Bulls at Cavaliers
THE STORY: The Chicago Bulls hold a commanding four-game lead and have all but formally clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The Cleveland Cavaliers are enjoying their second, albeit brief, winning streak this season. They are trying to avoid becoming the first team in league history to go from having the league’s best record to having the worst.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, WGN, Fox Sports Ohio
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (17-61): One of the league’s worst teams is riding its second winning streak of the season, and first since Nov. 5-9, thanks to Wednesday’s victory at Toronto. The Cavaliers can tie their season-high three-game winning streak with a victory over the first-place Bulls. Despite the disparity in the standings, the Cavs have played the Bulls tough in each of the previous meetings. Those were all before the Cavaliers acquired Baron Davis, who has had a huge impact on his new teammates. The Cavs are 5-7 in games Davis has played and 3-3 since he entered the starting lineup.
ABOUT THE BULLS (58-20): Behind MVP favorite Derrick Rose, the
Bulls all but clinched the top spot in the East with Thursday’s home
victory over the Boston Celtics. The Bulls have won 17 of their last 19
and are hitting their stride as the playoffs approach. It’s been a
dramatic leap for a franchise that snuck into the playoffs last season
as the eighth seed and was swept in the first round by the Cavs. Now
they should enjoy home-court advantage as long as they’re alive. Rose
had 30 points and the defensive-minded Bulls held the Celtics to 38
percent shooting.
WHO'S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Cleveland’s J.J. Hickson has seven double-doubles in his last nine games. He is averaging 17 points and 14 rebounds per game this season against the Bulls. Starting shooting guard Anthony Parker is averaging 5.5 points in March. Chicago’s Derrick Rose finished with a plus/minus of plus-24 against the Celtics on Thursday and has scored at least 30 points in two of his last three games. Joakim Noah took just three shots and finished with two points in the victory over the Celtics.
KEY STATISTIC: The Bulls give up the second-fewest points in the league, allowing less than 92 per game. The Cavs rank 24th, allowing on average 104.8.
SEASON SERIES: The Bulls have taken all three matchups with the Cavaliers, including a 92-79 win in Chicago on Jan 22.
KEY INJURIES: CLEVELAND: C Semih Erden (shoulder); F Samardo Samuels (groin). CHICAGO: None.
LAST WORD: “For me, being a Chicago player, I’m far more impressed with how he carries himself. I don’t think you could’ve picked a better player from this city to represent this team in the way he carries himself in a time kids need absolutely great role models. That’s not his job, but it is his job to be who he is. And his humility shows. It’s wonderful. And it’s better than you think because I talk to (Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau) a lot. It’s genuine.” – Celtics coach Doc Rivers, who grew up in Chicago. Thibodeau is Rivers’ former assistant coach.