The Miami Heat are defending NBA champions and on Tuesday night they will kick off the first national game of the season against the Chicago Bulls at American Airlines Arena and the game will be live on TNT broadcasting at 8:00 PM before the Lakers and Clippers play later on Los Angeles.
The game marks the start of the season for both Miami and Chicago and also is the return of Derrick Rose to game action after recovering from his serious knee injury and this will bne the first time he is back on court for an NBA game. This matchup is an anticipated one, as both teams do not really like each other and Chris Bosh already spoke to the media about how the two teams are not the best of friends, especially when it comes to play on the court. Bosh said that his Heat teammates also know that the Bulls will try and embarrass them on Tuesday night, which is exactly what the Heat did when they opened on the road against Dallas a couple years ago after losing to them in the finals and now Miami wants to avoid a similar situation.
Check here for the NBA live coverage of the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls game from TNT on Tuesday night. Check here for the NBA schedule for the week.
LeBron James and Miami are starting the season with targets on their backs after winning the NBA title and now he also comes in as the favorite to win MVP once again, with Rose as another popular pick. The Bulls are expecting a big run this season, as they won 45 games last year while not even having Rose and they also were able to win a playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets, although it took them seven games to do it. Rose was getting calls to return after the Bulls won the first game in the next round against Miami, but luckily for him, cooler heads prevailed and he waited until he was fully healthy to get back on the court.
Rose played well in the preseason and looked even better than he did before the surgery and the point guard told reporters before the game that he felt even stronger than before he was injured and that he is very excited to get back on the court. The Miami Heat have won the East for three straight seasons, so there is little doubt about who the favorite is, but there are some teams in the conference this season that could do it and the Bulls are the top team on that list. Some others that should be very good are the Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers as well as the New York Knicks and those are the teams that likely will be in play to take down the Heat. The Detroit Pistons could be a dark horse playoff team with Josh Smith after signing him and also trading for Brandon Jennings.
The Heat come into the season with James having led the team in scoring, rebounding and assists and he is likely the only player that can pull that off for his team. Miami had a top five scoring offense and defense last season and they will continue to try and play that style of ball. The Bulls were ranked in the bottom of the league in scoring, but that was helped along by the fact that Rose was not in the lineup and they were one of the best defensive teams in the league. After playing the Bulls, Miami has the Philadelphia 76ers on the road, while the Bulls will travel to Madison Square Garden to play against the New York Knicks. The game on Tuesday will have the Heat raising up their championship banners and the game will be on TNT against the Bulls starting up at 8 pm.