The Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers are set for Game 2 and Game 3 this week in the NBA playoffs first round in the eastern conference and the first matchup is from Quicken Loans Arena and the game is on TNT and streaming online from the TNT Online website as LeBron James and Kyrie Irving try to come back against Derrick Rose after losing Game 1.
The cavaliers need to bounce back after losing the first game of the series and they will be playing again without Kevin Love, who is out for the duration of the playoffs. That is a huge loss for the Cavs and it changes the way the team has been playing all year. Love is replaceable, but not completely for the Cavaliers and his absence makes James and Kyrie Irving even more important than they already were.
Love is a strong rebounder, shooter and offensive player and while the team can replace his shooting with Mike Miller or James Jones, they lose his rebounding up front. The team can start Tristan Thompson like they will in Game 2, but while they get rebounding, his offensive game is not close to what Love had. The Bulls seemingly were able to take advantage of his absence in the last game by using Pau Gasol and he was able to hit his mid-range jumpers with ease and he cleaned up the boards as well.
Rose is coming in after scoring 25 points in the first game and he has played very well overall in the playoffs. But Rose has not played as well after games with one day off compared to two and that could play a part in the rest of the series. James had 19 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists in the last game, but he did not shoot well from the floor and now he is looking to rebound. Irving had 30 points and he also needs to make sure things don't get too out of hand for the Cavs.
Jimmy Butler outplayed James at the end and he hit a huge shot to keep the team up five after the Cavs cut the score to two late in the matchup. Pau Gasol has been great this season and he added 10 rebounds and he could be key for Chicago on Wednesday night. James has been down 1-0 to the Bulls before and he has been able to come back and now he needs to do it with Cleveland.
Rose is dealing with a shoulder issue, but it is not a major concern and really what fans want to know is how his knee feels. The Cavs will be without JR Smith for the second straight game with him being out for suspension and they need him back as well.
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