Bulls Favored (-2.5) Over Heat In Game 2
May 18th, 2011- By Bryan Cross
The Chicago Bulls continued their domination of the Miami Heat from the regular season on into the post-season in Game 1 of their Eastern conference finals match up. They won going away in the second half 103-82 getting out to an early 1-0 advantage with Game 2 on Wednesday night.
The Bulls went 3-0 against the Heat during the course of the regular season, and continued to play well against them in their Game 1 match up. Containing LeBron James and Dwyane Wade was no doubt a high priority on defense, and they were able to limit the duo to just 33 combined points.
It’s a performance that the Heat do not expect to be repeated going into Game 2. Nor is it a performance they will be able to afford and repeat if they hope to win the series.
“We’ve been able to bounce back this year no matter if it’s been the regular season or the postseason,” James said after the Game 1 loss. “Learn from mistakes in the previous game and then move on. We’ve done that. We’re looking forward to the challenge, we’re excited about tomorrow’s opportunity to be here and try to steal homecourt.”
On the other side of the court for the Bulls, even winning by 21 points they feel as if they are capable of playing even better.
“I think we’ve got to play better,” said Chicago’s Luo Deng. “I really do. We played really well. If you look at the final score, we won by a lot, but it really wasn’t that kind of game. It really wasn’t. It was tied at the half. They had the lead at some point in the third quarter. So there’s a lot of things we’ve got to get better at.”
The Bulls’ defense has been good all season long, continues play well, able to withstand the isolation plays drawn up by the Heat for Wade and James. Even big man Joakim Noah was able to get out on the perimeter and shut down Wade.
“Miami’s been a good ball-movement team all year,” Chicago head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “They have players that when the ball comes back to them, they can go one-on-one. That’s what makes them so dangerous and tough to guard. Sometimes, your best ball movement comes off isolation because you have to commit two defenders to the player, and
once the ball moves, now you’re getting wide open shots or easier shots.”
Game 2 Tips off at 8:30pm Et from the United Center.
Heat/Bulls Game 2 Betting Line: NBA Playoff Betting Lines at Bodog Sportsbook have set Chicago as a 2.5-point favorite in Game 2 over Miami to jump up 2-0 on the Heat. The over/under has been installed at 181.5 points prior to tip-off.
