Hello and welcome, readers, to my newest recurring entry that I will henceforth refer to as The Sixth Man. This name is a tip of my hat to ESPN's 5v5 basketball segment which features five bloggers from around the internet answering five critical questions regarding notable basketball games or series around the nation. Since I'm unlikely to be asked to participate in ESPN's 5v5, I instead will offer my opinions on here regarding basketball games as the sixth man.
Today's 5v5 concerns the NBA's eastern conference finals- the Chicago Bulls at the Miami Heat.
1. Who will be the best player in the Miami-Chicago series?
Dwayne Wade. Derrick Rose is the rightful regular season MVP, and he has carried that excellence into the playoffs. However, Derrick Rose isn't the only superstar on the court. LeBron is always a monster (except... well, except when he isn't) and Chris Bosh has his moments. But I think Dwayne has been the spark plug, gasoline source, and accelator for the Heat in the playoffs so far, and I think his experience that Rose lacks along with his incredible talent pushes him over the top for MVP of the conference finals.
2. Which player will you watch most closely?
Carlos Boozer. Miami is a flat out more athletic team than Chicago, and that's saying a lot when your point guard is D-Rose. The 1-2 of Wade/James is, to a certain extent, pretty unstoppable; the best Chi-town can do is contain them. Carlos Boozer has to be on his defensive game and contain Chris Bosh. It's one thing if Dwayne and Lebron start lighting it up, but if Chris Bosh is firing on all cylinders too, this isn't even a fair series. The good news is that Bosh is a bit of a baby, and if Boozer comes out playing inspired in the first half, Bosh can easily get down on himself and shoot horribly as the game goes on. That puts more pressure on the Big 2, which could lead to some easy implosions. Boozer's offensive consistency should get a shout-out here too, as their front court often goes as he does.
3. What is the potentially fatal flaw for each team?
For Chicago, I think it's Derrick Rose. I know that seems counterintuitive, but when Chicago struggles offensively, Rose takes over the game. The problem is that Rose isn't a superhuman and is capable of playing almost as poorly as the rest of his team given the right (or wrong, if you're Chicago) circumstances. Rose loves to drive to the basket, and when you're playing a defense that can be as physically imposing and brutal as the Heat, that can take its tole over multiple games. Not to mention fatigue over the course of one game and foul trouble.
For Miami, this is the part where I'm supposed to say they're perimeter shooters have to play more consistently. While it's true the outside has to play well to open up the lanes, I think they will get enough to make it a non-issue. I think a bigger problem is Miami's ability to grab rebounds and limit Chicago's second chance points. The bulls badly outrebounded the heat in the regular season, and their control of the boards allowed them to dominate Miami in the regular season.
4. Chicago won 62 games and Miami 58. Is this the real NBA Finals?
I think a cruely efficient Mavs team might be offended by this question. Bulls-Heat might be the best remaining matchup, but don't get it twisted. The NBA finals do not occur in the month of May.
5. Who wins?
Chicago's run ends here. I said it throughout the entire calendar year of 2011- with rare exception, you can't win the NBA finals with a scoring point guard. Miami wins in 6 games and takes another big step to quiet all the haters.
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