Bulls vs. Heat playoffs Five Key Factors

The Health Factor: In the first round, the Heat felt so little of a challenge from the Milwaukee Bucks that once they opened a 3-0 lead, they rested Wade – for a playoff game! – and allowed him to rest his cranky knee. The latest on “Flash” is that he went through a full-contact practice Sunday and isn’t expected to be rested any more. And even with Wade’s issues, the Heat were arguably the healthiest team in the playoffs and just had a week of rest. Contrast that with the Bulls, who (a) have been without Rose all season; (b) have Noah gritting his teeth through painful plantar fasciaitis; (c) may be without point guard Kirk Hinrich, who missed the last three games of the first round with a calf injury; and are unsure about All-Star forward Luol Deng, who just spent the weekend in the hospital battling crippling spinal headaches. Does that sound like a fair fight?

The Nate Factor: Although only one full round of the playoffs is complete, there already are two indelible images of Bulls supersub Nate Robinson. One is on the court, simply taking over and leading Chicago’s rally in its triple-overtime win in Game 4 vs. Brooklyn. The other is off the court, with him throwing up into a bucket during a timeout in Game 6. Statistically, Robinson is having a good postseason. However, most of his better individual games have come in losses rather than wins, when Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau has been forced to abandon his principles and roll the dice with Robinson, a true liability at the defensive end. In wins, Robinson is averaging 16.0 points on 25-of-51 shooting – and that including his 34-point eruption in Game 4, which looked very much like a loss until ~~Brooklyn’s late collapse~~ Chicago’s late comeback. In losses, he has averaged 18.3 points on 24-of-46 shooting. That is in line with his regular season numbers as well. So, yeah, Nate’s been great. But if he’s dominating the offense, the Bulls are probably in trouble.

PREDICTIONS:

SHERIDAN: Heat in 5.