vs.
Pick: Miami -7 @ 1,99 Pinnacle
The Bulls played a very inspired Game One but watching Dwayne Wade absolutely take over in the 4th quarter was a sight to behold as Chicago had nothing to stop his penetration. After hitting just 4 or 14 shots in the first 3 ½ quarters, Wade went 4 for 5 for 14 points to close out the game, finishing with 30 points after averaging only 12.3 points and 24.3 percent from the field in three previous games against the Bulls this season. Flash’s late game performance actually overshadowed that of Shaq who dominated under the basket and finished with 27 points and 16 rebounds. Take away O'Neal's 11 for 16 night, and the Bulls held the rest of Miami to 42.6 percent shooting but by refusing to double team the big guy though out most of the game, the Bulls appeared to be hoping that he would not be able to play like he has in years gone by. Big mistake.
Ben Gordon is not likely to duplicate his 35 point performance from Saturday as it was his second highest point total of the season. Furthermore, it is equally unlikely that the Bulls will hit 50% of their three point attempts again tonight. Despite the fact that they are a great perimeter shooting team, Chicago shot only 37.9% from behind the arc on the season and if they had been held to that percentage on Saturday, they would have scored only 97 points. Gordon, Hinrich, Nocioni and Allen all scored well above their season average in Game One while Deng was pretty much a non-factor in scoring only six points in 22 minutes.
Without an inside game and someone to guard Shaq, the Bulls have little chance in this series. The Heat is finally healthy and has a deeper bench than the Bulls. Haslem is out with a one game suspension but Walker is perfectly capable of playing extended minutes and Posey looked good in adding 10 points on Saturday as did Williams with his 17 points. This is the playoffs when the Heat shines and they simply have too many playmakers for the overachieving Bulls.
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