Bulls vs. Heat NBA Handicapping
Imagine a Bulls-Heat series with an in-his-prime Michael Jordan going up against LeBron James?
Eastern Conference
Chicago Bulls (0-0) at Miami Heat (0-0)
Monday, May 6
American Airlines Arena, Miami
7 p.m. EST on TNT
Spread – Heat -11.5 at Bovada
O/U – 186
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Lacking time travel, we can only speculate. But what we’ll get over the next week-plus should still be pretty good, though it may take a while to see how things actually go down.
While the Heat have been lazing on the beach for a week since laying waste to the overmatched Bucks in four straight games in the first round of the playoffs, the Bulls were stretched tight before taking care of the Nets in Brooklyn on Saturday night in a series that went the distance.
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So while it might take the Heat a period or so to warm up tonight, they will have fresh legs in abundance to throw at the Bulls.
Chicago? Well, there are issues everywhere that need to be dealt with in a hurry is the Bulls are going to make a game of it tonight.
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau claims to not know whether Kirk Hinrich (injured) or Luol Deng (hospitalized for the last two days) will suit up tonight in Miami in Game 1. And even if he knows, he’s not talking. So we may have to wait until game time to see what the Bulls’ rotation looks like.
In true next-man-up fashion, Thibodeau claims that his team has enough bench depth to give Miami all it can handle in this game – and series. Marco Belinelli came through with 24 points in the series clincher over the Nets, and Joakim Noah was a bear (24 points, 14 rebounds and 6 blocks). And who knows what the mercurial Nate Robinson has up his sleeve? [ad-6571516]
Chicago’s Taj Gibson knows what’s in store:
“That’s our rivalry,” he said. “Words can’t express how bad we want to beat them. Heart can’t beat great teams like the Heat. We have to have guys really healthy and playing at their highest.”
Gibson is right. Heart also can’t beat the Heat. But it doesn’t hurt.
Question: Who is Derrick Rose rooting for in this series? If the Bulls somehow pull off the biggest upset in several years, the pressure will only intensify on his to return to the court, which quite obviously is not what he wants.
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The Bulls actually played the Heat tough this season, splitting four games. The Bulls are one of four teams to win a game in Miami this season, taking down the Heat by 7 in early January.
It’s difficult to see how Chicago can get things together in time to stay competitive deep into the fourth period after expending so much energy and emotion to get by the Nets.
Looking for a low-scoring game tonight, with the Bulls trying to control tempo as much as possible. Play the under at 187, a number which probably will drop a bit closer to tipoff.
