The Bulls lost a hard fought game and series last night to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They left everything they had on the court last night and have nothing to be ashamed about as they played really hard in this series. Derrick Rose led the way for the Bulls last night with 31 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists. Luol Deng outplayed LeBron James, at least offensively last night, as he finished with 26 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assists and 2 steals. Kirk Hinrich pitched in with 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in this game. The Bulls lost this series 4-1 but at least a lot of the games were close and entertaining.

After winning the 2008-’09 Rookie of the Year Award, Derrick Rose had a lot of high expectations coming into his sophomore season.  Well, D. Rose met and exceeded most of those expectations and has proven to be one of the top (if not the top) point guards in the Eastern Conference.  Rose had a slow start to the season due to an ankle injury, where he shot 46% and averaged only 16.2 points, 5.3 assists, and 2.9 rebounds in the month of November.  Those are still very good numbers, but when you compare them to his final averages of 20.8 points, 6.0 assists, and 3.8 rebounds on 49% shooting you can see that he wasn’t 100% healthy early in the season.  Last season as a rookie he averaged 16.8 points, 6.3 assists, and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 47% from the field.  He has become much more of a threat scoring the ball, thanks to his much improved outside shot.  The big knock on Rose coming into the NBA and throughout his rookie campaign was that he lacked a consistent outside shot.  He worked hard and it paid off, because he is deadly from 15-20 feet out and is starting to add the three-pointer to his arsenal.  What is even more impressive when you talk about Rose, is that he stepped his game up when it mattered most…the playoffs.  In the Bulls five-game series loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Rose averaged 26.8 points, 7.2 assists, and 3.4 rebounds.  Rose is only 21-years-old, so his game will continue to improve for the next couple of years.  With his youth, superior athleticism, and natural feel for the game, it looks like Rose will be an elite point guard in this league for years to come and could end up being the best point guard in the NBA in a few years.

So much for the Bulls having new life in this series. King James would have none of that as he scored 37 points, had 12 rebounds, 11 assists and 2 steals as the Bulls just couldn’t stop him no matter what they tried to do. The Bulls only shot 37.4% from the floor and they didn’t play any defense as the Cavs shot 53.2% from the floor and it’s almost impossible to win that way. Joakim Noah led the way for the Bulls in this game with 21 points and 20 rebounds. Derrick Rose was solid again with 21 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists in this game. Flip Murray (11 points) and Kirk Hinrich (10 points) pitched in a tad offensively. The Bulls are down 3-1 in this series.

The Bulls shot 50% from the floor last night and they led this game 79-68 after the first three quarters before holding on for dear life in the 4th quarter to prevail. Derrick Rose led the way for the Bulls last night with 31 points, 2 rebounds and 7 assists. Kirk Hinrich was the X factor in this game for the Bulls as he finished up with 27 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Hinrich just couldn’t miss last night as he hit 9 of 12 shots from the floor and all 4 of his three point attempts. Luol Deng was effective offensively with 20 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals in this game. Joakim Noah was busy as usual finishing up with 10 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots. The Bulls are now down 2-1 in this series after getting a huge win last night over the Cavs.

Kirk Hinrich has played 80 terrible minutes in the first round playoff series against the Cavs so far. He is averaging 40.0 minutes, 6.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game in this series. Hinrich is only shooting 33.3% from the floor so far in this series and that just won’t cut it. Maybe the Bulls should start giving Flip Murray more minutes because he brought some energy to the court offensively when he was on the floor.

Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah are playing at very high levels in this series but the Bulls are in deep trouble if the other players on the team don’t start helping out more. Rose is averaging 43.0 minutes, 25.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game as he is taking charge on offense against the Cavs. As good as he is though he needs someone else to start making some outside shots. Noah took the fight to the Cavs’ big men last night even though he is right now the most hated man in Cleveland. He has averaged 38.5 minutes, 17.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.0 blocked shots per game so far in this series. Noah needs more help inside because he can’t control the wave of big men on the Cavs by himself.

The Bulls played a good game offensively last night but you can’t win when your opponent shoots 56.3% from the floor, period. The Cavaliers outscored the Bulls 35-25 in the 4th quarter and that is why the Bulls lost as they played a great game for 3 quarters. Joakim Noah backed up his talk last night with 25 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shots. Derrick Rose was solid again in this game with 23 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals. Luol Deng pitched in with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists last night but he didn’t play any D at all as LeBron James dropped 40 points on the Bulls last night. Flip Murray only shot 5 of 14 off the bench last night but he finished up with 14 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists in 29 minutes. The Bulls are now down 2-0 in this series as it shifts to Chicago later this week.

The Bulls played horrible in the first half but they put up a fight with the Cavs getting within 7 points at one point in the 4th quarter before fading late. Derrick Rose was a one man show offensively for the Bulls with 28 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists but he also turned the ball over seven times. Luol Deng pitched in with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals in this game. Joakim Noah was booed every time he touched the ball and he looked overmatched whenever Shaq was on the court for the Cavs. He finished up with 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocked shots. The Bulls were outrebounded 50-38 and they had 12 of their shots blocked in this game. When you consider those last two facts give the Bulls credit for only losing by 13 points. The Bulls are now 0-1 in this series.

The Bulls played their butts off to get to the playoffs but now they must face the big dog in the Eastern Conference. Joakim Noah has tried to get into LeBron James’ head but it has just appeared to tick him off. Here’s a breakdown of the matchups in this series:

POINT GUARD: Derrick Rose proved that his Rookie of the Year Award was no fluke as he was outstanding all year long. He played in 78 games (all starts) for the Bulls this season and he averaged 36.8 minutes, 20.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. With him being a mis-match offensively with Mo Williams I fully anticipate the Cavs to use Anthony Parker to defend him in this series. Rose will need to be a little more selfish that usual in this series as points will be hard to come by against a Cavs’ team that prides itself on defense. Still, look for Rose to have a good series.

The Cavaliers counter with Mo Williams. Williams played in 69 games (68 starts) for the Cavaliers last season and he averaged 34.2 minutes, 15.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Williams is not a pure point guard as he likes to shoot the ball. The Bulls cannot afford to leave Williams open or they will pay in this series.

EDGE: BULLS

SHOOTING GUARD: Kirk Hinrich has been really playing solid basketball lately but he had a poor year overall for the Bulls. He played in 74 games (53 starts) for the Bulls last season in which he averaged 33.5 minutes, 10.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Hinrich is a shooting guard/point guard mix type of player so he is a pretty good passer who will look to set up other players.

Anthony Parker will be starting at shooting guard for the Cavaliers. He is a defense first player but he can hurt the opposition if they leave him wide open for a three. Parker played in 81 games (all starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he averaged 28.3 minutes, 7.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Parker will likely be guarding Derrick Rose defensively in this series.

EDGE: BULLS

CENTER: Joakim Noah really stepped up down the stretch when the Bulls really need him to. He played in 64 games (54 starts) for the Bulls this season and he averaged 30.1 minutes, 10.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 blocked shots per game. Noah is like the Energy Bunny as he just keeps playing all out when he is on the basketball court. The Cavs will come at him in waves at center as Shaquille O’Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varejao and J.J. Hickson all could be on hit at one point or another.

Shaquille O’Neal hasn’t played in quite a while but his focus this year was to win a “Ring for the King”. With that in mind I look him to own the paint in this series when he is on the basketball court (about 20 minutes per game). He has played in 53 games (all starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he averaged 23.4 minutes, 12.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. O’Neal will rise to the challenge as he always steps up with the bright lights of the playoffs on.

EDGE: CAVALIERS

POWER FORWARD: Taj Gibson had a great rookie season. He played in 82 games (70 starts) for the Bulls this year and he averaged 26.9 minutes, 9.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game. Gibson will have to use his athletic ability to try to outplay Antwan Jamison but I don’t think he will.

Antwan Jamison was brought in specifically for the playoffs. He has played in 25 games (23 starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he is averaging 32.4 minutes, 15.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Jamison knows all of the tricks and I’m sure he’ll use them in this series. His elbow is a big reason the Bulls are in the playoffs as it broke Chris Bosh’s face up.

EDGE: CAVALIERS

SMALL FORWARD: The Bulls really like Luol Deng but he will have his hands full working against a well rested LeBron James. Deng played in 70 games (69 starts) for the Bulls this season and he averaged 37.9 minutes, 17.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He must make James work on defense or the Bulls are going to be in serious trouble in this series.

LeBron James is simply the best player on the planet and he is going to be highly motivated in this series to shut up Joakim Noah’s trap. James played in 76 games (all starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he averaged 39.0 minutes, 29.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.0 blocked shot per game. He will score as many points in this series as he wants because the Bulls have no one who can stop him, period!

EDGE: HUGE FOR THE CAVALIERS

BENCH: The Bulls would be smart to keep the bench short using only Flip Murray, Brad Miller and Hakim Warrick in this series. Miller will be needed to most out of this bunch to deal with the incredible depth the Cavs have along the front line. Miller played in 82 games (37 starts) for the Bulls this year and he averaged 23.8 minutes, 8.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Hakim Warrick will also be likely needed a lot in this series. He played in 28 games (0 starts) for the Bulls after coming over from the Bucks in a trade and he averaged 19.0 minutes, 8.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Flip Murray will be needed for instant offense off the bench. He played in 29 games (1 start) after coming over from the Bobcats in the Tyrus Thomas trade and he averaged 23.4 minutes, 10.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Jannero Pargo, James Johnson and Acie Law won’t likely get much P.T. in this series.

The Cavaliers have the deepest bench in the NBA without a doubt as Sebastian Telfair and Leon Powe probably won’t be on the first round roster. It will be interesting to see how coach Mike Brown spreads out the minutes on the frontcourt with Shaq back. Anderson Varejao, J.J. Hickson and Zydrunas Ilgauskas would all be starters for a lot of teams in the NBA but they will be coming off the bench in this series. This is bad news for the Bulls. Hickson is the most ahtletic of this bunch for the Cavs. He played in 81 games (73 starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he averaged 20.9 minutes, 8.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. But he could still be the odd man out. Anderson Varejao is the Cavs’ version of Joakim Noah as he goes all out, all of the time. Varejao played in 76 games (7 starts) for the Cavs this season and he averaged 28.5 minutes, 8.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Zydrunas Ilgauskas gives the Cavs great length off the bench as he is a legit 7-footer. He played in 64 games (6 starts) for the Cavs this season and he averaged 20.0 minutes, 7.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Delonte West will be the Cavs’ #3 guard in this series and he will likely get a lot of P.T. West played in 60 games (3 starts) for the Cavs in which he averaged 25.0 minutes, 8.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Daniel Gibson, Jamario Moon and Jawad Williams will likely round out the roster for the Cavs and they have all started games for them this season and are quality players.

EDGE: HUGE FOR CAVALIERS

COACH: Vinny Del Negro is under fire in Chicago, but give him credit for getting the Bulls into the playoffs this season. The Bulls finished this year 41-41 and they are 82-82 in Del Negro’s two years as a NBA head coach. He also almost pulled a upset in the first round last season taking the Celtics to seven games.

Mike Brown always seems to have the Cavs ready for early playoff series. He led the Cavs to the best record in the NBA (61-21, .744) this season earning them a shot to play the Bulls. In his five years in Cleveland the Cavs have a 272-138 record (66.3%) in the regular season and they are 36-24 (60%) in the post-season.

EDGE: CAVALERS

PREDICTION: The Cavaliers are focused to win a “Ring for the King” and I don’t see them overlooking the Bulls not even in one game. I like the Cavaliers to pummel the Bulls in 4 games.

The Bulls drafted two forwards last June and they both played a roll in the Bulls making the playoffs this year. 24-year old Taj Gibson quickly moved into the starting lineup taking advantage of a Tyrus Thomas injury and he never gave the job back. Gibson played in 82 games (70 starts) this season for the Bulls in which he averaged 26.9 minutes, 9.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game. James Johnson was the other forward the Bulls took and he was decent off the bench for them. Johnson played in 65 games (11 starts) for the Bulls this season and he averaged 11.6 minutes, 3.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Look for both of these guys to produce for a long time for the Bulls down the road.