Vegaswise View: Eastern Conference Finals!

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Jorge Gonzalez - 5/15/2011 3:58 PM

Eastern Conference Final series is already to begin. Today’s game-7 showdown between the Oklahoma City and the Memphis Grizzlies and the Western Conference match-up will be decided who would face the Dallas Mavericks in the series. The Chicago Bulls, with an NBA best 62-win season, will have home court advantage against the Miami Heat. Dwayne wade will lead the Miami Heat and the “Big Three” on their quest for a championship.

The Bulls not only had the best record in the league, they also have the MVP in point guard Derrick Rose and coach of the year in Tom Thibodeau. The Bulls team defense was the best shot defending team in the NBA overall allowing just 43% and from beyond the coming in to the playoffs and will be looking to knock off a Miami team that a stingier 32.6% from beyond the arc. They also led the league with a +5.7 rebounding advantage over their opponent.

The Bulls will need Rose to continue his high-level of offensive production. In the best season of his career, Rose leads the playoff with 28.8 points per game. The Bulls offense needs a few players to step y up offensively and help Rose. Loul Deng is the second option on offense averaging 16.7 points per contest in the playoffs, down from 17.4 points during the regular season. Carlos Boozer signed as a free agent during the off-season, after the Bulls were unsuccessful of luring Dwayne Wade and LeBron James and Chris Bosh to the Windy City. Boozer has been a huge disappointment in the playoffs with just 11.8 points per game, down from 17.5 points during the regular season. Boozer did step up in his last game scoring 23 points and snatching 10 rebounds. In order for the Bulls to advance to the NBA Finals, Rose will need help from both Deng and Boozer to compete with the Miami Heat.

Wade, James, and Bosh make up the “Big Three” in Miami. The Heat is coming off a tough 4-1 series with the aging Boston Celtics. In the clinching 97-87 victory over the Celtics, Wade and James combined for 67 points. Wade is averaging 26.1 points and James is averaging 26.0 points per game. Bosh is averaging a complimentary 16.3 points per outing. The heat needs a role player to set up from the outside to hit the open shot for the Heat. James Jones came up huge in game one of the series with 25 points, in game three of the series, Mario Chalmers came up with 17 points And Joel Anthony chipped in 12 points. Mike Bibby has plenty of playoff experience and is capable of hitting a big shot at the end of a game.

The Miami defense is arguably the best defensively in the league. In 10 games, the Heat has not given up 100 or more points are giving up just 88.8 points per contest. Joel Anthony has stepped up in the playoffs playing over 31 minutes per game and providing tough defense in the paint. The “Big Three” average a combined 17.6 caroms, 4 steals, and 3.7 blocks per competition. The Bulls are allowing just 87.7 points while the Heat is also stingy giving up just 88.8 points per contest. Adonis Haslem will add depth and toughness in the post for the Miami Heat.

Series are always decide by match-ups. The matchup between Chris Bosh and Carlos Boozer will be a pivotal. Loul Deng will not only have the chore of trying to slow down LeBron James but must score step as the second or third leading scorer for the Bulls. The #1 seed will face the #2 seed to see which will play of the NBA championship.

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