Bulls v. Heat

Let's just jump right in to the comparisons.

Rose v. Dwayne Wade-I put Wade here because I believe Mike Miller is going to start for the Heat which means Rose and Wade will be matched up, sort of. Brewer will most likely guard Wade, but whatever, let's just use this for comparison sake. Everyone in the world thinks Wade is one of the three or four best players in the NBA. I agree, last year. This year I think he takes a minor step back, I think Wade turns into more of a jump shooter while LeBron does the penetrating and dishing. Wade is at his best going to the hoop but with LeBron and Bosh clogging the paint I think Wade will shoot more mid range jumpers. What that means is Rose has a chance this season to surpass Wade. Rose is the clear leader and best player on his team. He is going to dominate the ball the same way Wade dominated the ball last season. Wade is going to defer to other players this year, while Rose is going to have everything go through him. I'm not saying Rose will definitely be better than Wade this season, what I am saying is I believe he will be! So I'll call this a wash.

Brewer v. Mike Miller-This is a classic offense vs. defense situation. Mike Miller is a pure shooter with a versatile offensive game. He can hang out by the three point line and drain jumpers or he can create for himself and others. Best of all he doesn't need the ball to be dangerous, just having him on the court pulls at least one defender out of the paint. Brewer is none of these things on offense. He can run the court, dunk, and knock down 12 footers. But on defense he is a monster, which is not one of Miller's best attributes. One player is a stud defender, one player is a stud on offense. So we'll call this a wash as well.

Deng v. LeBron James-This a huge difference. LeBron is the best player in the league and Deng is nowhere near on the same level. This gap is so huge that no matter how much better or worse the rest of the Bulls team is, they will never be favored in a series with the Heat. LeBron can do it all (except finish in the playoffs, so thank god for Wade) and Deng is a solid piece who is best suited as a team's fourth best player (which he is on the Bulls). Needless to say, HUGE advantage to LeBron.

Boozer v. Chris Bosh-Bosh is the bigger name, there is no doubt about that. But I will argue Boozer is actually the better player. Bosh averaged more points (24 ppg) last year than Boozer (19.5), but did it on more shots per game and on a lottery bound team. Boozer was his team's second option and rarely dominated the ball on the offensive end, while everything ran through Bosh in Toronto. This season I expect Bosh's scoring to drop down below Boozer's while I expect Boozer's to hold steady right around 19.5 a night. Defensively, neither player is that great. They both struggle to rotate quickly and both are poor on the perimeter. I give an edge to Boozer because he is physically stronger and is much more willing to get down and dirty with players in the paint. Boozer is also a better rebounder averaging over 11 a game last year and is better at grabbing rebounds in traffic. Lastly, both players are injury prone, Boozer more so, but a lot of what is going to happen next year for the Heat and the Bulls is going to be determined by health. Both of these teams have a chance at winning big throughout the season but the big guys need to stay healthy. So the main reason I give the edge to Boozer? He has played on winning teams his entire career, from Duke, to the Cavs (with LeBron) to the Jazz. He may have screwed over a blind guy (and yes, he did screw him over) but once the game starts he gives everything he can to get the W. Whether it's scoring, rebounding, or sacrificing his body Boozer's heart doesn't get questioned (his injuries are another issue). Bosh on the other hand wilts under pressure, has never played in the second round of the playoffs, and even sat out the last six games of the season last year to sabotage his team's playoff chances (supposedly). I don't think the gap is huge, but this season I think Boozer is the better player and will have the better year.

Noah v. Udonis Haslem-This is a huge edge to Noah. Haslem is a solid player, but he is undersized and is actually a power forward not a center. Noah is a better defender, a better rebounder, a better finisher, he's basically better than Haslem in every aspect of the game. Noah is a top 5 or 6 center, Haslem doesn't even crack the top 20.

Watson, Korver, Gibson, Asik v. Mario Chalmers, James Jones, Juwan Howard, Zydrunas Ilgauskas-Another edge to the Bulls. Ilgauskas is a great backup center, arguably the best in the league, but that is the only edge the Heat have. The Bulls are younger, more athletic, and healthier. Everyone on the Heat bench has issues, from Chalmers' ineffectiveness and pot usage, Jones' injury issues, Ilgauskas' age issues, and Howard having died about five years ago. This is a pretty big edge to the Bulls. I expect the Heat to play Bosh, Wade and LeBron big minutes this year.

Thibs v. Erik Spoelstra-I think Spoelstra is a solid coach. He held Michael Beasley accountable for his crappy defense all last season, and that is a big deal. He has Wade and LeBron singing his praises. That being said, if this team gets off to a mediocre start he could be fired after 20 games with Pat Riley taking over. If Riles takes over it's anyone's guess. Riley is tough and demands respect, but I doubt LeBron, Wade, and Bosh are looking to get yelled at very much. Thibs on the other hand has a brand new three year deal and is lauded as THE defensive guru of NBA coaches. So I'll call this a wash as well. Spoelstra is still new and Thibs is a rookie.

Almost everything points to the Bulls being the better team, unfortunately that one thing that is in favoring the Heat is really REALLY BIG THING! LeBron James makes this the best team in the East and arguably the best team in the league. Expect the Heat to win 60+ games, earn the top seed in the East, and most likely earn a trip to the Finals. I will say this, if the Bulls and Heat face each other in the playoffs I expect every game to be very close and I expect the series to go at least 6 games. But even as a Bulls homer, I can't pick against the Heat. LeBron, Wade and Bosh is just too impressive, really it's just LeBron is too impressive, because I believe the rest of the Heat team is actually inferior to the Bulls.