[UNCbasketballbumParticipant]

As of today, who is your favorite in the Eastern Conference.  I’m going to have to go with the Bulls.  What do you guys think?

[KayjayParticipant]

The reason why I believe its still Miami only because of last year. I mean nothing has really changed from last year except the Heat got deeper. Bulls were favorites last year too, but the Heat pulled away. The Heats flaws are obvious, but remember. Wade and Bron are both known for their playoff heroics. Idk I’m sticking to my pick.

[Malik-UniversalParticipant]

 i still say miami…….. let the negging begin

[Ghost01Participant]

 The reason why I believe its still Miami only because of last year. I mean nothing has really changed from last year except the Heat got deeper. 

I find this an interesting reason, heres a few points I’d like to throw at you to why I disagree.

1. Last year was last year, sure the teams are the same but Miami wasn’t exactly blowing them out.

2. To piggy back off that, all of those games were close, except the Chicago win. So it’s not like Miami was head and shoulders better than the Bulls, Lebron was just playing clutch. Something we can’t count on this year.

3. The Bulls are much more improved than Miami. Miami has more players, but they didn’t get deeper. Shane Battier has been terrible. Norris Cole doesn’t play. Ronnie Turiaf isn’t an upgrade. Haslem and Miller were both hot vs the Bulls in the playoffs last year, right now they both stink. Lebron was pretty much playing out of his mind in that series, I just don’t see that happening again.In contrast, Carlos Boozer has improved for the Bulls. Sure the stats arent worth 85 million, but he’s done two important things: Embraced the team concept much better, and began to knock down his signature mid-range fadeaway. The bench is vastly improved.  Gibson and Asik are defensively both terrors, Brewer has become so much more consistent and effective now that he isn’t banged up. Korver is just a shooter, but has never been shooting like he has lately. And CJ Watson is one of the most improved players in the NBA. They can depend on him whenever Rose is banged up.

4. Defenses know how to face the big 3, and are getting more and more used to it. Something that doesn’t get brought up enough: how poorly Lebron and Wade fit together. Neither of them hits 3s consistently. This is a major problem in the spacing game. Teams are just boxing them in and letting Battier and Miller fire away. They both have the same game, attack in transition, settle for too many tough shots in the half court, and have no semblence of a team game, all iso.

The Bulls right now for me are better than they were last year. And this is without knowing what Derrick Rose’s health will be for the playoffs. The Heat have made no real improvement. Just my opinion. 

[ChrisCrossParticipant]

 I still have to with Miami, but Chicago and Boston are not too far behind.

[UNCbasketballbumParticipant]

 the bulls bench is so much better than miami’s, thats why i give the bulls the edge.  cj watson has been playing great for them.

[truwizfan4Participant]

 Bulls  are way deeper. They a playoff team with out Rose. And now they get rose back they be hard to stop in east

[J_01Participant]

While it seems that the Bulls have the deeper bench…

The Heat bench have really underachieved this season. Battier, Haslem and Miller are all veterans who have been struggling all season. If they can play to the level they’re known for the Heat will be a very tough team to beat in a 7 game series.

It’ll be interesting to see how Derrick Rose affects the great play of CJ watson. All in all it’ll be a great series if these two teams meet in East finals

[Sasha4MVPParticipant]

The bench isn’t as relevant in the playoffs.  Teams rely on their stars to grind it out while the pace slows down.  I still think the Bulls will have a tough time scoring on Miami down the stretch.

[NCarmean18Participant]

Through everything that has happened, I just have to say the Bulls are the better team and the Heat still need a little bit more to finally have the team that wins the NBA title.

Chicago is pretty much deep in every position.  

Point guards: You have the MVP Derrick Rose who can pretty much do it all – he can score, he can pass, and he can make the most difficult plays look easy.  He’s a great leader and he is the reason Chicago is the best team in the Eastern conference.  Then you have C.J. Watson and John Lucas III.  C.J. is the typical backup point guard.  He’ll come in and dish it off to your bigs down low for some low post scoring, occasionally drive and draw a foul or pull up for the 3-ball when uncontested.  Lucas is the spark scorer off of the bench.  He is what gets the crowd into it whenever the Bulls play at home in Chicago.  

Shooting guards: Rip is a good player when healthy.  He can be your 3rd scorer behind Rose and Luol Deng, and he is also a nice veteran in there with playoff experience and a winning attitude.  He is also a nice passer for a 2 guard.  Then you have Ronnie Brewer who can come in a play some solid defense and throw it down when given space.  

Small forwards: Luol Deng is going to have to be the X-factor is the Bulls meet the Heat in the finals.  He is a great 2nd option behind a guy like Derrick Rose, and in this case, he is the Scottie Pippen to Derrick Rose’s Michael Jordan.  He is that guy that you try to pay attention to but just can’t because Derrick Rose is just so dangerous!  Deng can do a lot offensively, he can drive, has can pull up from mid-range, and he can shoot the 3-ball effectively.  He’s a lot to handle on the offensive side of the ball, that’s for sure.  Coming off the bench then is Kyle Korver.  He is a deadly 3-point shooter and with just an inch of space he’ll make you pay with 3 points in your face – take it, because you can’t leave it.  

Power forwards: The Bulls have one of the best 1-2 punches at the 4-spot with Carlos Boozer and Taj Gibson.  Boozer has that deadly mid-range elbow jumper, and he is a good rebounder next to Joakim at the center position.  Taj is a good energy player off of the bench.  He has a nice mid-range game himself, but it isn’t as effective as Carlos Boozer’s.  Gibson is most effective on the offensive glass, cleaning up the mess that other people have left for him.  He’s a great rebounder who gets excellent position under the glass.  He can also flush the ball when he has the oppertunity to.  

Anybody else remember Taj posterizing Wade during Game 1 of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals?  I sure do… lol.

Centers: Joakim is one of my favorite players because of the energy he brings to the post.  He is an excellent rebounder, and is great when given the ball and has space down low.  He is still developing a mid-range game with that goofy jumper he has, but he can hit it every now and again.  He’s also excellent at running the floor and he can dribble the ball pretty well for a big guy.  Then you have Omer Asik coming off of the bench, and this guy is just an excellent defensive presence.  He’s a liability on the offensive side of the ball, but the dude plays hard, rebounds the ball, and blocks shots.  

The Bulls have one of the best frontcourts in the NBA, which helps out a lot if you can bang down low.  Derrick Rose is the MVP who can do it all, and you have probably the best bench in the NBA.  Not to mention the energy guys coming in off of the bench and also Joakim’s hustle.  

Overall, I think that Miami has the 2 superstars in LeBron and D-Wade and then a very good player in Chris Bosh, but they just don’t have the point guard play and presence down low to compete with Chicago.  Ronny Turiaf isn’t going to do anything against Chicago’s bigs and Mario Chalmers is good for a 3-point field goal once every quarter, and that’s about it.  

When your offense is ran through 3 guys, sure they can keep it going for a while but even elite players get fatigued.  I think that’s what’s happening to Miami right now, and I think that is what happened with Miami during the NBA Finals last year.  

[omphalosParticipant]

It’s still Miami to me, as much as I hate to say it. Depth is all well and good for the Bulls, but teams shorten their rotations in the playoffs, and after the frequency of games during the regular season, teams will get fresher deeper into the playoffs with more depth, so Miami will be able to ride Wade/James/Bosh.

I don’t think Chicago is a threat to make it to the Finals at all really. They simply don’t have enough talent to succeed against Miami or (in my opinion) Boston, in a 7 game series. I think Miami would break their D with their individual talents, and Battier will be huge. Boston’s ball movement makes them a great fit against the Bulls, and Bradley’s emergence will help them contain Rose.

Depending on how seeding works out, I could definitely see it being a Miami-Boston ECF matchup, with Miami probably overpowering them. Boston haven’t been healthy since the championship year, so if they can make it through without a major injury I think they go out swinging with one last hurrah.

Either way, we should see some really great series, I’m just crossing my fingers that NY somehow manages to match up with Miami in the 1st round and we get to see Melo and Lebron battle for a whole series.

[Charlie SheenParticipant]

I got the Knicks making it to the ECF and I think they could go all the way 

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

Chicago are the two favorites.

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

 Still got Miami, IDK whats been goin on these last few games, but I just find it hard to believe a team in the East will be able to beat them in a 7 game series.

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