5. Solid Coaching
The Cavs’ David Blatt, a first-year NBA head coach, is off to a perfect 4-0 record so far in his playoff career. Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, who is currently in his fifth season as an NBA head coach, currently has a 21-24 record in his playoff coaching career.
Coach Thibodeau utilizes his hard-nosed lineup to the fullest, as the Bulls are very aggressive defensively, aren’t afraid to attack the basket and have a handful of three-point specialists.
Despite the injuries to Kevin Love and Anderson Varejao in the Cavs’ front court, Blatt will confidently work with a smaller, backcourt-oriented lineup.
“We’ve done well with it,” said Blatt. “Advantages are multiple ball handlers, spacing, speed.”
While the Cavs certainly face a mismatch in the frontcourt with the absence of Love for the rest of the playoffs, this series against the Bulls will ultimately come down to the stellar play of James and Irving. After winning the regular season series 3-1 over the Bulls, the Cavs will lean on James’ playoff dominance against Chicago in prior years to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. The Bulls are 3-12 against James’ clubs in the playoffs, as they lost in five games in 2010 (Cleveland), 2011 (Miami) and 2013 (Miami).
Prediction: Cavs in 6
