Cavaliers, Bulls Continuing on Central Division Collision Course Toward Playoffs
CHICAGO — There are some natural markers in any sports season, though some leagues have more than others. It's been suggested that you know whether a Major League Baseball team is of reasonable quality roughly around Memorial Day, know if it should be taken seriously as a playoff contender around Independence Day and know whether it has a championship chance around Labor Day.
In the NBA, there are merely two markers of note, one at Christmas, which has become a full-fledged hoops holiday, and one at the All-Star break, which now comes closer to the two-thirds than halfway point, and also comes with a few more idle and somewhat dangerous days after. At this stage, we typically have scrapped a number of preseason predictions and begin to see separation between the upper echelon and the bottom-dwellers.
That has happened again to some extent, especially in the Eastern Conference, which has fractured into five unequal parts—at least semi-legitimate threats (Hawks, Cavaliers, Bulls, Raptors and Wizards), one interesting but likely inconsequential interloper (Bucks), six flawed squads that should probably be buried already (Heat, Hornets, Pistons, Nets, Celtics and Pacers), one modest disappointment (Magic) and two utter embarrassments (76ers and Knicks).
Some would say the split is actually six parts, with the Hawks standing alone at 43-11, 6.5 games ahead of second-seeded Toronto. That is a worthy argument, and yet it's actually not one the majority would make. That's because if you polled the public, you'd likely find that plenty believe that the Cavaliers and Bulls in particular, with their superior star power, are at least as likely to represent the East in the NBA Finals as Atlanta is.
That's what made their third matchup this season, with the Bulls finally breaking through with a 113-98 victory, worth the watch, even with Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (shoulder) and Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (eye) both out, and even with several other players appearing as though they were daydreaming of All-Star week destinations, rather than dialing in on either end. Butler missed the Bulls' first loss to Cleveland, and Joakim Noah and Mike Dunleavy Jr., missed the second. So at least the scales were closer to even on this occasion, even if Cavaliers coach David Blatt did volunteer that his team was the only one playing on the second night of a back-to-back and Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving acknowledged that his team "struggled to conjure up the energy."
So what did this prove?
Probably little, other than that these two teams won't be able to definitively prove anything to each other, or NBA observers, for a while, since neither has a clear edge in talent or chemistry or wins to this stage. Both have an abundance of the first. Both have had a choppy experience with the second. Both have at least 33 of the third, with the Bulls (34-20) just 1.5 games ahead of the Cavaliers (33-22) in the standings.
Provided neither suffers much conditioning slippage coming out of the All-Star break, and both remain relatively healthy for the final rush, they should be battling until mid-April to decide which will take the Central Division and, at worst, home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. And they may see each other again when it actually matters.
Each, at its best, is capable of taking control of a contest, but each still doesn't get to its best all the time, even as the Cavaliers—winners of 14 of their past 16—have done so more often lately.
They just didn't do so Thursday, losing all four quarters, by four, three, three and five points, as LeBron James committed eight turnovers, calling some of them "attack turnovers" and some "bad miscues."
"Got to do some ball-handling drills when I get back, get my handle back right," said James, who has been bothered by a sore wrist. "You know, I'll figure it out for sure. That cannot happen in order for us to win long-term, me turning the ball over."
James did score 31 points, one more than Rose, but the latter was the more dynamic, impressive player on this single evening. He added seven assists (with just two turnovers) while more closely resembling the explosive, slithery attacker the Cavaliers saw during a preseason game in Columbus than the contact-averse chucker they faced in January, one which much of the league has seen somewhat regularly this season. Heading into Thursday, Rose was averaging a career-high 5.6 three-point attempts per game this season, hitting them at a wretchedly low rate (29.7 percent), but he took only two in 41 minutes against Cleveland.
And while he missed both, he made defenders miss, flail and lurch on several other possessions, particularly in the second half, when he seemed to gain speed as the game went on.
"I was just seeing lanes," Rose said. "They have a 7-footer down there, but I was just using a lot of floaters and a lot of reverse layups to get my shot off. I guess so. Just let my game come to me. That's all I'm doing. I'm being patient with the ball."
Patience has been his word of choice for a while, and while everyone has tired of hearing it, it's why there shouldn't be panic about the Bulls' at-times uneven performance so far this season. As long as Rose is still on the floor, he has the chance, along with Butler and Pau Gasol, to make this team special, with more top-end offensive talent than Tom Thibodeau's other playoff entrants.
"Very pleased," Rose said of where he is.
He spoke of how his layups, his playmaking and even his "floater game" are coming around.
"It's all coming," Rose said. "I got it."
Now he gets a break, as he's not one of the four point guards picked for the East's All-Star Game team. He spoke of the victory, after two losses to the Cavaliers, providing "a little relief" into the break.
The plan?
"Really enjoy the break," Rose said. "And when we get back, really be focused."
Of course, you can expect the Cavaliers to be coming, too, so long as James is playing. Even after the loss, they're now 31-14 in games he plays, and he'll play with greater concentration in the future. His schedule will be packed in New York, bouncing around the boroughs from the minute he lands Friday morning. Then, after it's over, he'll take Monday off, to "give my mind some rest," before getting back in the weight room on Tuesday and back in the practice gym on Wednesday.
"I understand how important those last [27] games (are)," James said, with only 11 of those at home, compared to 15 of 28 at home for Chicago. "I really like to lock in during that point in time, understanding it's the home stretch before the postseason starts. You know, the first 50-plus games has been fun. It's been a great learning experience for us. But it's time for us to turn it on in the second half, including myself."
He conceded that the Cavaliers are watching Chicago, Washington and Toronto as well—likely not mentioning Atlanta because of the Hawks' massive East lead.
"We want to continue to play good basketball coming out of the break, and see where we can put ourselves at the end of the regular season as far as our season," James said.
And resume the chase, of the Bulls first...
"We're not chasing them," James corrected. "We're not chasing them. That's for you guys. For us, we have to continue to play well. We're chasing our own self. We have an opportunity for us to get better every day. As far as chemistry, we have a long way to go, as far as continuing to build what we need to do, going into the playoffs. Every game is an opportunity for us to get better. I think tonight, we didn't take a step backwards. But we didn't take a step forward."
It's been that sort of season for the Cavaliers and Bulls, both still in the mix, if neither not yet quite as elite as expected.
You get the feeling that, as the season progresses, they'll keep stepping toward each other.
