NBA Opening Night Cavs vs Bulls preview: Projected line-ups, team news, TV info, predictions
The Chicago Bulls have a score to settle with Mr. LeBron James. Of the seven years that the Bulls have made it to the Playoffs in the Derrick Rose era, James has had a hand in their elimination from the post-season four times (twice with the Miami Heat and twice with the Cleveland Cavaliers). In fact, their most recent match-up was the first time Chicago won 2 games in a Playoff series against James' team.
This season the Cavs are the favorites to make it to the NBA Finals from the East, they are the team to beat. There's no doubting the talent on the Bulls roster and it's capability to go toe to toe with the Cavaliers but the questions remains can the overcome the LeBron hump? We'll have to wait uptil April for that question to be answered but similar to last season both teams are scheduled for a match-up early in the season, really EARLY, like season opener early.
TV Telcast Info
Date & Time: 28th October 8 PM EST (29th October 5:30 AM IST)
Venue: United Center, Downtown Chicago
Telecast: Sony Six HD
Projected Line-ups
Chicago Bulls: Derrick Rose (Point Guard), Jimmy Butler (Shooting Guard), Tony Snell (Small Forward), Nikola Mirotic (Power Forward) and Pau Gasol (Center).
Cleveland Cavaliers: Mo Williams (Point Guard), J.R. Smith (Shooting Guard), LeBron James (Small Forward), Kevin Love (Power Forward) and Timofey Mozgov (Center).
Team News
Bulls: In eight pre-season games, the Bulls won 4 and lost just as many. Anyway given that the pre-season was Fred Hoiberg’s first time as the Head Coach of a NBA team, the record should not be analysed in detail. However what must be pointed out is the team’s offense - it looks more fluent with the ball moving around a lot more than it did under former Coach Tom Thibodeau. Hoiberg’s coaching is going to be a big part of where this talent-laden team finish at the end of the season.
Injuries have been a big part of the pre-season for the team, some carrying over from last year. Mike Dunleavy is expected to return from a back problem in late November and Taj Gibson is cleared to play but is still finding his footing since he returned from a left ankle injury. Although he has been cleared to play the season opener, Rose will play the game wearing a mask following an orbital fracture he suffered on the first day of training camp.
Nothing had been openly said in the media but the Bulls would be determined to be at the top of the East come post-season time, with almost every analyst picking the Cavaliers to be the easy pick from the East to make the Finals.
Cavaliers: If you thought the Bulls were dealing with serious injuries, read on about the Cavaliers. Cleveland finished their pre-season with just one win out of seven games, a huge reason for that being the absence of key players. Kyrie Irving (2014 All-Star Game MVP) is not cleared to play basketball till January, Kevin Love is still finding his groove after successfully rehabilitating from a shoulder dislocation, Iman Shumpert is out for three months as well with a right wrist injury, Andersen Varejao hasn’t completed recovered from his Achilles tear last December.
To make matter worse, there were reports earlier this week about James needing injections in his back and that his status for the season opener was doubtful. Fortunately a week before the start of the season, Cavs fans received some news to cheer for. The long disputed standoff between Tristan Thompson and the Cavaliers had come to an end with the former re-signing with the franchise for a 5-year contract worth 82 million. Add to that, the most recent weekend cleared the doubts on James’ status for the game against the Bulls.
Prediction:
If these Bulls were still playing under Coach Thibodeau, it was a no-brainer that they would had the advantage heading into the game but under the new Coach, that margin does get cut off when your playing the best player on the planet in James.
In the 2015 Finals, the Cavs showed a lot of heart winning two games with a depleted roster against a deep Golden State Warriors roster. If they play with the same heart and passion, they could take the W after this game.
Although it’s the first game of the season, both these teams know each other really well and understand that they could meet each other in the post-season for possibly a spot in the Conference Finals or Finals, so a first impression is vital.
To be honest, once you consider all the variables it’s tough to pick one team get the victory. Having said that, it would be safer bet to put your money on the Bulls to come away with the victory. They have a deeper squad (at least for this game) and they are playing at home, two key factors which could factor the game’s result.
These two teams played last season as well, in what was an intense and competitive game. Here are the highlights from that one: