Bulls at Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers can learn plenty from the Chicago Bulls – particularly on the defensive end.
Cleveland looks to improve its defense and pull out a victory as it hosts the stingy Bulls on Tuesday.
The Chicago Bulls, behind new coach Tom Thibodeau, are playing the same type of suffocating defense the Celtics were known for while Thibodeau sat under Doc Rivers the last few years.
The Bulls rank 10th in team defense, allowing opponents to shoot 44 percent from the floor, but they’re getting even better. They held an explosive Oklahoma City Thunder team to 36 percent in a victory Monday, including 4 of 19 on 3-pointers.
That’s much better than how the Cavs have fared lately. They’ve lost five in a row, their longest losing streak in three seasons, and they’ve all been by 10 points or more. The Cavs haven’t lost that many games by that many points since the season before LeBron James arrived.
The Cavs, in fact, have lost their last five by an average of 22 points. The last three have come against Minnesota, Detroit and Philadelphia, three teams with a combined 16 victories before beating the Cavs.
“Somewhere along the line, pride has to come into play,” Cavs coach Byron Scott said. “It doesn’t have a lot to do with Xs and Os, it’s just coming out and having pride in what you’re doing.”
Scott has threatened to make changes to the starting lineup and rotation if things don’t improve quickly. He nearly did it for the second half of Tuesday’s loss to the Sixers and is inching closer. He didn’t rule out making changes before the Cavs face the Bulls.
This is the first meeting between the two teams since the Cavs eliminated the Bulls in the first round of last season’s playoffs. Both teams look drastically different. The Cavs lost James and the Bulls added Carlos Boozer, who has been a dominant post presence in both scoring and rebounding.
Boozer, a former Cav who often gets the same boos from Cavs fans that James received last week, has strengthened the Bulls’ attack. He can score with his back to the basket and on midrange jumpers. He had 29 points and 12 rebounds in Monday’s win over the Thunder on a night both Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah struggled.
Now the Bulls are trying to piece together an extended winning streak. The Bulls have won two straight and only have one winning streak this season longer than that. A victory over the Cavs will have them set up nicely for the defending champion Lakers’ trip to the United Center on Friday.