique, Reggie, Ewing, Barkley, Bird, Magic, Drexler). This game was exactly like that with Wade and Rose. Rose would hit a gigantic shot at one end, only to be matched by Wade the next possession. Rose ended the night with 34 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 blocks. Wade ended up with 33 points, 6 rebounds and 5 blocks. Great performances by what should be your starting backcourt for the Eastern Conference All-Stars.
The game was full of big runs by both teams. The Bulls raced out to a 14 pont lead in the second quarter, only to have the Heat go on a 19 point run, and take a 5 point lead at halftime. The Heat were unconscious from the three point line in the second quarter. Miller, Eddie House and Dwyane Wade each hit multiple three pointers in the second quarter, and it looked like the Bulls were going to have their hands full in the second half.
Then Rose joined the three point party, hitting a pair of threes during a huge Bulls' run in the third quarter. Chris Bosh then caught fire, and even he knocked down a three point shot to bring the Heat closer. I think the turning point in the game was probably when Bosh left the game with a sprained ankle. He had 17 points, and had to take 18 shots to get them, but he was playing very well, and carrying the load offensively for Miami in the third quarter when he went out.
Overall, this was a great win for the Bulls. Korver hit a huge three pointer with under 30 seconds left to give the Bulls a 2 point lead, which will hopefully give him some confidence. He has been struggling with his shot for the last couple of weeks, so it would be nice to see him get on a nice roll here. The Bulls improved their record to 27-13, and are now only 2 games back of the Miami Heat for the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
The one thing that I disliked about this game was that LeBron James didn't play. I really wanted to see how the Bulls would have played against a healthy Heat team, especially since the Bulls are playing without their best defensive player and rebounder (Joakim Noah). I personally think that the Bulls match up very well against a healthy Miami team. There is no answer for Wade and James, at least for their offense. However, the Heat are a finesse team. They like to get steals, and run the floor in transition for easy buckets. In the half court they like to isolate, drive and kick out for open three point shots. They have no inside presence, and nobody that can score in the post, not even Chris Bosh, who should be able to play post up basketball, but can't. The Bulls have Boozer, who is a fantastic post up player (at least on the offensive end), and Joakim Noah, who defends the post extremely well, and also plays off the post very well on the offensive end. Plus, the Bulls have somebody who the Heat have no answer for either in Derrick Rose. While having LeBron James definitely would have made a difference in the game tonight, I don't think it necessarily would have guaranteed the Heat a win. I am really looking forward to the next matchup between these teams. Let's hope everybody is healthy by then, and we can see what each of these teams is capable of.
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