Miami at Chicago

This is revenge for the Bulls, trying to erase the memory of their six-game series loss to the Heat last year. They went out and got Ben Wallace for the sole purpose of having someone body-up to Shaq. Shaq single-handedly put the Bulls away with a 30 point, 20 rebound performance in the decisive game six last season. In his last two years with Detroit, Wallace held Shaq to 21-points per game (PPG) and just 8.9-rebounds per game the playoffs, and in the 13 games over the two-year period, Shaq never managed more than 28 points, and in fact scored 21 points or less in 8 of the 13 games, and eight of the games he grabbed under 10 boards. Chicago was 31-10 in the United Center this season and in those 31 wins, 20 of those wins were by double digits. They averaged out-scoring the opponent by 15.8-ppg in their wins! Miami was just 17-24 on the road, and we realize they take on a different persona in the playoffs, but with Wallace, Shaq will not be the difference maker. The Bulls had a remarkable 36-16 SU record against the East, and we look for them to jump out to the 1-0 lead after game one.