Loads of Bull! Chicago blows out the Heat!

CHI over MIA, 103-82(CHI up 1-0)

These Bulls just drew first blood against the Heat.
(image by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Derrick Rose started his first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals with a string of turnovers, and the Heat made the Bulls pay with a pair of transition hoops. But it’s not really how you start is it? It’s how you finish.

And the Chicago Bulls finished with a wallop.

And the Miami Heat’s Big 3 got a taste of why this is called the Windy City – because if you’re not careful, you might just get blown out.

Raise your right foot if you HONESTLY thought Chicago would railroad a team that featured LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in the starting lineup.

Thought so.

I didn’t see it coming, but I’m glad it did. And I hope there’ll be more of it.

Tom Thibodeau swept all his regular season matches with Erik Spoelstra because Thib prepped for each game really well. That’s the reason Miami only 90 points against the Bulls this season. That’s the reason they scored only 82 here. That’s the reason this will be much more difficult than the Philly and Boston series. And, I hope, that’s the reason Chicago will return to the NBA Finals after 3 more wins.

Chris Bosh led the Heat
with 30pts & 9rebs
(image by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

When Chris Bosh scores well, Miami usually wins. He scored 30 points. He got his. He outplayed Carlos Boozer. But still he didn’t do enough. In a game where Miami wasn’t shooting particularly well, rebounds were golden. Bosh grabbed 9 of the Heat frontline’s 17 rebounds, and it paled in comparison to the combined 32 of Joakim Noah, Boozer, Omer Asik, and Taj Gibson.

Oh that Gibson. He had a good one tonight. He posterized Dwyane Wade. Yes, that’s a real sentence. And, yes, you might expect it to be the other way around, but Gibson just flew over and rim-rocked in Wade’s face. He wasn’t done though. Late in the game, Gibson flew parallel to the baseline for a right-handed put-back jam that electrified the crowd and deflated Miami.

And that’s the story here. Miami wants to win, no doubt about that, and they’ll rely on their Big Three. They won’t get swept. They will win some games. But they won’t win 4.

Taj Gibson and the rest of the
unsung Bulls must play their
roles to the hilt.
(image by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Because, unlike Boston, Chicago isn’t just a Fearsome Foursome. Chicago isn’t just D-Rose alone. Chicago definitely isn’t Carlos Boozer alone. Chicago is Luol Deng hitting 3s and shackling LeBron. Chicago is Joakim Noah jumping all over arms flailing. Chicago is CJ Watson and Keith Bogans hitting dagger Js. Chicago is Ronnie Brewer rising for a two-hand jam. Chicago is all these erstwhile no-namers playing at a level unheard of. It’s Luc Longley, Will Purdue, Bill Wennington, Randy Brown, Steve Kerr, and Jud Buechler all stepping up all over again.

This is why Chicago will, when the dust settles, stand victorious. Because it doesn’t take three stars. It takes a team that is more than the sum of its parts.