While the Chicago Bulls spent the majority of that preseason contest shuffling line-ups and still searching for combinations that would work, the Cavaliers' approach seemed to be trying to keep things simple while adjusting a roster full of new players to a head coach entirely new to the NBA. It certainly worked for them, producing a 107-98 win for the Cavs in the intial meeting of these Eastern Conference rivals.
Now, it is the regular season, where the games count.
With the rotations somewhat fleshing themselves out, the Chicago Bulls opened the season with a convincing 104-80 win over the Knicks. Aside from their slow and sloppy start, the Chicago Bulls looked to be in total control of the contest, cruising to a win over a probable playoff team.
Cleveland took on the same New York Knicks team with one game under their belt, under new head coach Derek Fisher, last night, however with very different results than the Bulls, losing 95-90.
Cleveland's Big 3 put up respectable stats in their season opening loss (Irving lead with 22 points 5 rebounds 7 assists, Love had 19 points 14 rebounds, and Lebron had 17 points 5 rebounds 4 assists, along with 8 turnovers), but Lebron and Kyrie Irving tallied over 43 minutes each on the court.
Meanwhile, Carmelo Anthony bounced back from his 15 point performance against the Chicago Bulls to score 25 points 2 rebounds 6 assists against the Cavs, including a big shot over Lebron with under a minute left to help secure the win for New York.
Lebron will be looking to rebound from his subpar performance when Cleveland takes on Chicago at the United Center tonight.
Watch DRose destroy the Cavs during the preseason match-up!
The Chicago Bulls will again be without All-Defensive team selection, Jimmy Butler, as he recovers from a strained ligament in his hand suffered during the preseason. The Chicago Bulls are not rushing Butler back, and really have no need to--another advantage of the depth the Chicago Bulls were able to put together with the changes to their roster during the off-season.
Without Butler, the complexion of the game is significantly different than if Butler was on the court battling Lebron for every shot, rebound, and loose ball. Therefore, the game will not offer much in terms of a glimpse of what a playoff match-up between Chicago and Cleveland might be like, but it certainly will be an important initial guage of where each of the contenders currently stand with respect to their most imposing competitor.
So, rest assured, both teams will be putting a maximum effort into getting this first contest for bragging rights.
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