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 The absence of Love and Smith opens the door for third-seeded
Chicago to pounce on the second-seeded Cavaliers and avoid a 0-2
hole. “You know when you play against them you've got to get back
and you've got to take their momentum away,” Bulls point guard
Derrick Rose told reporters. “It should be a fun series.” Forward
LeBron James isn’t overly concerned with the roster shortages and
says everyone just needs to compete hard and play their best. “From
Day One we knew that we’d face adversity,” James told reporters.
“You don’t know in what form or fashion. For us, it just happened to
be a devastating injury but the games will still be played.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE BULLS: Power forward Pau Gasol had five double-doubles in
the six-game, first-round series win over the Milwaukee Bucks while
averaging 16.3 points and 11.8 rebounds. He’ll look to control play
in the interior while Chicago hopes Rose – four games of 15 or fewer
points versus the Bucks – can match the caliber of play delivered by
backcourt mate Jimmy Butler (24.8 average, five games of 20 or more
points). “You to have to remember: This is his first time in the
postseason in a long time for him,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau told
reporters of Rose. “He feels real good, feels strong. He has to get
ready for the next challenge.”
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS: Love’s injury thrusts afterthought reserve
Tristan Thompson into a key role in the series as the Cavaliers
attempt to slow down Gasol. “Everyone still has to do more and has
to get adjusted to whether they’re starting of coming off the
bench,” Thompson told reporters. “We got to be able to still do our
roles.” Thompson averaged 7.3 points and 6.8 rebounds in the
first-round sweep of the Celtics after averaging 8.5 points and
eight boards during the regular season.
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BUZZER BEATERS
1. Cleveland won three of the four regular-season meetings,
including a 99-94 victory on April 5 in which PG Kyrie Irving scored
27 points and James had 20 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
2. Chicago C Joakim Noah is battling an illness but is expected to
play in Game 1.
3. Irving averaged 23.3 points against Boston and scored 24 or more
points in three of the contests.
PREDICTION: Cavaliers 100, Bulls 93
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