Watch out, the Heat are starting to heat up again—no pun intended.
After losing three straight—against Golden State, Lob City and Denver—the Heat responded by going on an impressive three-game winning streak, against the Spurs, Lakers and 76ers.
The Heat's most recent victim, the Philadelphia 76ers, were thought to be one of the teams to watch in the Eastern Conference, after going 10-3 throughout their first 13 games of the season.
The Miami Heat did a solid job of exposing the 76ers as a young team with a lot of potential that is hindered by their lack of veteran leadership, and they did so by dominating on the defensive side of the ball.
While the verdict is still out on where the Miami Heat rank in the entire NBA, with losses against some playoff contenders in the Western Conference, there's no doubt that they are one of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.
The only team keeping them from the No. 1 spot is the Chicago Bulls, led by 2011 MVP Derrick Rose and the impressive coaching of Tom Thibodeau. Lucky for us, LeBron James and the Heat are on a collision course with Derrick Rose and the Bulls, set to meet on Jan. 29th to prove who the true front-runner is for the Eastern Conference title.
While the Bulls and Heat matchup in late January is way too close to call, there are undoubtedly aspects of the game that the Bulls have the advantage over the Heat in, and vice versa
Miami and Chicago have found recent success in very different ways—the Heat with the league's best scoring offense (106.6 PPG), and the Bulls with the league's toughest defense (allowing only 85.1 PPG).
The Heat's number one scoring offensive in the NBA is in large part due to the recent dominance of both LeBron James and Chris Bosh, who are averaging 30.0 PPG and 21.6 PPG respectively. They account for almost half of the Heat's offensive production, which is extremely impressive and will ultimately give the Heat the advantage on the offensive side of the ball.
The Bulls, on the other hand, are relying less on the performance of one or two star players, and relying more on the well-established offensive set pieces drawn up by head coach Tom Thibodeau, which brings us to one of the biggest advantages the Bulls have over the Heat.
Tom Thibodeau has done a more than impressive job this year of making the Bulls look like one of the most efficient offensive and disciplined defensive teams in the entire NBA. Thibodeau has done a great job this season of managing roster rotations and creating offensive sets that play to the strengths of his players.
Thibodeau gives the Bulls the clear advantage when it comes to coaching, as all Erik Spoelstra has done this season is let the Big 3 run the show. Spoelstra resorts to an isolation offense nine times out of 10, which works most of the time for the Heat, but it hasn't helped him develop as a head coach in the NBA.
When it comes to the defensive side of the ball, the nod goes to the Chicago Bulls, who are giving up an NBA best 85.1 PPG, right? Not so fast.
While the Heat do give up the 24th most points per game (98.4 PPG), they still manage to force the fourth most steals per game (10.0) in addition to forcing the most turnovers per game (18.9). The Heat's defense might give up more points, but they are much more opportunistic than the Bulls, which ultimately gives the Heat the advantage when it comes to the defensive side of the ball.
While the Bulls currently have four more wins and one less loss than the Miami Heat, I still think the Heat are the more explosive and dominant team. The Bulls might be more complete and better coached, but the Bulls will struggle with all members of Miami's Big 3 just like they did last year in the Eastern Conference divisional playoffs.
While I think the Heat have the advantage in this game, there's no doubt that the Chicago Bulls could easily come away with the win, and that's why Jan. 29th is such an important day for both teams.
After the Bulls and Heat collide in Chicago in late January, we will have a more complete picture of who the front-runner in the Eastern Conference is, and that's something for every NBA fan to look forward to.
The Heat brought the surging 76ers back to reality, proving to be the better, more complete and more dominant team.
Can LeBron and company do the same to the Bulls come Jan. 29th?
Andy Greene zach Parise bryce Salvador Wade Belak Martin Erat Marcel Goc
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