Fighting the fear of saying the Browns had a good draft
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May 4, 2015For the better part of a year, a Cleveland Cavaliers – Chicago Bulls playoff series seemed inevitable. Both teams actively improved in the offseason: Chicago signed Pau Gasol and Cleveland added Kevin Love and LeBron James. It was never clear which round, but most national pundits agreed the road to the Eastern Conference crown would run along I-90. Now a Love-less Cavaliers team prepares to parry a Bulls club charging at them full bore. Here’s what you need to know about the matchup.
Familiar faces
No Bulls have pure Ohio ties, but there are a few familiar faces for Big Ten fans. Reserve guard E’Twaun Moore played his college ball at Purdue University. Ohio State fans need no introduction to center Joakim Noah either. The former Florida Gator helped lead his college club to the 2007 NCAA Championship over Thad Matta’s Buckeyes. Noah, whom I used to call a poor man’s Anderson Varejão, seems to be losing a step or two in his eighth pro season; his 15.3 regular season PER is the lowest of his career. Still, Noah will likely be a focus of fan derision this series. He has previously gone out of his way to put down the city of Cleveland and holds no fond feelings for LeBron James. No doubt Northeast Ohio will make him feel welcome. Shooting guard Jimmy Butler exploded onto the scene in the first round averaging 24.8 points per game with a 47.6 percent field goal percentage. Point guard Derrick Rose played in only 51 regular season games, but returned for the postseason. He looked both hot and cold against the Milwaukee Bucks and his performance will likely set the tone for the Bulls overall.
Series History
The Cavs and Bulls have battled in the postseason before. The matchup generally favored Chicago; here is a quick review for the uninitiated.
1988: Bulls def. Cavaliers 3-2, Eastern Conference First Round
The Bulls bested the Cavs in a tough first round series. Each team defended home court, but unfortunately the three seed Bulls had more home games than the six seed Cavs. Cleveland learned firsthand how lethal Michael Jordan can be in the playoffs as His Airness scored 50 points twice in the series.
1989: Bulls def. Cavaliers 3-2, Eastern Conference First Round
A rematch of the previous year’s first round, but this time the Cavs held home court advantage. With three seconds left in Game 5, Chicago trailed by one… Y’know I’m just going to stop the recap right there. You know what happened.
1992: Bulls def. Cavaliers 4-2, Eastern Conference Finals
One of the Cavaliers best all-time lineups – Mark Price and Brad Daugherty made the All-Star team and the Wine and Gold (um, I mean Orange and Blue) had just defeated the Boston Celtics while ushering Larry Bird into retirement. In their second ever Conference Finals appearance, Cleveland once again met the formidable Michael Jordan Bulls. With the series tied 2-2 the Bulls took Game 5 in Illinois and won Game 6 back in Ohio by five points. The Bulls went on to capture their second consecutive Championship.
1993: Bulls def. Cavaliers 4-0, Eastern Conference Semifinals
The Cavs bested the New Jersey Nets in the first round to match up with the Bulls (again). Michael Jordan hits a clutch series-winning shot (again). The Bulls eliminated the Cavaliers (again).
1994: Bulls def. Cavaliers 3-0, Eastern Conference First Round
For the third consecutive postseason the Cavaliers collided with Chicago, but this time they caught a break: Michael Jordan was away playing baseball (and saving the Looney Tunes). However, the Bulls proved capable enough without him and swept the Cavaliers three games to none.
2010: Cavaliers def. Bulls 4-1, Eastern Conference First Round
After a 16 year hiatus, the Cavaliers and Bulls renewed their playoff rivalry. At last, Cleveland had the superior player in LeBron James and the Wine and Gold dispatched Chicago in five games. The most memorable part of the series to me remains LeBron’s left-handed free throw in the closing seconds of Game 5.
The Bulls lead both overall playoff series (5-1) and games (18-10).
Cavs Fans’ Psyche
The Cavaliers going forward will not be the same team the fans watched all season. Kevin Love, while often maligned for one reason or another, is an irreplaceable part of this team. Losing J.R. Smith for Games 1 and 2 also leaves a lot of three pointers in street clothes. By the shape of #CavsTwitter I would say the fan base is somewhere between “apprehensive” and “already feels like we are down three games to none.”
Either way, for this season to be considered a success the Cavaliers need to defeat the Chicago Bulls at a minimum. Fifty three wins? That’s nice. Central Division Champs? Neato. Just like Kentucky’s college hoops team, all that matters is a shot at the title. As soon as Cleveland added LeBron James and Kevin Love the phrase “Championship or Bust” was spray painted all over this unit. That tall order remains for the Cavaliers.
Final Word
Even after dispatching the Boston Celtics to advance, the loss of Kevin Love and JR Smith left Cavs fans uncertain what to expect in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Cavaliers do still have a few points in their favor: a week of rest/film study to prepare for Chicago, time to try out new rotations and get comfortable in a Love-less offense, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James. If the superstarless Milwaukee Bucks can steal two games against the Bulls then can’t the remaining star power in Cleveland take four? I for one feel the Cavs can defeat the Bulls. I did not sit through fallow years of Baron Davis, Omri Casspi, Luke Walton, and Dion Waiters just to beat Boston and genuflect at the Windy City alter. This team set a goal and that dream lives on with or without Kevin Love. No one said it would be easy. “Hard” Work on three, “Together” on six.
Editor’s note: Stay tuned as we’ll be back later today with what the Cavs need to do to finally reverse history.
4 Comments
Still love that commercial
All those years the better teams (Cavaliers) were trumped by the Bulls and their superstar Jordan lets hope the shoe is on the other foot now!
i forgot about that sweep in 1993. But i did remember that shot over Wilkins to end it. He was the “Jordan Stopper.” Better believe Mike wanted to take that shot in his face,.
I’m calling Cavs in 7. They lose Game 1, rally in Games 2 and 3, drop 4 and 5, then win out.
No real reason Cleveland doesn’t make it to the finals. The is the eastern conference finals and we will have the best team on the court by the time it’s all done. We need to win one of the first two games and it’s over.