Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 Keys To Game 2 vs. Chicago Bulls

With the Cleveland Cavaliers staring an 0-2 hole in the face, what are five keys to a victory over the Chicago Bulls?

Make no mistake about it — the Cleveland Cavaliers have to treat Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal against the Chicago Bulls as if it’s a Game 7 situation. Losing the first two games at home and winning a series isn’t an unprecendented feat, but it’s a rarity as only the 1969 Los Angeles Lakers, the 1994 Houston Rockets and the 2005 Dallas Mavericks have done so.

Cleveland will again play with a depleted bench, as J.R. Smith finishes out his two-game suspension. Kevin Love is long gone and as reported by NBA.com, the Cavs will shake up their starting five, with Tristan Thompson getting the nod.

Let’s take a look at the five keys to tonight’s game for Cleveland.

Stick LeBron In A Time Machine

Remember the last time LeBron James found himself losing the first game of a playoff series against the Bulls? It was in 2012-13 with the Miami Heat, when the Bulls marched into Miami and got 27 points from Nate Robinson to knock off the Heat 93-86. James went just 8-for-17 from the field for 24 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

Game 2 went a little differently, as the Heat bludgeoned the Bulls — beating them by 37 points (115-78). James made it look easy with 19 points on 12 shots, five rebounds, nine assists and three steals. His Heat squad shot 60 percent for the game and held the Bulls to just 35.5 percent. LeBron got punched in the gut in Game 1 and came back with a completely focused effort — with the whole team locked in — and he righted the ship. That’s the LeBron the Cavs need tonight.

Sprint To The 3-Point Line

For the regular season, the Cavs allowed the opposition to shoot 34.3 percent from the 3-point line (9th in league). The Cavs don’t have a strong inside presence, so it’s understandable that in Game 1 they’d sag more often than not against a Bulls team that was mediocre in 2014-15, making 7.9 threes per game (15th in league).

What happened was the Bulls got started fast, hitting 5-of-7 in the first quarter and never let up. The Bulls made 10-of-18 from outside the arc, which tied their best percentage (.556) of the season in games where they made 10 or more, along with their Game 4 performance against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Even though the Cavs will be leaving themselves more vulnerable on the inside, the Bulls have shown that they deserve respect from the outside. Sitting back and letting them fire away will be a recipe for disaster.

Shake Off The Rust

Prior to Game 1, the Cavs last played on Sunday, April 26. That seven-day rest period turned into a rust period, as Cleveland came out flat on both ends of the court. The Cavs shot just 25 percent in the first quarter, as they dug themselves a 12-point deficit in the first 12 minutes.

Then, as the rust started to chip off, Cleveland shot 52.4 and 52.6 percent in the second and third quarters, respectively. The problem was, they had to expend all of their energy just to get back into the game. Once the fourth quarter hit, both teams were spent and the Cavs couldn’t hit a shot to save their lives — going just 1-for-9 from the 3-point line.

It wasn’t so much that the Cavs couldn’t get shots, they just couldn’t make them — they went just 11-for-33 (33.3 percent) for the game in uncontested shots.

Athletes are creatures of habit. It will be good for the Cavs to get back into a regular routine instead of having so much time off. They’ll need to start quick to avoid another spot where they’re burning it out to climb back into the game.

Crisp Rotations

This key plays into both of the previous two keys, as defensive rotations are what will make or break the Cavaliers defense. They were a step slow in Game 1, which resulted in too many uncontested shots for the Bulls. Unlike the Cavs, the Bulls took advantage of those open looks, nailing 61 percent of their 41 attempts.

Let’s recap — the Bulls got eight more open looks and made 14 more of their shots. I don’t care how good a team is, you’re going to struggle if you’re taking contested jumpers and allowing open ones.

Of note — the Bulls passed the ball 58 more times than the Cavs, resulting in six more assists and seven secondary assists (when a pass leads to a pass that is an assist). If Cleveland can’t rotate, the Bulls will pick them apart and continue getting open looks.

Keep Pounding It Inside

When looking at these two squads, you’d almost certainly think the Bulls would have a huge advantage on the interior. Between Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol, there’s no way the Cavs would be able to get an advantage in the paint, right? Wrong.

The Cavs housed the Bulls 46-24 in points in the paint and held steady on second chance points, with each team getting 17. The idea behind the Cavs offense was to pound it inside, get the Bulls’ bigs in foul trouble and make them play a smaller lineup.

What happened was the Bulls played solid, tough defense and didn’t have a single player with more than three fouls for the game. LeBron attempted just two foul shots and was harassed into six turnovers. Gasol defended 17 shots at the rim, allowing just seven makes (41.2 percent). The fact that he was whistled for just one foul is a testament to how terrific a game he played.

Was it an aberration or do the Bulls just play that terrific of defense at the rim? Well, both. The Bulls were No. 2 in the league defending inside of six feet, allowing 56.9 percent from there. If the Cavs could have shot that, they’d have won the game.

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