The Bulls needed this one. With J.R. Smith out for the first two games of the series, it was imperative that Chicago did not leave Cleveland trailing 0-2. Game one was their best chance to secure a W since the Cavs may have been rusty after cruising past the Celtics in round one and then doing that thing LeBron James did in Miami for two weeks during the regular season—rest.
With the win, the Bulls gave themselves a boost of confidence and inserted a sliver of doubt into the minds of the mostly inexperienced Cavs. Chicago also grabbed home court advantage for the series, but we just witnessed the road team win 4 of 7 in the Clippers-Spurs series, so location doesn’t really seem to matter much in a playoff matchup between two top teams. In any case, the Bulls lead the series 1-0. That’s what matters most.
On their way to victory, the Bulls tormented the Cavs with a slew of pick and rolls using Derrick Rose as the handler and Pau Gasol as the screener. All night Cleveland failed to stop that action, though I’m reluctant to fault them for this. The Bulls simply executed well.
When the Cavs hedged Rose hard above the pick, Gasol backed away from the action to provide a passing lane for Rose to dish to him for a wide open jumper. When the Cavs played under the screen, Rose attacked the lane, sucked the defense in and kicked out to teammates for corners threes. Since neither of these defensive tactics was effective, Cleveland later opted to switch many of the screens, which left Rose in isolations against a big (usually Tristan Thompson). This should have been a mismatch in the Bulls’ favor, but Rose often settled for tough jumpers as the shot clock wound down. He will need to better take advantage of these switches as the series continues.
In previous seasons, Joakim Noah typically served as the screener in pick and rolls. He tried a few times Monday night, but it produced next to nothing since the Cavs just ignore Noah as an offensive threat, which is the right move at this point. He didn’t score and is clearly laboring out there. The poor guy is hobbling around like a dude on stilts. The Cavs fans should probably save their boos for another player, one who actually scores.
To Noah’s credit, he remains valuable since he, amazingly, is still able to rebound well, and he is a solid screener away from the ball. His picks helped free up Mike Dunleavy, who torched Mike Miller early in the game until the Cavs finally pulled him out. Miller finished the game with a dreadful -20 +/- in 16 minutes. Fortunately for the Bulls, the Cavs will be forced to play Miller for at least part of game two before Smith returns to the lineup in game three. Every second that Miller plays he is a defensive liability. The Bulls must exploit him when he’s on the court.
Possessions in which the Bulls did not run Dunleavy off screens or initiate a pick and roll mostly fell stagnant and ended with Rose or Butler in isolation. This is going to happen from time to time late in close games so they will need to knock down a handful of jumpers late in the shot clock. That’s just the reality of playoff basketball. Limiting the number of these attempts will be a key. They do not want to get caught up trying to defeat Kyrie and LeBron in an iso contest. That’s a battle that the Bulls tandem won’t win.
Kyrie was virtually unstoppable in game one. With Jimmy Butler locked onto LeBron, the Bulls had no defensive answer for Irving. He easily blew by Rose, Brooks or Hinrich and subsequently finished over the likes of Gasol and Noah. His conversion ability at the rim is astounding. He handles the ball like Steph Curry except he does it in midair with a 7-footer staring down at him. My chin is bruised from the number of times Irving made my jaw drop to the floor with his dazzling finishes. I’m no longer surprised by anything that he does, but I’m very often still impressed.
With the Cavs trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter, they shied away from Irving isos for something even more terrifying—Kyrie and LeBron pick and rolls. They are completely indefensible. Hedge hard and Irving splits the double with a drive or a knifing pass to a slashing LeBron. Hedge soft and Irving calmly accepts the open jumper. Not to mention that LeBron can also fake the screen and slip out to the three point line for an open look. With this weapon, along with the option to let LeBron or Kyrie go one-on-one, the Cavs have more firepower than the Bulls when closing games. To secure victories, Chicago will need to build leads and just hope to hold on like they did in game one.
The key to series, as is always the case with a LeBron team, will be Cleveland’s supporting case. LeBron is going to get his; he always does. The Bulls can still win the series if they contain Cleveland’s role players. Of note, Chicago needs to limit Shumpert, who had a strong opening game, Smith when he returns, and the offensive rebounding of Mosgov and Thompson. If they can contain those four players, in addition to continuing their execution of the pick and roll on offense, the Bulls will have a shot to win the series.
To all the jubilant Bulls fan who are ready to claim this series, slow your roll. The game one victory feels good, though it hasn’t exactly been a positive omen against LeBron’s teams lately. The last two times that LeBron and the Bulls have met in the playoffs, they have taken game one. In each case, that was their only win of the series.
This team could be the one to buck the trend. They are different, deeper and more talented than any team during Thibodeau’s tenure. Plus I’m pretty sure that LeBron’s reign of terror in the Eastern Conference must end at some point. Now seems to be as good a time as any.
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