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). The Cavs understand it’s more important to have James playing at an optimal level in June – not January.
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The last few weeks, the captain hasn’t been happy with the team’s frame of mind and has used his voice to send a message that pursuing a championship requires a businesslike mindset from the start.
Still, the game seemed like it was Chicago’s nearly from the start, and despite a fourth-quarter Cleveland comeback, sloppy late-game play doomed the Cavaliers.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (right) greets Toronto Raptors forward DeMarre Carroll (left) at the end of the game at the Air Canada Centre.
Rose reacted favorably to those 10 minutes Friday in the Bulls’ victory over the Mavericks in Lincoln, practicing fully Sunday and remaining on track to play in Tuesday’s season opener. The remaining 17 are split between the reigning champion Golden State Warriors, the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder. James said this season will be “a process, for sure”, as the team will learn to adjust to having Love back in the lineup after undergoing shoulder surgery resulting from an injury during the first round of the playoffs and the current absences of Kyrie Irving (knee) and Iman Shumpert (wrist).
There are two stories that LeBron and his Cavs can perhaps relate to heading into the coming games of the season. Perhaps the one shift in the conference this season is that there could be more parity once you get past the Cavaliers.
What’s more telling is how the Cavs stuck with it, how they dug deep when everyone else in the building wanted them to fail, how you could tell that none of this was new to them. Despite a core that’s remained remarkably constant in recent years, these Bulls are a team in transition.
The LeBronnaires are favored to win the whole thing, with James being the League’s leading MVP candidate. It’s what you do with your anger that determines whether it’s good or bad. Though Hoiberg managed to keep two of his starters, Snell and Mirotic, under 30 minutes, Butler finished the night with almost 37, a lot of them on James. “ZTE is a leader in the smartphone industry and it is exciting to welcome a new partner in that category”, said Michael Reinsdorf, Chicago Bulls president and COO. James received an anti-inflammatory injection in his back on October. 13 and has played in only two preseason games. The season is finally here! The Cavs also shot 16 more free throws. However, Chris Paul is still the overall best floor general in the National Basketball Association, and Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan are freaks of nature that will continue taking the league by storm.
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Of course the Cavs believe they can it all.
