James, Haslem the Difference as Heat Draw Even

Taj Gibson had the dunk(s) of the season in Game 1 against Miami and provided the spark the Bulls needed to pull away over a sluggish Miami team, still reeling from its celebration over defeating Boston. While the Heat thought they won their first of seven NBA Championships in round two, the Bulls were closing out the Hawks and focusing on winning Game 1 of the East Finals. Gibson, Boozer and the rest of the supporting cast contributed to lifting the Bulls to an early 1-0 series lead.

Game 2 is in the books and despite a gritty comeback to tie the game at 73-73 after trailing by 11 in the 3rd quarter, Chicago could not get over the hump. Each time Derrick Rose got his hands on the basketball, particularly late in the game, he was met by help defense and blocked lanes to the hoop. That didn't stop Rose, the only Bulls' player able to create his own shot, from making a lot of overly aggressive moves to the basket and forcing shots late in the shot clock.

While Rose was never able to get the support he needed on the offensive end, LeBron James and Dewayne Wade certainly got the help they needed from recently returned Udonis Haslem. As LeBron faced a resurgence of Bulls defense and Wade and Bosh spent time on the bench, Haslem grabbed offensive rebounds and knocked down open looks to give Miami a big boost in the second half. However, in the end it was James who closed out Chicago, hitting a clutch three-pointer as the shot clock expired to break the 73-all tie and start the 12-2 run that closed out the game.

Tonight's game taught us many things. First, Chicago can stay competitive even without a stellar game from Rose who was 7-23 from the field. Second, Miami has more mental toughness than they showed during the regular season. The Heat would have folded in February when the Bulls tied things up in the fourth quarter, but James was able to lead his team with big shots and close out the game. Third, it will be the role players that make the difference. While Gibson and Deng played big in game one, it was Haslem in game two.

In a look ahead to game three, expect perimeter shooting to be a bigger part of the Bulls offense and Miami to continue to try and lock down the lane from Derrick Rose, much as they did in game two. I stand by the prediction of Bulls in six.