Heat get a C+ for Round 1 with Bulls

The Heat finally dispatched the Bulls in Game 6 on Thursday and although the Heat are moving on, they have some kinks they must still work out.

With Pat Riley's harsh system which grades individual players on offense and defense, the Heat were average. Defensively, the graded out around the mid 60's and 70's. And that is why I am granting them a C+ for the first round.

The Bulls played tough, and raised their level of play. They never quit - not even when the Heat had built up a lead on them. In games 5 and 6, the Heat did raise their defensive play, but they were also fortunate that the Bulls missed some good looks, too.

The pundits prognosticated how the perimeter-driven offense for the Bulls would give the Heat problems defensively, as the Heat have not shown an ability to rotate and stay on their assignments consistently throughout the year. In this series, the Heat held the Bulls to a 44.5% from the field, right about even with their in-season performance. Most notably, the Heat made a better showing in the final 2 games, when the Heat had their entire roster back (Haslem was suspended for Game 2 and Posey for Game 4 while Zo, just returning from injury, was forced to play in Game 3 due to Shaq's foul trouble). In Game 5, the Bulls shot 34% while in Game 6 they shot 41%. A large part of that was the Heat's ability to adapt and rotate to the Bulls shooters, closing out and denying the ball as well as defending screens better. Yet, over the first 4 games, the Bulls were able to shoot 45%, 53%, 46% and 45%, respectively.

The biggest difference seems to be how the Heat responded after Game 3. Game 4, they struggled offensively, but also the Bulls were given 31 free throw attempts to the Heat's 5 and they were able to hang around. It seemed that the Bulls were going to win Game 4 no matter what happened and disgruntled by the way that game was called, the Heat went back to Miami to take mastery over this series by not becoming reliant upon the officiating. They did so with better intensity, energy and defensive effort - all was noticeable in Game 5 and it rolled over into Game 6.

Offensively, the Heat were pretty much allowed to do whatever they wanted, save Game 3 when Shaq got into early and frequent foul trouble. Despite the Bulls being the #1 defense in the NBA in field goal percentage allowed (42%), the Heat were able to shoot 46% for the series. The most notable struggles were Wade (43%) and Walker (37%) and the Heat's three point shooting was inconsistent as it topped out at 33% for the series.

Over the final 2 games, the Heat played better basketball and looked closer to the style of basketball they had set out to play on the season: a fast paced offense that is highly dynamic along with a solid defense that will out rebound and out hustle you. If the Heat can continue to build upon this identity and keep playing this kind of basketball, they will have a better time against the New Jersey Nets.