NBA Playoff Preview: Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat
Second Round: Chicago Bulls vs. Miami Heat
The defending NBA champion Miami Heat were able to make easy work of the eighth seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the NBA playoffs. LeBron James and company swept the Bucks in four games punching their ticket to the second round against the Chicago Bulls.
Although the Heat appear to be the best team in the postseason and a second consecutive NBA title may be a foregone conclusion, but the Bulls may pose a threat to their repeat chances. Chicago was the one team that truly pose a problem for the defending champs in the Eastern Conference with Miami falling to the Bulls earlier in the season officially ending their historic 27-game winning streak.
The Heat may have lost their opportunity at making NBA history coming only six games shy of tying the ’72 Los Angeles Lakers’ record of 33 games in a row, but it’s hard to argue the fact that Miami isn’t destine to at least return to the NBA Finals this season.
With Las Vegas odds favoring the Heat to return to the Finals and to win another title, the Bulls will face the toughest challenge this season by trying to take down the defending champions in this seven-game series.
The major concern for the Bulls heading into this series will be the health of Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng. The calf injury suffered by Hinrich was enough to keep him out the last two games while Deng’s illness kept him out of Game 7.
If the Bulls are without their two best defensive players for any amount of time during this series, the chances are slim at best that Chicago has a chance of winning even one game. If Deng and Hinrich are able to bounce back and play, the Bulls will take at least one game, more than likely at the United Center.