Led by Mike Dunleavy's 20 points, every Bulls starter scored in double figures and every active player made at least one field goal. Every Buck scored too, but their leading scorer, Zaza Pachulia, scored just eight. Milwaukee totaled only 25 field goals in a display teams often showed against the 90s Bulls. If the Bulls hadn't jumped right out of the gate to take complete control, you could probably blame that team a little more, but it simply had no chance from the opening tip.
If there was anything to criticize from the Bulls' perspective, it might be Dunleavy's behavior. He got a little physical with Michael Carter-Williams early in the game and Giannis Antetokounmpo later responded by issuing a hard foul on Dunleavy. The officials sent the young Greek star to the locker room after ruling the foul a flagrant 2. Dunleavy and Carter-Williams tangled again later and fortunately, Adrian Wojnarowski said in an interview he does not believe Dunleavy will be punished for his role in all this.
So now, we get the playoff matchup we've wanted to see all year. For the fourth time this decade, the Bulls will face a LeBron James team. The best player in the NBA back in Cleveland, hungry to bring a major championship to a city that hasn't seen one since the 1964 Browns. And with the Cavaliers having won three of the four meetings this season, they're the clear favorites, right?
Well, had it not been for some consequences of their first-round clincher over Boston, we might have been more inclined to say the Cavaliers will have it easier. Kevin Love is out for the rest of the playoffs after Kelly Olynyk yanked out his shoulder while chasing the ball, forcing the big man to have surgery. In that same game, J.R. Smith punched Jae Crowder, suspending him for two games. Suddenly, the conference finals aren't so certain.
That somewhat complicates how to match up the probable starting lineups. It also serves as a reminder that losing any major NBA player to injury during the playoffs kind of waters down the competition. You want your team to win and will take any help you can get, but it's more satisfying when you're able to beat the competition at full strength. Otherwise, any victory feels kind of hollow.
The most intriguing match-up is clearly at point guard with Derrick Rose and Kyrie Irving, both of whom have high value to their teams. Rose showed in the Bucks series that the Bulls live and die with him, so he has to be close to his MVP form if his club is going to have any chance. Irving, a fellow top draft pick, is younger, more athletic, able to score and pass and very closely resembles the Rose that won the MVP award four years ago. Based on talent and current state, I have to give Irving the edge.
Jimmy Butler continues to make strides at shooting guard and everyone knows it. His scoring and defense make him perhaps the most complete player on the Bulls. J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert both came from New York in a trade and between the two, Smith is the better scorer while Shumpert is the better rebounder. But in the big picture, Butler brings greater value to the Bulls than either Smith or Shumpert do to the Cavaliers, so the All-Star matches up better than either role player.
Dunleavy has been lightning in a bottle at small forward during the playoffs. He often thrives on the long ball, provides veteran leadership and as we saw in the last game, can serve as an agitator. Even so, everyone and their mom knows James is the prototype for today's NBA with his scoring, passing defense and athleticism. I may be a Bulls fan, but I would have to consider myself deluded not to say James wins at this position.
Pau Gasol has played like the playoff veteran the Bulls were hoping for when they signed him. Maybe the defense continues to lack, but without his scoring and rebounding, the Bulls would be in a different place. Tristan Thompson should start in place of Love at power forward and if nothing else, he can balance out his own scoring and rebounding just as well. Still, he doesn't pack quite the punch or has the playoff experience Gasol does, so the Spaniard gets the advantage here for those as well as talent.
Joakim Noah may not be having the greatest season of his career, but he still has games where he makes himself known on the boards. If he can somehow find another wind as we get further into the playoffs, nobody will talk about the injury issues he's had this year. Ever since Timofey Mozgov was acquired from Denver, he's changed the Cavaliers for the better and has become better himself. He finished the season with career highs in scoring, rebounding and shooting, which means the advantage in the middle goes to him.
The two coaches in this series are under tremendous pressure. For either Tom Thibodeau or David Blatt, a loss means their respective franchise goes off in a different direction one way or another. Thibodeau, with his hard-nosed stubborn style, might be sent packing. Blatt, whose relationship with his best players improves with how he lets them handle strategy themselves, could face a less talented roster next year if Love opts out of his contract. I'm going to declare a draw here because each of their style works and we're about to see which one works better, especially with the field somewhat leveled by Love's injury.
I'm picking the Cavaliers in six. The Bulls have to prove they can compete with James and history shows they haven't been able to. Having home-court advantage also helps the Cavaliers as well as their younger, arguably more talented leaders. Love may be hurt and Smith may be suspended, but there's still a lot of players who can step in and fill the empty roles, even if they can't do it as well as those who were there before.
If the Bulls are to upset Cleveland, they must crack down on defense and get everybody involved without putting too much pressure on the starting lineup. Cleveland is one of the few teams the Bulls took seriously in every single meeting this year, so hopefully, that won't be an issue in this series. The last game against Milwaukee showed what happens with this team if they get the right fire lit under them. Granted, the Cavaliers have more key players than the Bucks, but that the Bulls have the potential to dominate a playoff game has to instill confidence in both the players and fans going forward.
Game 1 will be played in Cleveland on Monday. The Cavaliers' 31-10 record at Quicken Loans Arena was the second best in the East during the regular season. The easy solution for the Bulls is to get out to a fast start and take the crowd out of the game early. Of course, what sounds easy on paper can be more difficult in execution, so we could be looking at a tall order either way.
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