Chicago Bulls at Cleveland Cavaliers Game Outlook: Will Rondo Return?
The Chicago Bulls are headed to Cleveland for a rematch with LeBron James and the Cavaliers. The Bulls lead the season series 1-0, but James and the Cavs won’t been keen to lose to their division rivals on their home floor.
Did you hear about Jimmy Butler’s huge game against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday?
Really, Butler played an amazing game. That’s going to be important for Chicago, who have relied on the feats of Butler all season to deliver results in games they had no business winning. Best of all, it was Butler who led the Bulls in scoring with 26 points when they beat Cleveland 111-105 one month ago in Chicago.
Most interesting than Butler’s potential in a showdown with James might be one of the other stat leaders for the Bulls in that big home victory over the Cavaliers – Rajon Rondo. Rondo led the team in assists, but also pulled a triple-double. Quite impressive for a player currently benched.
For the Cavs, it should come as no surprise that LeBron played out of his mind with 27 points and 13 assists. His showdowns with Butler have been a mix of must-see and don’t-watch over the past couple of seasons, but this should be a good one.
Cleveland will be heavy favorites, but every game is a must win for Fred Hoiberg and Chicago. Here’s your outlook for this big game.
Apr 3, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Chicago won 102-98. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Jimmy vs. LeBron
This is going to be the most wonderful time for these two players to meet in the regular season.
Butler is having the best season of his career. He’s definitely the best player on this team and has to be a lock for the All-Star Game in New Orleans in February. By the way, in case I didn’t mention it like 12 times already, Butler put 52 points on the board against the Hornets and added 12 rebounds, six assists, three steals and a block. He was going hard on both ends of the floor in an epic performance. Without his amazing effort, the Bulls would have been lost.
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Jimmy’s averaging 25.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists this season. It’s all good for the Chicago star who’s been bullying defenses with his linebacker approach, getting to the line more than nine times a game, shooting 88.2 percent from the line. Against Charlotte, he was 21-of-22 from the free throw line.
On the other end of this is the greatest player of a generation. And that isn’t an overstatement. Everyone is aware of James and his skill. He’s averaging 25.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game.
Let me state the obvious: This matchup is going to be fantastic. LeBron is going to play hard, Jimmy is going to play hard. All we have to do is sit back and watch.
Dec 6, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Rajon Rondo (9) against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons won 102-91.Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
The Return of Rajon Rondo?
The Bulls might be without Dwyane Wade. The aging star missed Monday’s game with a swelling in his knee. He is listed as day-to-day and will be a game time decision.
It’s hard to imagine Wade missing a matchup with his buddy LeBron, particularly giving their bet that James had to make good on during Cleveland’s visit to Chicago at the beginning of December, sporting a full Chicago Cubs uniform en route to the game.
The Bulls will also be without rookie Denzel Valentine. He looked to be his best self on Monday against Charlotte, knocking down several 3-pointers before a most disgusting left ankle sprain sidelined him. He hasn’t traveled with the team for the Cleveland game.
Being short one player and possibly missing another player, Chicago is going to be shorthanded. That means they probably start Michael Carter-Williams again and have Jerian Grant available, but they’ll also be compensating for Wade if he doesn’t go. That means their backcourt situation is going to be a bit sparse.
Interestingly, it was Rondo who put up a triple-double in the last meeting of these two squads. It will be interesting to see if a depleted roster and Rondo’s performance against the Cavaliers last month will create the perfect recipe for the return of Rondo. They’ve got to do something with him and it he ends up sitting out this game, you can bet that I’ll have at least one trade piece for where he can go next since the one place that he can’t seem to go is on the court for Hoiberg.
Nov 22, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg reacts after a play in the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Predictions
This game is all Cleveland. That is the furthest thing from a dig at the Bulls. The Cavaliers are so much better than every other team in the Eastern Conference that they have the luxury of taking off a huge chunk of the season from actually trying.
If LeBron were LeBroning, but the rest of the team were a dud, he’d probably still be in Miami or in Los Angeles or somewhere other than Cleveland where he already had to deal with the futility of carrying mediocre teams on his back. I think Butler is getting a mild taste of what that is like, though he’s not making any trips to the Finals in the immediate future. At least, not with Chicago.
Of course, LeBron is still the King of Cleveland, but he’s got a lot of help now. Kevin Love is playing his best basketball since his Timberwolves days. Kyrie Irving has been playing some fantastic basketball, loves the big moment.
The Cavs are stacked and the Bulls are not.
The potential Chicago lineups if Wade and Valentine are both out are pretty amusing. They could start MCW-Butler-Doug McDermott-Taj Gibson-Robin Lopez and run a second unit of Jerian Grant-Nikola Mirotic-Cristiano Felicio-Isaiah Canaan and then either Bobby Portis or Paul Zipser. I mean, it’s going to be fun, Portis had 10 DNP-CDs in December and three of his appearances had a combined total of less than 12 minutes.
The upside is that Butler thrived with an open, well-spaced floor around him when Wade and Rondo both sat against the Hornets. It also helped that the Hornets were without their starting center, Cody Zeller. That was a real issue for them, but Butler did well either way. It would be awfully interesting if he was able to repeat the performance in Cleveland.
Score: 98-81
Player of the Game: Kyrie Irving
Winner: Cleveland Cavaliers
I’d love to watch this game with confidence that the Bulls can repeat the win they put up a month earlier, but this team isn’t going to be the same team. However, Cleveland is the same dominant side that they have been almost every time out this season. This is a big game for the future of Chicago, Rondo, and Hoiberg. It’s can’t-miss Bulls basketball.