Following Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, nearly every media outlet in the country said the Miami Heat were in trouble. The Chicago Bulls looked good, really good. Their defense was stellar and a hero was born in their 21-point blowout.
Since that game, Miami has won two in a row, placing Chicago in a near must-win situation. The Heat are poised to go up 3-1 in the series if they win Tuesday night. Here are three changes the Bulls need to make in order to pull out a win.
1) Focus on stopping Chris Bosh
Chris Bosh has been motivated by Carlos Boozer’s pre-series comments and it’s resulted in stellar play. He’s scored 30 points or more in two of the first three series games after only doing so three times the entire regular season. Bosh hurt Chicago more than any other Heat player in Game 3, and it’s time for them to start sending help defense to him.
2) Joakim Noah must stay out of foul trouble
Noah is Chicago’s best player at protecting the rim. In the Game 3 loss, Noah got into foul trouble and totaled just five boards, a single point and a certain slur that cost him 50 grand. Noah does the dirty work and he must play significant minutes for Chicago to stay close.
3) Derrick Rose needs to show up in the fourth quarter
In the fourth quarter of the two losses, Derrick Rose has scored a combined four points. Rose won the regular season MVP award for closing games late, not disappearing. Miami has strategically placed LeBron on Rose during the fourth quarter which has disturbed his game. If Chicago is going to even the series, Rose will need to play close games out like the MVP he is.
