Ranking the best Eastern Conference teams LeBron James has destroyed

Ranking the 5 best Eastern Conference teams LeBron James has destroyed

MIAMI, FL - MAY 24: (L-R) Kyle Korver #26, Carlos Boozer #5, Derrick Rose #1, Luol Deng #9 and Joakim Noah #13 of the Chicago Bulls talk on court against the Miami Heat in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2011 NBA Playoffs on May 24, 2011 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. The Heat won 101-93 in overtime. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images) /

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MIAMI, FL – MAY 24: (L-R) Kyle Korver #26, Carlos Boozer #5, Derrick Rose #1, Luol Deng #9 and Joakim Noah #13 of the Chicago Bulls talk on court against the Miami Heat in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2011 NBA Playoffs on May 24, 2011 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. The Heat won 101-93 in overtime. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images) /

1. The 2010-11 Chicago Bulls

Record: 62-20, 1st in Eastern Conference

Result: 4-1 loss in Eastern Conference Finals

Before James and the Heat went to war with the Pacers in the early 2010s, the Chicago Bulls appeared poised to be their longtime Eastern Conference foil.

In Tom Thibodeau’s first year as head coach, the 2010-11 Bulls reeled off a 62-20 regular season, which marked a 21-win increase from the previous year. Derrick Rose was in the midst of an MVP campaign, Joakim Noah received his first of three All-Defensive team nods and Luol Deng was still a productive all-around player. With the likes of Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson and Kyle Korver complementing that trio, Chicago waltzed their way past the Pacers and Hawks into the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since Michael Jordan’s heyday.

There, they met James in his first year with Miami. It didn’t end well for the Bulls.

Chicago trounced James and Co. in Game 1, but that wound up being its high point for the series. The Heat roared back to steal home-court advantage in Game 2, held serve at home in Games 3 and 4 to open up a 3-1 series lead and closed it out back in Chicago in Game 5 with a low-scoring 83-80 victory.

The Bulls went on to secure the East’s No. 1 seed in the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season, which seemed to set the stage for an Eastern Conference Finals rematch. Instead, Rose tore his ACL in the opening game of the playoffs, Noah went down with a sprained ankle in Game 3, and the eighth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers sent the injury-ravaged Bulls packing in the opening round.

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The Bulls did meet James and the Heat again in the 2013 Eastern Conference Semifinals, but they bowed out meekly in five games with Rose still sidelined by his ACL injury. They would soon begin to break apart their early 2010s core, first by trading Deng to the Cavaliers in 2014 and then waiving Boozer in July of that year.

When Chicago shipped Rose to the New York Knicks in June 2016 and Noah followed him to the Big Apple as a free agent two weeks later, it marked the official end of one would-be thorn in LeBron’s side.

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