Apr 5, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Timofey Mozgov (left) and guard Kyrie Irving (2) defend against Chicago Bulls forward Pau Gasol (16) int the third quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
3. Attack the Weaker Links
The Bulls are all too familiar with the play of LeBron’s old Heat buddies Mike Miller and James Jones, and both are expected to play a role in Games 1 and 2 with outside threats Smith and Love unavailable and LeBron most likely grinding in the paint. Age has wearied both shooters, and neither are likely to be picked for an All-Defensive team any time soon. So the Bulls should look to exploit them at both ends. Miller has yet to play in the playoffs, and Jones shot a miserable .231% from the field in eleven minutes of game play in round 1. Shooting guard Matthew Dellavedova didn’t fair much better, shooting .273% overall in the Boston series.
Dunleavy will most likely get the job of guarding Miller or Jones, but Thibs would do well to assign a quicker more athletic guard such as Tony Snell to cover any one of those guys, leaving Jimmy (or Mike) to focus on James, while Rose, Hinrich or Brooks deal with Irving. Speaking of Mr. Rose, if there was ever a time for him to put to rest who is the better point guard between he and Irving, then there is no time like the present. I’d like to see Derrick clamp down on Irving defensively and make his life a living hell. He has the upper body strength to do so and the quickness to match.
One bonus for the Bulls: Ray Allen ain’t walking through that door.
Next: Pau and Controlling the Glass