Mario Chalmers News

MIAMI The easiest part of the playoff schedule for the Miami Heat is behind them and now the real test begins as the team awaits either the Indiana Pacers or the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

May 8, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose stretches before game two of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena.

The Heat lead the Chicago Bulls 3-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The shorthanded Bulls are playing without forward Luol Deng and guards Kirk Hinrich and Derrick Rose.

Dwyane Wade's right knee is virtually being held together by bandages, and he's averaging 11.3 points in the Bulls series.

Miami Heat forward LeBron James lets out a yell during the first half of Game 4 of an NBA basketball playoffs Eastern Conference semifinal against the Chicago Bulls on Monday, May 13, 2013, in Chicago.

Because of impending luxury tax penalties due to a costly roster, the Miami Heat will be extremely limited in their approach to this summer's offseason free agency period.

Q: To keep the core together, the Heat will need to minimize role-player salary.

Derrick Rose has failed to officially declare himself out of the 2013 NBA playoffs, so analysts and fans continue to speculate on how a potential return would impact the Chicago Bulls ' chances against the Miami Heat .

The Miami Heat may have LeBron James , Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh , but without its cast of role players, the Heat surely wouldn't stand as the overwhelming favorites to repeat as champions in roughly a month.

This Heat team, when it plays like a team, when it defends like it can, when its players don't stand around and watch LeBron James like they're on the other side of a playground fence, is the best in basketball.

Miami backup guard Norris Cole remained perfect from 3-point range and teammate LeBron James scored 25 points as the Heat pulled away late for a 104-94 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday at the United Center.

The Philadelphia 76ers have hired Houston Rockets executive Sam Hinkie to be their new general manager, sources told ESPN.com. Hinkie, who interviewed with the 76ers for a similar job last year, fits team owner Joshua Harris' desire to use more analytics when it comes to player evaluation.

What NBA commissioner David Stern has said from the start is that he did not want a pure bidding war for the Sacramento Kings.

After dropping Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Chicago Bulls at home, the heavily favored Miami Heat were determined to strike back in Game 2. They did that by prevailing 115-78, but the real story was chippy play that led to nine technical fouls being called.

On March 27 the Bulls ended the Heat's 27 game winning streak, which was the second longest in NBA history.

Game 2 between the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls got out of hand. Yeah, Miami won 115-78, but what really became a problem was the frisky play between the two teams throughout the game.

The Miami Heat put on a show for the ages, while the Golden State Warriors exorcised some long-standing demons in a thrilling night of playoff hoops that just turned two conference semifinals into best-of-five series.

In a game filled early with technical fouls, trash talk, shoving and eventually the fourth-quarter ejections of the Bulls' Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson, the Heat seized control at the end of the second quarter and rolled to a 115-78 victory at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Down 1-0 in its second-round series to the Bulls, the Heat said its offensive game plan for Wednesday night is pretty simple: Make more three-pointers. Heat reserve Shane Battier said he was surprised at the wide-open looks he received in Game 1, considering the Bulls were one of the league's best teams this season at not allowing uncontested ... (more)

In the conference semi-finals, the Miami Heat are taking on the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls have done relatively well against the Heat this season, most notably ending the Heat's impressive winning streak.