MIAMI, FL. For all of #BullsNation, Game 5 of the 2012 NBA Finals was a sobering experience.
If there is justice in the world, it was vindicated with last year's comeback series win by the Dallas Mavericks over the Miami Heat for the NBA Championship. It upheld the promise that "Cheaters never win", and after the tampering and collusion that took place to bring Lebron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade together on the Miami Heat, there were no bigger cheaters in the NBA.
However, what happened in last night's Game 5 was the exact opposite.
In the very same year that Chicago Bulls fans had to watch All-Star Derrick Rose go down with a season ending tear of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament in his left knee during the first game of a post-season with championship expectations, we were also forced to watch the forced coronation of Lebron James by the NBA, as he won the regular season MVP, the NBA Finals MVP, and his first NBA championship.
Irregardless of whether the unbalanced refereeing gifted the Heat undeserved wins in Game 2 and Game 3, the Heat have gotten over the hump. The crushing weight of failure in the 2011 NBA Finals has been lifted. Along with it, the ability to prey on the weakness of the Miami Heat's psychological fragility, as well as, Lebron James fragile psyche, in particular, is now gone.
One would expect Tom Thibodeau to be in the film room gathering information about the Miami Heat, and I for one would love to be able to trade notes with the man that should have been named Coach of the Year for the second straight year (no disrespect to coaching great, Greg Popovich). However, what we would find are several important lessons that must be addressed by the Chicago Bulls organization if the team is to surpass the Heat.
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| The Bulls' defense has kept nearly every game with the Miami Heat a close one. |
Defense matters. While the Heat like to jump out to big early leads and play from ahead, the Oklahoma City Thunder were able to make huge runs during stretches when they had their defense working and forcing turnovers. However, it was the defensive lapses that ultimately killed OKC. The Chicago Bulls' solid defensive schemes would have faired significantly better against the Heat.
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| The Chicago Bulls' length has been a problem for the Miami Heat. |
Size matters. Not so much just size, it's what you do with it. With a frontline of Durant (6' 9"), Ibaka (6' 10"), and Perkins (6' 10"), the Thunder are long enough, however the Thunder starting frontcourt was consistantly outrebounded by the starting frontcourt of the Heat. The Bulls match up with the Heat very well with their length (Deng 6' 9", Boozer 6' 10", Noah 6' 11"), as well as, being able to throw 7' 0" Omer Asik into the mix, and the team's focus on rebounding is one aspect that the Heat truly feared in any series against the Bulls.
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| Will the Bulls be able to acquire another superstar to pair with Rose? They were in the hunt for Dwight Howard before last year's trade deadline. |
The Bulls are Short At Least One Superstar. And that's assuming Derrick Rose comes back from his ACL injury at full strength. The Oklahoma City Thunder line up featured three young superstars in James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and 3-time scoring champion, Kevin Durant.
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| DeShawn Stevenson was the Psycho Factor in the Mavs' 2011 NBA Finals win. |
The Psycho Factor. While DeShawn Stevenson's thug theatrics carried the Dallas Mavericks to
their comeback win in last season's NBA Finals, the Thunder, despite
becoming a perennial contender after the acquisition of Kendrick
Perkins, were completely void of toughness. Chicago Bulls fans are
familiar with the utility of psychological gamesmanship when a player by
the name of Dennis Rodman suited up for the Bulls and reeked havoc on opposing superstars like Karl Malone. The Chicago Bulls program of acquiring only upstanding citizens may be flawed in not acquiring at least one player that can get in Lebron's head.
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| Lebron James on the ground was too uncommon a sight in 2012. |
Nice Guys Finish Last. In addition to having a single player that can toy with the opponent's psyche, there must also be a willingness as a team to commit hard fouls that will make the Heat double clutch shots and fear entering the lane. Lebron James and Dwayne Wade are known to be poor outside shooters, and while their game plan was to attack the basket, the Thunder's defensive game plan seemed to lack any attempt to prevent them from getting to the basket. The ease with which the Heat were allowed access to the lane, and the touchy fouls that were called on the Thunder anyway, should have inspired the Thunder to commit hard fouls that would at least gave the Heat some pause at driving the lane. Despite being the subject of the infamous book, The Jordan Rules, as well as, being a more proficient defensive team, Chicago has, at times, shown an unwillingness to play with a chippiness that would intimidate and scare Lebron and the Heat.
GAMEPLAN for the 2012-13 Season:
1. Maintain defensive principles under Tom Thibodeau with a focus on dominating the boards.
2. Add a true superstar presence to pair with Derrick Rose.
3. Add toughness and a "Dennis Rodman"-type player.
4. Play with a chippiness.
5. Physically protect the lane at all costs against the poor-shooting Miami Heat.
