Bulls at Cavaliers
The Chicago Bulls have looked like contenders in the Eastern Conference every time they played the Cleveland Cavaliers this season, but not so much against most other teams. The Bulls will try to find that consistent high level when they return from the All-Star break and visit the Cavaliers again on Thursday.
Chicago dropped four straight prior to the break and 13 of 18 to drop into seventh place in the Eastern Conference, and it will begin the second half without All-Star guard Jimmy Butler (knee strain). "It's frustrating," Bulls forward Taj Gibson told reporters after a 113-90 loss to Atlanta ended the nominal first half. "It's very frustrating because we have more than enough to win. We used to win games with less than this. I think it's our mental (approach). It's extremely frustrating and it hurts my heart.” The Cavaliers are not without questions of their own despite sitting atop the East and are reportedly one of the teams actively involved in trade discussions leading up to Thursday afternoon’s deadline. Cleveland closed out the first half with three straight impressive wins, though all three came at home against sub-.500 teams from the Western Conference.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE BULLS (27-25): Chicago has a pair of All-Stars in Butler and Pau Gasol, a former MVP in point guard Derrick Rose and a host of solid role players led by Gibson, but the pieces had a hard time coming together over the last six weeks. "We got to find ourselves," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters. "I challenged them, whatever they got to do over the break, look themselves in the mirror, find a way to get committed to this team where we can come out and go on a run. And that's all we can do right now is look forward.” Chicago’s most impressive performance in that stretch leading up to the break came in a 96-83 victory at Cleveland on Jan. 23.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (38-14): That Jan. 23 meeting marked coach Tyronn Lue’s first game in charge of Cleveland, and the team has since gone on to win eight of 10 games. Lue was the coach for the Eastern Conference in the All-Star Game and strategically held star LeBron James to 20 minutes in that contest as he prepares for a strong stretch drive. “It’s time for me to turn it on,” James told CavsTV. “This is when I usually start to hit the switch, right after the All-Star break.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Cavaliers G Kyrie Irving is averaging 32 points on 59.1 percent shooting in the last three games.
2. Chicago F Nikola Mirotic (appendix) is out indefinitely.
3. Cleveland F Kevin Love (shoulder contusion) is expected to play on Thursday.