Chicago Bulls vs Cleveland Cavaliers: Position-By-Position Preview For The Rest of the Series

Point Guard: Derrick Rose vs Kyrie Irving

May 4, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) drives against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) in the first quarter in game one of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

In the four years Irving has been in the league, he has gradually become one of the more exciting point guards – even players in general – in the NBA. His ball handling and shooting ability is at an elite level, and he has perfectly displayed those skills in two huge games this season: a 55 point performance against the Portland Trailblazers and a 57 point performance in a thrilling overtime victory against the San Antonio Spurs.

Through most of these four years, Rose has been unable to reach his MVP level due to various knee injuries and meetings between the two guards have been limited. But when they have met, Rose has increased his intensity and competitiveness each time.

Their career statistics are pretty similar:

• Derrick Rose: 20.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 0.8 steals, 45.2% FG%, 30.4% 3FG%, and 81.5% FT%
• Kyrie Irving: 21.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.4 steals, 45.3% FG%, 39.0% 3FG%, and 86.2% FT%

Their head-to-head stats are a little different:

• Derrick Rose: 21.0 points per game & 44% shooting from the field
• Kyrie Irving: 18.0 points per game & 34% shooting from the field

And finally, their respective Game 1 stats:

• Derrick Rose: 25 points, five rebounds, five assists, one steal, 11-26 from the field, three of six three pointers, and two turnovers
• Kyrie Irving: 30 points, two rebounds, six assists, one steal, one block, 10-23 from the field, one of five three pointers, and two turnovers

Anyone who has watched this match-up would have seen the complete defensive dominance Rose displayed over Irving in the regular season series. It was evident that Irving could and would only score the majority of his points on either Aaron Brooks or Kirk Hinrich.

In Game 1, it started off very similarly as Rose and the Bulls got off to a blazing hot start and Irving shot 1-7 in the first quarter. Irving would pick it up in the second quarter onward but most shots he took – when being defended by Rose – were heavily contested and the ones that fell through the hoop were simply magical shots.

Thibodeau showed in the Bucks series that he will be taking advantage of the “no minute restrictions” with all of his players, so we can expect Rose to be on the court every second that Irving is.

The team’s functionality is the best measuring stick for a point guard and with the Bulls getting the win in Game 1 leading the entire way, they simply need Rose to run the team exactly the way he did for him to have a clear advantage.

Advantage: Derrick Rose