Heat Is On For Bulls
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – The Miami Heat stand just one victory away from reaching the NBA Finals for the first time since the 2006 season when they won the NBA championship after they outlasted the Chicago Bulls in overtime in Game 4.
"It's one game away," Heat forward LeBron James said. "We're not taking anything for granted."
While LeBron might not be, most fans and the majority of those in the media believe the series is essentially over and it's a matter of when, not if, the Heat take the Eastern Conference title. In fact, the last team to come from a 3-1 deficit and win a conference final was the 1981 Boston Celtics.
Local shirt makers have even started printing up the shirts (courtesy: CBS4's Vannesa Borge) to celebrate the Heat heading to the NBA Finals.
That doesn't mean the Bulls are going to roll over and quit. They've been frustrated by the Heat's stifling defense and even having the NBA MVP isn't helping the Bulls overcome the Heat.
"It's extremely hard," Rose acknowledged, "when a 6-8 guy can easily defend you."
That's been the difference between the 2010-2011 NBA MVP and the previous two-time NBA MVP in LeBron James. LeBron has come to play on the defensive end and is having his best playoff series in years.
LeBron, who had better numbers overall to Rose this season, has been money from the free throw line against the Bulls including hitting 13-13 in Game 4. He also went 11-26 from the field in helping will the Heat to victory throughout the game.
James has adapted to whatever the Heat have needed this season. In Game 3, he was more of a passer and distributor of the ball. In Game 4, he took it to the basket and put the team on his shoulders while Dwyane Wade fought through a tough night.
"You could tell that neither team wanted to lose," Wade said. "Both teams were clawing. If you're a fan of the game, this was a great basketball game....This was will."
LeBron played 49 minutes in Game 4, but even at the end, he looked like he had more in the tank. The Bulls were pretty much gassed by the start of overtime because their stars had played almost the entire fourth quarter and were having a hard time keeping up with the Heat.
Plus, Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller are finally paying dividends for the Heat after spending much of the season injured. Haslem and Miller tied for the team lead in rebounds at 9 in Game 4 and Miller had 12 points off the bench.
"We thought we had chances to win and unfortunately we came up short," Boozer said. "All we can do now is focus on the next one at home and do what we can to win that game and then move forward from there."
"They had their shot," Sam Smith, of Bulls.com, said on the Mully and Hanley Show in Chicago. "And they hung in there, they took, that boxing analogy, every punch, and they really played a good game for the most part. They did what they do, you know, they don't have the offense of [Miami], and you know, I guess they didn't make enough difference in rebounding."
"They (the Bulls) have wilted down the stretch for three games in a row and it again shows that Rose needs help at the end of games," wrote David Schuster on CBSChicago.com. "Another scorer or two is a must but that's a story for another day."
And the series will likely only do quite a bit to boost the confidence of the Heat heading into a likely NBA Finals matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. As Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said about the Bulls series, "It's about as competitive and physical as it can be."
Given the way the Heat are playing on both ends of the floor right now, Dallas, or Oklahoma City better be ready, because the Heat is about to be on.
