"This is it, don't get scared now..." - Kevin McCalister

The Bulls finally vanquished the pestering Hawks in stunning fashion. They played suffocating defense with great offensive efficiency. Bulls shot over 50% from the field and had 20 more assists than the Hawks. JJ/JCraw shut down again for under 30 points combined and J-Smooth/Horford were throwing up air-balls almost every other possession. Also didn't hurt when Teague went down with the wrist injury. He clearly wasn't the same after he returned.

Derrick scored 19 points and only needed to hoist up 14 shot attempts because he got offensive help from errybody. Deng chipped in 13, Noah 11, Gibson 10, and Boozer with, um, 23 points. Not only did every shot he hoist go in, but it seemed like none of them even touched the rim. Splash city. I can't expect that to happen all the time, because frankly he hasn't proven that he can do that every night since the postseason started. But if he can do that at least once in the Miami series that'd be great. The bench mob came to play once again. RonRonJuice/TajMahal/Omerica shut the hawks down and Korver was able to hit a couple shots. Hubie Brown was at half-mast just talking about how awesome Omerica is. He would have thrown a MVP vote Asik's way if he could.

And now for the series that everyone wanted. Bulls v. Heatles. Good v. Evil. Navy Seals v. Bin Laden. The Bulls swept the Heat 3-0 in the regular season series by a combined 8 points. Those games mean nothing right now because as the Bulls learned in these first 2 series, the playoffs are a whole different animal. LBJ didn't play in one of those games and RuPaul went 1-18 in another. Both DWade and LBJ missed shots at the end of those games to tie or win the game. This is the leagues best offense going against the leagues best defense. Break it down...

Starting Five:
The Heat have no problem finding offense with the likes of LBJ, Wade, and RuPaul. It will be interesting to see how they try to crack the Bulls #1 defense. Like the Hawks, the Heatles like to run a lot of isos. Deng and Bogans will have their work cut out for them for sure. On the other hand it will be interesting to see how the Heat will guard DRose. Derrick will obviously be able to blow by Chalmers or Bibby. It's how Miami's help defense reacts that should be looked at. The Heat's defense isn't shabby and they have the speed and length on the perimeter. Boozer and Noah should be able to dominate the paint where as LBJ and Wade will be able to handle the outside. The match-ups are intriguing and there I don't see a clear cut advantage. I'll probably regret this. Advantage: Heat

Bench:
Bench Mob vs. The Miami D-League squad. The caveat for spending all that money on the big three was that their surrounding cast is not good. James Jones can drop bombs from behind the arc and Chalmers is a serviceable guard. Other than that the Heat can throw out Mike Miller, Juwan Howard, Eddie House, or BigZ. Not exactly fearful of that bench line-up. The thought of Korver having to guard Wade or LBJ gives me panic attacks. But hopefully he will step up and spread the Bulls offense like he did all year. Taj and Omer are holding their own in the paint right now and RonRonJuice will be part of the defensive platoon. Totally pumped for BigZ v. Omerica. Advantage: Bulls

Coaching:
This isn't close. Spolestra does not hold a flame to Thib's coaching chops. Spols is a 15 year old kid that was handed the keys to a Ferrari. As much as the Heat seem like they are behind their coach, they aren't. Not with Pat Riley looming over Spols' head, ready to escort him to the guillotine if he doesn't take the Heatles to the finals. Spols had that media slip up during "Crygate" and looked overwhelmed with the pressure of managing this rag-tag group of all-stars and junior varsity players. Advantage: Bulls

Intangibles:
Hopefully the Bulls can cut down on the turnovers and win the battles for loose balls. The Heat thrive on scoring off turnovers and transition baskets. LBJ and Wade dunks can shift momentum like no other. The Bulls are finally a clear cut underdog. They weren't completely comfortable with being the favorite in the first 2 series. Derrick played with a chip on his shoulder all year when he said "Why not me" about winning MVP. I expect the team to embrace that attitude during this series and play up to their competition. The Heat still have the pressure of winning that has been building since LBJ told the world where he was taking his talents. The Bulls crowd should be as rabid as ever and The Madhouse will be off its rocker. The Miami bandwagon fans that show up halfway through the first quarter (wearing all white obvi) don't hold a candle to the Bulls fans. Advantage: Bulls

Prediction:
The Heat just beat the Celtics in 5 games and acted like they just won the Larry O'Brien trophy. Good for you, the Celtics are old and Rondo played with one arm for 2 games. Both teams know the gravity of this series and have been probably looking forward to it all season. No lie, its going to be an absolute war. I think its going to be very physical probably a lot of people getting T's and maybe a flagrant or two. The Bulls need to play their asses off on the defensive end, DRose probably needs to go off for 38, and Deng/_____ need to have a couple good scoring nights. I'm sensing that I will be going through a roller coaster of emotions throughout the series. Bulls in 7.