Eastern Conference Finals Preview

By:Carrington Caul

(1) Chicago Bulls vs.(2) Miami Heat

The Overview: Top seeded Chicago Bulls will face the second seed Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals. The winner will move on to the NBA Finals and await the winners of the Western Conference games. Chicago go here after beating Indiana Pacers in 5 games taking the series 4-1 in the first round, the was matched up against Atlanta Hawks in the 2nd round who they beat in 6 games taking the 4-2 series. The Miami Heat got here by taking care of the Philadelphia 76'ers in the first round with a 4-1 series then was matched up against the Boston Celtics in the 2nd round, a series a lot of people were happy to see. They went on to beat the Celtics in 5 games with a 4-1 win in the series.

The Series: The Bulls vs. Heat rivalry is one that dates back to the early 90’s when the Heat actually became contenders in the League, they faced three times in the post season and the Bulls beat the Heat each time going ahead to win the Championship each time. The rivalry died down some until the 2000’s starting with the 2006 playoff series when the Miami Heat beat the Bulls 4-2 in the first round and went ahead to when the championship that year. The Bulls turned around the next season and swept the Heat 4-0 in the first round but where eliminated by Detroit Pistons in the 2nd round which made it the first time in history that the winner between the Bulls vs. Heat rivalry didn’t win the championship. The Bulls have dominated the Heat in the playoffs taking a (16-5) series record over them, the Bulls also have the regular season record over them (46-37) and including the playoffs they have an overall (62-42) record over the Heat including a 4-0 sweep against them in the regular season.

The Prediction: Chicago Bulls came into the season with the best record in the league (62-20) but they haven’t really played like that this offseason. Yes they have only lost 3 games this post season but compared to who they were playing a lot of people think that they should have swept both teams. Actually allowing the Hawks take this series in a decisive game 6. The Miami heat came in the playoffs as the 2nd best team in the East, they easily got rid of the 76’ers, and they struggled in the 1st half against the Celtics the same way the Bulls did against the Pacers. Miami has the juice right now, they just beat the 2010 Eastern Conference champs and arguably the best team in the League, the Bulls and Hawks matchup didn’t create as much of a stir as the Heat & Celtics. If Miami wins the first game in Chicago I think it’s a chance they can get the sweep, if the Bulls win I think this will go to five or maybe six games with the Heat winning the series.