Series Thread: 2nd Round: Chicago Bulls vs Cleveland Cavaliers

[Shanemansj13]

Man leave it Cavs fans to discredit Rose's buzzer beater after Lebron's.

Rose made a hell of a shot, but Lebron's was better. Simple as that.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

lol talk about splitting hairs...

LeBron will win any contest that involves splitting hairs.


Speaking of, wonder if he wears the headband tonight?

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

Rose made a hell of a shot, but Lebron's was better. Simple as that.

They were both the same.
Both game winners.
I think the Rose shot involved a little more luck since it banked in....which prob wasn't the intent.

 

[Sgt Brutus]

Man leave it Cavs fans to discredit Rose's buzzer beater after Lebron's.

No one is discrediting the great shot Rose made. Both were crucial and both daggers by great players to say one was better than the other I just don't think you can do that

 

[Sgt Brutus]

I really hope we don't have anymore injuries. Our bench is too old.

 

[Shanemansj13]

I really hope we don't have anymore injuries. Our bench is too old.

Is it possible to have anymore. I better just shut my mouth lol

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

How do you guys see the game going tonight? I think it could go either way. The Bulls could dominate, the Cavs could dominate and anywhere in between. I expect another nail biter.

 

[gordontrue]

How do you guys see the game going tonight? I think it could go either way. The Bulls could dominate, the Cavs could dominate and anywhere in between. I expect another nail biter.

For some reason, I'm feeling a double-digit win, either way. I could see this finally being the game that LeBron truly plays like LeBron. I could also see this finally being the game where the lack of health of the Cavs gets exposed by the Bulls.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

How do you guys see the game going tonight? I think it could go either way. The Bulls could dominate, the Cavs could dominate and anywhere in between. I expect another nail biter.

I think the Rose factor will be the deciding one.
If he's bad, it could turn into game 2.
If he's good, its coming right down to the wire again.

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

For some reason, I'm feeling a double-digit win, either way. I could see this finally being the game that LeBron truly plays like LeBron. I could also see this finally being the game where the lack of health of the Cavs gets exposed by the Bulls.

I think Lebron has been Lebron. He's just not what he used to be and is going up against a defender that can match him.

 

[gordontrue]

I think Lebron has been Lebron. He's just not what he used to be and is going up against a defender that can match him.

Don't get me wrong... Butler (and the Bulls defense) deserve a ton of credit for how he's been playing.

But LeBron is more than capable of putting up an efficient, typical LeBron game against any defender and any team. I think (hope) that he's gonna do that at least once this series.

 

[Sgt Brutus]

How do you guys see the game going tonight? I think it could go either way. The Bulls could dominate, the Cavs could dominate and anywhere in between. I expect another nail biter.

Honestly no idea this series has been totally unpredictable. Could be a blow out or another buzzer

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

Don't get me wrong... Butler (and the Bulls defense) deserve a ton of credit for how he's been playing.

But LeBron is more than capable of putting up an efficient, typical LeBron game against any defender and any team. I think (hope) that he's gonna do that at least once this series.

I wouldn't argue with the young Lebron being able to do that, but this Lebron is older than his age dictates. What should've been his freshman year in college was his first year playing heavy minutes and leading a team through the regular season. He's got a lot of miles on him and it's a big reason why he lost a lot of weight in the offseason. He also took a break this year that really helped. He never needed to do any of that. This year he does. That points to his body aging. He's not the same player he used to be. Elite defenders like Butler (who has been making Lebron look silly on some plays due to picking his pockets) can get him to miss a lot of shots. The only other defenders in the league that I think could do that to Lebron regularly are Tony Allen and maybe Thabo. I think he's still a top player in the league, but he isn't the unstoppable force he used to be.

 

[anotheridiot]

I would love Rose to be a factor with 15 assists, not 30 shots. Some of us would prefer he misses his first three point attempt so he drives and kicks more, but he seems to have no conscience no matter how many he misses. If he hits the first one, he might try 10 more. Bulls need some transition, keep allowing teams to set up on defense, but nobody wants to cheat down court and get pulled for not playing defense. Noah needs to dunk the ball or pass it away, his shooting is terrible.

If the bulls start out like they did in game 1 they need to keep the pedal to the metal not let the cavs back in.

I kinda think its gonna get ugly tonight though, Thompson is pissed he is getting held, Mozgov looks like he is about to go off on someone, JR Smith is a ticking time bomb and Jimmy Butler will not back down from anybody.

I really dont understand why the refs have not called these games closer, the physical play is gonna boil over at some point.

The time out with Blatt, the LeBron "scratching" the play, I gotta think this cleveland team is gonna just stop listening.

 

[cwalke3408]

Don't get me wrong... Butler (and the Bulls defense) deserve a ton of credit for how he's been playing.

But LeBron is more than capable of putting up an efficient, typical LeBron game against any defender and any team. I think (hope) that he's gonna do that at least once this series.

Any player can go off at any point but the lack of efficiency by Lebron is caused by Jimmy Butler and the Bulls defense. I think Lebron will play the same as he's be playing this series but I think a couple of the Cavs players might go crazy from the 3. JR might go 25+.

 

[cwalke3408]

I would love Rose to be a factor with 15 assists, not 30 shots. Some of us would prefer he misses his first three point attempt so he drives and kicks more, but he seems to have no conscience no matter how many he misses. If he hits the first one, he might try 10 more. Bulls need some transition, keep allowing teams to set up on defense, but nobody wants to cheat down court and get pulled for not playing defense. Noah needs to dunk the ball or pass it away, his shooting is terrible.

If the bulls start out like they did in game 1 they need to keep the pedal to the metal not let the cavs back in.

I kinda think its gonna get ugly tonight though, Thompson is pissed he is getting held, Mozgov looks like he is about to go off on someone, JR Smith is a ticking time bomb and Jimmy Butler will not back down from anybody.

I really dont understand why the refs have not called these games closer, the physical play is gonna boil over at some point.

The time out with Blatt, the LeBron "scratching" the play, I gotta think this cleveland team is gonna just stop listening.

I guess it's time to get the popcorn out. I'm pretty surprise we haven't seen much extracurricular activities after watching both teams in Rd 1.

 

[gordontrue]

Any player can go off at any point but the lack of efficiency by Lebron is caused by Jimmy Butler and the Bulls defense. I think Lebron will play the same as he's be playing this series but I think a couple of the Cavs players might go crazy from the 3. JR might go 25+.

Butler is doing awesome. Other than game 2 (when his strategy was to steer LeBron towards interior help - which often wasn't there), his strategy has been to let LeBron take jumpers.

Early in LeBron's career this was a full-proof strategy. In this series, it has been a very good strategy. It might be the best available strategy in general. But over the last several years LeBron has developed one of the most consistent jumpers in the league. The stats show it.

He is simply not hitting his shots this series. Credit to the defense for keeping him out of the paint and making finishing at the rim very difficult... but if LeBron was hitting his jumpers at his usual pace... his stats would be much more efficient.

 

[hockey878]

Butler deserves a lot of credit for Lebron struggling, but he has just flat out missed a lot of open jumpers. Its not uncommon for him to get streaky with his J like this, just gotta hope it comes back to him real soon.

Butler does a great job, but when LeBron gets things going it doesn't really matter who is guarding him. That goes for this years LeBron just as much as the LeBron from the past 2-3 years.

 

[DJ]

We can use a good 6th man.

I'll trade you Nick Young for Taj Gibson right now!!!!

 

[cwalke3408]

Butler is doing awesome. Other than game 2 (when his strategy was to steer LeBron towards interior help - which often wasn't there), his strategy has been to let LeBron take jumpers.

Early in LeBron's career this was a full-proof strategy. In this series, it has been a very good strategy. It might be the best available strategy in general. But over the last several years LeBron has developed one of the most consistent jumpers in the league. The stats show it.

He is simply not hitting his shots this series. Credit to the defense for keeping him out of the paint and making finishing at the rim very difficult... but if LeBron was hitting his jumpers at his usual pace... his stats would be much more efficient.

This is nothing new or a coincidence, Jimmy has always played Lebron great and Lebron struggled more times than not. This is the 2nd time Butler faced Lebron in the playoffs and it's the 2nd time Lebron "struggled" (to Lebron's standards) against Butler in a series.