Cavaliers VS Bulls (game 4)

Final Score: Cavaliers win 86-84



Series tied 2-2

LeBron shoots at the buzzer. Hits It! Three game winning buzzer beaters in 3 consecutive nights. How did LeBron get off the shot. Well, the Refs let the Cavs get everything together. I don't really agree to that. The thing is, the Cavs won. Obviously they need to keep winning. Let's take a look at how they must play in order to do that.

The Cavs aren't playing that great. In fact, LeBron's isolations and shot selections haven't been that great. He shot 7 threes again and only made 1 again. Yes, he hit the game-winner, but there are shots that will fall. Coach Blatt should think about taking Shumpert out of the starting line-up and put Smith back in. Smith makes the spacing so much better and is more offensive minded. And with a game that was scored in the 80s, I would be more concerned with offense. Kyrie Irving really needs to get into the offense. He shot just 2-10 from the field. He did do well from the free throw line as he was 8-8. He also only had 2 assists. And if you are this Cavs team, you need to let Kyrie handle the ball just to get his confidence going. The Cavaliers as a team did shoot well from the free throw line as they shot 23-24. They really need to keep that up.

The Bulls have a lot to work on. Before I get going, I am going to stress this so much. They need to let LeBron shoot the jumper. Lay off of LeBron and get into a position where you can take a charge or defend if LeBron decides to drive. LeBron is shooting 28.6 on uncontested jumpers. Next, they need Mike Dunleavy to produce for this team. Nikola Mirotic didn't play that great for this Bulls team. He shot just 1-9 from the field. Also, when Aaron Brooks and Kirk Hinrich were in the game, that's when the Bulls offense was the best. They need to be played more. They need to keep up their defense as they are doing great with that. Their offense is the only thing they need to change. If they can get that going, they have a good shot at the next game.

Cavaliers VS Bulls (game 2)

Final Score: Cavaliers win 106-91



Series tied 1-1

Is this a rewind. Deja vu? I think it could be. The Bulls always seem to win game 1 then lose the next 4 when they play LeBron in the playoffs. Well, it could be a coincidence. And here how the Bulls can make it so the rewind doesn't happen.

The Bulls need everybody to perform much better. Let's take a look at the individual performances of all these players.

• Pau Gasol: 11 points, 3 turnovers, 4 rebounds, and 3-8 from the field
• Joakim Noah: 4 points, 4 shot attempts, 0-2 from the free-throw line
• Jimmy Butler: 18 points, 2-7 from 3pt range, 1 assist, -26 plus/minus advantage
• Derrick Rose: 14 points, 6-20 from the field, -13 plus/minus advantage
• Aaron Brooks: 4 points, 1-8 from the field, 0-4 from 3pt range

And those were the worst. They can't have that. They can't afford it. Kirk Hinrich played great shooting 3-3 from the field and 2-2 from three point range. He was only played for 12:18 minutes though. That is just disappointing. You obviously need to play him more. Some things need to change for this Bulls team.

This Cavs team was amazing. Yes, LeBron and Kyrie had a combined 54 points but I want to focus on Iman Shumpert and James Jones. Shumpert had 15 points while he shot 4-7 from deep. James Jones had17 points off the bench as he shot a surprising 5-9 from 3-point range. However, James Jones didn't win them the game, he just kept them in it. The team had a plus/minus advantage of -1 when he was on the floor. So he obviously just helped them stay in the game. If he wasn't there though, the Cavs would have lost the lead because their bench would have played so bad. Again, I'm still waiting for this Cavs team to play Marion more. He is very skilled and they need to use him. Other than that, this team is playing great. If they win their next 3, I will start thinking that it is impossible for the Bulls to win a playoff series against LeBron.

Turnovers Check

Wow, Monday night was the worst night for a lot of players. Let's just look at the Turnover highlights for some players

O.J. Mayo: 6 TO
Iman Shupert: 7 TO
John Wall: 10 TO

A number of players had 4 turnovers. Many had 3. Look at the teams that had a bunch of TO.

Bucks: 17 TO
Pacers: 18 TO
Wizards: 19 TO
Kings: 20 TO
Nets: 21 TO
Cavaliers: 24 TO

There was just way too many bad plays and pass last night. Teams like the Nets need to cut down their turnovers if they are to make the playoffs. It was probably the worst night for turnovers in the NBA. Now, I can't say it was the worst without pointing out that Russell Westbrook only had 2 turnovers while his team only had 8. That's pretty good. For the rest of the league, not so good.