Game 4 a "Must Win" for Chicago

The Bulls now find themselves in a 1-2 hole and facing game 4 on the road Tuesday. ESPN continues to trump on its overused statistic of 86% of teams winning game 3 in a 1-1 series go on to win the series. The 2004 Boston Redsox couldn't care less about statistics than the Bulls do right now. This has nothing to do with history and everything to do with the Miami Heat team that Coach Erik Spoelstra brings on to the court every night.

Despite coming out of the gates strong to start the game and reclaiming the lead late, the Chicago Bulls did not give the impression that they were going to steal their first road game of the Eastern Conference Finals. Miami controlled tempo throughout the second half and any time the Bulls got something going, it was quickly answered by a contested basket by Chris Bosh or LeBron James creating space for himself or another Heat player to knock down a shot.

While James, Wade and Bosh will have quiet games and the unlikely event of at least two of the "big three" struggling could certainly lead to a Bulls win, but the unpopular truth in Chicago is that the Heat at their best is likely better than the Bulls at their best. Game 3 helped to rectify Chris Bosh's credibility and he now has two 30+ point performances in the series.

Look for Chicago to come out with a strong focus on interior defense in game 4 and attempt to keep Lebron and D-Wade out of the painted area. While it ended badly in game 3, the Bulls would still rather have Chris Bosh beat them on a night than give easy interior baskets from the Heats perimeter players.