Are Bulls in a better position to beat the Heat in a 7 game series?

[Lebron23]

Sure, if injury prone Wade shows up in the playoffs playing like he is now.

Otherwise, none of this matters AT ALL.

OT

Wade needs to sit out when the Heat play the Spurs on Tuesday. I don't want to see him aggravate his injuries.

[themurph]

They need someone who can create offense in a pinch. Rip helps but he plays off the ball.

I was preaching the same gospel....I thought the same thing...That is, until I saw that Rip still had the ability to put the ball on the floor...And more importantly, he's a GOOD passer...

During his 5 games Rip has had 4, 3 and 6 assists....Basically, his true impact is that Rip makes Boozer and Deng's life easier on the court...And Rip opens up Rose's game and makes him even scarier (if that is even possible)...If you have a second guy in the starting line-up that can get you 14 and 4 dimes, that makes a HUGE difference...

To me, it's all really about if Rip can stay healthy....

[DMV2]

Other than Deng, who else on the Bulls roster can guard LeBron? You need a good perimeter/wing rotation to contain LeBron.

Noah can help getting into LeBron's head but that won't be enough.

[nba_55]

People fail to understand Lebron just made a bunch of ridiculously tough jumpers in that 2011 ECF against the Bulls. Lebron was simply on a hot streak just like Trevor Ariza was in the '09 playoffs. The only difference was Ariza's hot streak lasted the entire playoffs while Lebron's hot streak went to hell in the NBA finals.

I see the Bulls as the favorite this time around, and so does Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley.

What about Wade? He probably had his worst series ever and they still beat them 4-1. Dont expect him to have the same kind of series this time especially with Hamilton guarding him.

[StateOfMind12]

I was preaching the same gospel....I thought the same thing...That is, until I saw that Rip still had the ability to put the ball on the floor...And more importantly, he's a GOOD passer...

During his 5 games Rip has had 4, 3 and 6 assists....Basically, his true impact is that Rip makes Boozer and Deng's life easier on the court...And Rip opens up Rose's game and makes him even scarier (if that is even possible)...If you have a second guy in the starting line-up that can get you 14 and 4 dimes, that makes a HUGE difference...

To me, it's all really about if Rip can stay healthy....

Everybody is selling Rip short, you can just tell who has watched Rip play this season and who hasn't. Rip makes the Bulls offense much better. Brewer has improved tremendously with his shot but Rip helps the Bulls offensively outside of scoring and shooting though and people fail to recognize that.

Bulls are #1 in the East and they will probably finish #1 again. Bulls will need HCA more than the Heat will IMO.

[All Net]

What about Wade? He probably had his worst series ever and they still beat them 4-1. Dont expect him to have the same kind of series this time especially with Hamilton guarding him.

For whayever reason wade always plays like crap against the bulls

[nba_55]

For whayever reason wade always plays like crap against the bulls

Keep dreaming.

[All Net]

Keep dreaming.

What do you mean keep dreaming? I could care less either way but wade has for the most struggled whenever he plays Chicago

[themurph]

What about Wade? He probably had his worst series ever and they still beat them 4-1. Dont expect him to have the same kind of series this time especially with Hamilton guarding him.

It's not about Rip guarding Wade...It's about Wade having to go through a million screens to guard Rip...

Listen, we are all fans of our respective teams...As a Bulls fan I still think the Heat are the slight favorite...But if Heat fans don't think that having a offensively competent starting shooting guard playing next to Rose won't make a difference (remember folks, KEITH BOGANS WAS GIVING THE BULLS NOTHING), you really don't know anything about basketball...

[nba_55]

What do you mean keep dreaming? I could care less either way but wade has for the most struggled whenever he plays Chicago

All I can tell you is that he wont be as bad as last year this time. He was plain horrible. Bogan was a big reason why. Dont expect Hamilton to make the same impact.

[juju151111]

Brewer,Noah, and Noah all started off the season with injuries and never could get chemistry becuase they were out. This is the first year Booze and Noah we playing consistently healthy and brewer is much improve. You can't leave brewer open for a 3 anymore.

[Alamo]

The Bulls are looking way better than last year. They seem to be playing more like a team, Boozer seems more and adjusted to the offense and Rose is a bit more mature and is playing smarter than last year. They also have RIP now which is a giant addition.

So yeah, the Bulls are better than they were last year. But I think the Heat are too, if Wade can stay healthy.

[brownmamba00]

It's not about Rip guarding Wade...It's about Wade having to go through a million screens to guard Rip...

Listen, we are all fans of our respective teams...As a Bulls fan I still think the Heat are the slight favorite...But if Heat fans don't think that having a offensively competent starting shooting guard playing next to Rose won't make a difference (remember folks, KEITH BOGANS WAS GIVING THE BULLS NOTHING), you really don't know anything about basketball...

It helps but it's not a dealbreaker and you're a moron if you thinks so.
Rip is a 4th option on the Bulls team and I doubt he'll get 10-14 shots a game (that's what he needs to get to that 10-15 points)

I said it in my previous post and I'll say it again if Boozer grows some and outplays Bosh. That would be a gamechanger.
A 4th option who needs 10-15 shots to be effective is not going to win you the series against the Heat. Bulls fans are delusional if they think so.

[2010splash]

Of course. The Bulls will ace the Heat this season. If it weren't for fluke jumpers that LeBron never makes (see: 2011 Finals vs Dallas Mavs) the Bulls would have won last series too.

[Nash]

Of course. The Bulls will ace the Heat this season. If it weren't for fluke jumpers that LeBron never makes (see: 2011 Finals vs Dallas Mavs) the Bulls would have won last series too.

Fluke jumpers. So lets forget how Miami's defense totally stopped Chicago? Or that Lebron made Rose look like a scrub?