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The Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls have been involved in their share of hotly contested games over the last few seasons. On a one-on-one level, the personal rivalry between Heat guard Dwyane Wade and Bulls guard Richard Hamilton makes for a good representation of the rivalry as a whole.
In a report from Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com on Friday, Wade spoke during Miami's shootaround Friday morning about Hamilton and their clashes:
"Rip (Hamilton) is one of those guys that since I've came into the league I've had multiple battles with. You play guys in the Eastern Conference finals you're going to have those ... war marks, war wounds and we've had that. So we've had multiple battles, but I respect Rip as a player and what he's been able to do consistently in this league from that standpoint. He brings the best out of me and I feel I do the same."
Friedell also notes in the report that the tension rose last season after Wade sent Hamilton out of bounds with a forearm shot, drawing a flagrant foul in the process.
In 26 games this season, Wade is averaging 20.6 points per game -- shooting 50.6 percent from the field -- along with both 4.5 rebounds and assists per game as well. Hamilton, on the other hand, is scoring 12.9 points per game, shooting 45.1 percent from the floor in 18 games.