Heat Let One Slip Away

Game 1: 96-91, Bulls

The Bulls came out and got it done in Game One today, overtaking the Heat for the first win of the series in what looks to be a closely contested playoff match.

Luol Deng, continuing his breakout season, dropped 33 points on Miami's heads on 14-22 shooting. He seemed to look incapable of missing and had answers on the offensive end all afternoon for anything the Heat threw at him. He even picked up the slack left by "Captain" Kirk Hinrich, who was plagued with foul trouble all afternoon and only played 19 minutes.

The perimeter defense for the Bulls was tough, holding Miami below 43% shooting from the field and keeping Miami from running their offense effectively. Miami, however, also held Chicago under the 43% mark which means defensively, they were able to keep it close enough to get a win.

Yet, Miami couldn't get it done and they let this one slip away.

There was questionable officiating: Miami had Shaq and Wade plagued with foul trouble (both getting their 5th fouls only three minutes into the 4th quarter) and Chicago watched Hinrich get chained to the bench for most of the game, too. There were a lot of calls that should have been left as non-calls and even some missed calls (like Gordon tripping on Walker's foot, drawing a foul from Antoine Walker which put Gordon on the line at the end of the game).

Yet, the differential in FTAs (free throw attempts) was not as substantial as one would have guessed by watching this emotional home game for the Bulls (27FTAs for both teams) on TV.

Of course, that would offer an incomplete picture as lifting Wade and Shaq from the game for any extent of time greatly decreases Miami's effectiveness, as there will not be two better players on the floor for any one team in this entire postseason - healthy or not. This played into the Bulls' plans, of course - getting Wade and Shaq into foul trouble would be right there with taking the El to Bill Murray's house for brats. It just doesn't happen.

This time Miami could not will itself over the hump to snatch the win, as they had so many times in the past. They tried, mostly due to the great efforts of Antoine Walker, who kept the Heat in this game with his hot shooting.

The Heat were within striking distance at certain points (trailing 78-76 in the 4th), only to see themselves commit a foul and give Chicago a three point play. The most telling was when the Heat were down by three, 94-91, and Wade took the ball in his hands and attempted a contested three point attempt that was largely off the mark. Prior to that, the Heat were hurt by a tough call that saw Gordon trip on Walker's foot and instead the officials gave Gordon two FTAs (which put the game at 94-91).

Wade should have never attempted that three point shot - for one, he is not the best option on the team (Kapono would be, but was not on the floor) and James Posey was wide open from the right side. If Wade chose to penetrate and kick, it would have been better served.

It did come down to execution in the final minutes and Miami had all the cards in their hands in those minutes. They could have stolen this game and in truth they should have. Chicago played their best basketball to keep the lead, while Miami didn't play its best until it mattered. Miami has to show more focus and determination. They had the right game plan, but were plagued by foul trouble and poor shot selection throughout, Wade's three point attempt being the best illustration.

Strangely, Miami has to feel pretty good. They came out to Chicago for Game 1 to steal one of two games on the road and they almost did it on the first try - a game in which Chicago was coming out "hopped up" on the home crowd with their hunger for revenge boiling over for about a year now.

Pat Riley is not infallible, and this game showed why. He made some questionable substitutions, namely not putting Posey on Deng sooner and keeping Wade on him at all, not playing Posey enough, not trying to counter with Sefolosha's defense on Wade, and even strangely omitting Kapono from that play where Wade shot a contested three. Instead, he was simply trying to force a win rather than letting his best players do the work by putting them in the best position to do so.

The Heat have time to make adjustments and they will. As game one get digested, Miami should not claim anything other than they just couldn't get it done today. The only glaring stat really is rebounds, where Miami grabbed 33 while Chicago had 46 - that is +13 for Chicago who were able to run fastbreaks and create second chance points off those rebounds. Miami has to do a better job protecting the ball, taking better shots, and even getting more aggressive on the glass.

Until Tuesday, Miami will have to stew on this missed opportunity.