LeBron James, Dwyane Wade struggle as Bulls win Game 1

The Miami Heat ran into some heavy resistance against the Chicago Bulls in Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals, losing the game 103-82. The Bulls played solid basketball against the Heat, crashing the boards relentlessly and lighting Miami up from three point range.

The first half was very competitive, with both teams struggling to build any kind of lead. In the second half of the game, the Bulls turned it up a notch and started to pull away. The Bulls took a nine point lead into the fourth and blew the Heat away in the final quarter.

Heat forward Chris Bosh carried Miami offensively in Game 1, converting on 12 of his 18 field goal attempts. Bosh finished the game with 30 points and 9 rebounds for Miami. Unfortunately for the Heat, Bosh's strong performance wasn't enough as the other members of Miami's "big three" struggled putting points on the board.

LeBron James struggled in the May 15 game against the Bulls, shooting 33 percent from the field. James finished the game with 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Dwyane Wade didn't have his best performance either, finishing the game with 18 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. Besides Mario Chalmers who finished the game with 9 points, the Heat were not able to get any significant offense from any of their role players.

For the Heat, Game 2 is a must win since they don't want to go back to Miami down 0-2. Fortunately for the Heat, they should be able to learn a few things from their loss, and put on a better performance in Game 2. Dwyane Wade looked promising when matched up against Bulls forward Derrick Rose. Wade held Rose to 2-6 shooting from the field and the Heat can definitely use some of that defense in Game 2.

It is highly unlikely that LeBron James and Dwyane Wade will have consecutive poor shooting games in the playoffs and I expect huge performances from the "big three" in Game 2. If the Heat are able to even out the series next time around, their trip to Chicago will be considered a success.

David is a Miami Heat fan that has followed the team for 15 years.

Sources:

Associated Press,"Bulls grab 1-0 lead as Derrick Rose, huge 4th quarter bury Heat"

Player and game information from Espn.com