Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: Postgame Grades and Analysis
The Chicago Bulls rode their Big Three of Derrick Rose, Pau Gasol and Jimmy Butler to a 99-92 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday at Quicken Loans Arena.
Rose led the way, scoring 25 points on 11-of-26 shooting, handing out five assists and grabbing five rebounds. Gasol added 21 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Butler had 20 points, six assists, five rebounds and played stellar defense on LeBron James.
James and Kyrie Irving led Cleveland. The former had 19 points on 9-of-22 shooting, 15 rebounds, nine assists and three steals. The latter went for 30 points on 10-of-23 shooting and six assists.
The Cavs clearly missed the presence of Kevin Love (out with a torn labrum) and J.R. Smith (serving a suspension for punching the Boston Celtics' Jae Crowder).
Without the spacing provided by Love and Smith, the defense of the Bulls ground Cleveland's offense to a halt.
| Derrick Rose | B+ |
| Jimmy Butler | B+ |
| Pau Gasol | A- |
| Joakim Noah | C- |
| Mike Dunleavy | B |
| Rest of Team | B- |
| LeBron James | B+ |
| Kyrie Irving | B+ |
| Timofey Mozgov | D+ |
| Iman Shumpert | B+ |
| Mike Miller | F |
| Rest of Team | C- |
Chicago Bulls
Derrick Rose: B+
Rose was on fire early in the game, hitting jumpers from all over the floor and moving around like someone who'd never been hurt.
You could see Rose starting to wear down as the game went on, though. Head coach Tom Thibodeau has been known to ride his players into the ground, and a few more 39-minute outings for Rose could spell trouble.
Defensively, Rose had a hard time containing Irving, but that's going to happen to anyone. The silver lining was that he looked healthy trying to stay in front before fatigue set in.
Jimmy Butler: B+
Butler was relatively quiet on offense, as Rose had the legs to drive the action on that side of the floor. For the most part, Butler simply took what came to him without having to force anything.
On the other end, he spent a lot of time on James. His ability to even slow James down will be critical for the Bulls. With Love out, the Cavs simply don't have many options after James and Irving.
Gasol was in peak form, operating from the high post and sinking jumper after jumper from the mid-range/elbow area.
He was often wide open but showed the ability to create a little space for himself when he wasn't. On multiple occasions, Gasol was able to pump-fake and make a one- or two-dribble move to a better spot.
Defensively, Gasol was excellent in both cleaning up the glass and protecting the rim. He finished the game with four blocks.
Joakim Noah: C-
Joakim Noah was the one starter Thibodeau didn't lean on heavily. He was simply a step too slow for this game.
As you'd expect, he still worked hard when he was on the floor. He grabbed nine rebounds, dished out four assists and blocked two shots in 29 minutes. But the defense looked significantly tighter with Taj Gibson on the floor.
Mike Dunleavy: B
The first quarter was owned by Mike Dunleavy, who dropped a quick 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the opening frame. After that, he was mostly invisible.
Dunleavy didn't take another attempt from the field until the fourth quarter, hitting a three to take his game total to 14 points. He also grabbed seven boards.
Rest of Team: B-
In typical Thibodeau fashion, he rode his starters for the vast majority of the game. Taj Gibson and Kirk Hinrich were the only reserves to play more than 10 minutes. Nikola Mirotic was completely cut out of the rotation, playing only two minutes.
Gibson had eight points and five rebounds in 28 minutes. Hinrich went for six points (in one 33-second stretch in the first half). Aaron Brooks added five points in nine minutes.
Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron James: B+
As a scorer, James struggled to find much rhythm. Butler defended him for much of the game and made it difficult to find a decent shot.
But James still managed to make an impact on that end, thanks to his ability to create shots for others. All game, he proved willing and able to both set up and find his teammates.
Defensively, James did a little bit of everything. He guarded all over the floor, even starting the game on Bulls center Joakim Noah. His versatility was on full display in the third quarter, when he forced Rose into a tough jump shot on the perimeter on one possession and shut down Gasol in the post on another.
Kyrie Irving: B+
Irving was Cleveland's most dynamic scorer, getting buckets in Uncle Drew style from all over the floor.
Operating out of the pick-and-roll, he showed great decision-making possession after possession. If a defender went under, he calmly set up for the three. If the big man tried to hedge or switch, Irving would get to the rim, where his craftiness always makes him a dangerous finisher.
On the other end, Irving had a tough time slowing down Rose. But that had more to do with Rose hitting tough shots than Irving doing a flat-out bad job.
Timofey Mozgov: D+
There's an argument to be made that Timofey Mozgov almost single-handedly turned the Cavs' season around when they acquired him in January.
The impact he made on the boards and around the rim during the season was nowhere to be found in Monday's action.
Gasol got almost anything he wanted when Mozgov was on him, and the Cavs big man really didn't offset that anywhere else. He finished with nine points on 3-of-8 shooting and five rebounds.
Iman Shumpert: B+
Starting in place of the suspended J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert showed up in a big way for the Cavs. He scored 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting.
The Cavs tried to replace the spacing they typically get from Smith and Kevin Love with Shumpert, and he did a decent job of it. He hit 4-of-10 from downtown
Perhaps most importantly, though, he provided solid defense on Butler and at times Rose. For much of the game, he was able to crowd their jump shots and cut off driving lanes.
Mike Miller: F
Mike Miller was another late entry into the starting lineup for the Cavs. Let's just say they could've used Love.
Miller only played 16 minutes but managed to post a staggering plus-minus of minus-20. His defense was nightmarish, as the Bulls looked to send him through multiple screens and attack with whomever he ended up guarding.
At the start of both halves, the Cavs found themselves taking haymaker after haymaker from Chicago's offense until Miller went to the bench.
He finished the game with five rebounds and three points on 1-of-2 from three-point range.
Rest of Team: C-
Only two Cavs played significant minutes off the bench: Tristan Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova.
Thompson took most of Miller's time, doing a good job of battling on the boards in his 37 minutes. He finished with eight rebounds, four points and two blocks.
Dellavedova went for five points on 2-of-5 shooting.
Coming Up Next
Game 2 will be on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET in Cleveland.
Cavs coach David Blatt may need to rethink his starting lineup with Miller struggling so much to keep pace with the game. Joe Harris might even be worth a shot.
For Chicago, the priority should be monitoring minutes. The Bulls already stole one on the road. Running Butler and Rose ragged with only one day's rest doesn't make sense.
Andy Bailey covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him @AndrewDBailey.
