Legitimately, there is only one team which anyone is giving any chance to win the Eastern Conference. The Chicago Bulls though, have to feel like they can give the Cleveland Cavaliers a run for their money, and they'll want to prove that Tuesday on the opening night of the 2015-16 NBA season.
SCHEDULING
What we have to remember about this game is the motivation which is going to be in play. Yes, the Cavaliers want to get off to a good start to their season, but they know that this is an 82-game grind and not a sprint.
The Bulls meanwhile, are going to have a generally healthy team for the first time in eons, they've got a new coach in Fred Hoiberg, and their whole purpose this year is going to be finding a way to take out the Cavaliers. With this one coming at home, clearly, there's a lot of motivation here for Chicago.
INJURIES
Derrick Rose suffered a broken orbital bone in the offseason, but assuming he doesn't trip over himself and bust up his knee between now and Tuesday night, he should be good to go.
The story is similar for LeBron James, save for the fact that he is sturdier than the Paper Mache doll that is Rose. James has a bit of a back problem, but that isn't going to keep him out of the opener.
Don't mistake these Cavs as being totally healthy, though. Kyrie Irving still doesn't have a timetable for his return from his knee injury which plagued him through the playoffs last year. Iman Shumpert is going to miss at least the first three months of the season with a wrist injury, while Kevin Love has a shoulder problem which will likely keep him on the shelf for the opening few games of the year.
KEY MATCHUP
The question in our eyes is what the Cavs are going to do without arguably their second, third and fourth best players not in the lineup. Are Richard Jefferson, Matthew Dellavedova, Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson legitimately going to be able to support "The King" against an offense they really don't know a lot about.
We'd be worried for the Cavaliers defensively in this game more than anything else. James isn't going to want to try as hard on defense this year, knowing that that's what really gets you burned out before the games really start to matter in May, and with the lousy supporting cast around him, we're not sure there are going to be any answers for the new Hoiberg offense.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Simply put, this is a game the Bulls really want to win, and we think they're going to get the job done with ease. If the Cavaliers open up this game as favorites, it's a complete joke. There are going to be at least 15, if not 20 minutes in this one in which James won't be on the court, and when that happens, the Bulls will probably have the five best players on the court at the same time.
Generally speaking, that's a recipe for disaster.
Expect to see Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah dominate in the post against an overmatched team, and the Bulls will walk away with a victory to set the tone for their 2015-16 campaign.
Chicago 103, Cleveland 95
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