Bring the Heat: Where to Watch Epic Bulls vs. Heat in NBA Series

While Chicago is finally getting some warm weather, things are about to heat up for real as the Miami Heat travel to the Windy City for the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday.

Both Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose are Chicago natives, which certainly will make the games crowdpleasers in their hometown. Wade led the Heat to the 2006 NBA title, and Rose is helping to respark the Bulls' championship magic of the 1990s.

Better yet, the Bulls have secured homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs after closing the regular season with the best record in the NBA, 62-20.

Both teams got to the finals by quickly dispatching their opponents in the best of seven games. The Bulls beat the Indiana Pacers 4-1 in their series and regained their stride to take the Atlanta Hawks 4-2. The Heat beat both of their early-round opponents — the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics, respectively — in 4-1 series wins.

The conference finale is also probably the most attractive among the possibilities, as some fans are still bitter about LeBron James’ decision to dump Cleveland Cavaliers and sign with Miami last year with the goal of winning a championship. What better team to humble and cool off James and company than the young, charging Bulls?

Miami is paying James and former Toronto Raptor Chris Bosh hefty contracts, leaving little money in its salary cap to secure a complementary supporting cast off the bench. Nevertheless, with three young superstars in Wade, James and Bosh, some experts are already saying the team will win the championship.

But they have to go through the Bulls, who sport the NBA's Coach of the Year in Tom Thibodeau and the league's Most Valuable Player in Rose. Also, let's not forget that the Bulls swept the Heat in their regular season matches this season, with all three games being won by 4 points or less.

The last time the Bulls reached the Eastern Conference Finals was in 1998, when Michael Jordan eventually led the team to the NBA championship by hitting the game-winning shot against the Utah Jazz in Game 6. Just saying …

Game Plan

Unfortunately, only those with access to cable television will be able to watch the game, as tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Sunday on TNT.

For the spectators who can't watch the game in the comfort of their home, Oak Park-River Forest Patch has picked a few spots to watch the action locally.

• 1120 Pleasant St. in Oak Park, (708) 848-4520
• 825 S. Oak Park Ave. in Oak Park, (708) 848-2801
• 800 S. Oak Park Ave. in Oak Park, (708) 434-0373
• 139 S. Marion St. in Oak Park, (708) 848-0871
• 1122 Lake St. in Oak Park, (708) 725-3300