NBA Playoffs 2015: 10 reasons Cavaliers will beat Bulls
By Josh Hill
Timofey Mozgov Is A Monster
When the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Timofey Mozgov from the Denver Nuggets, they finally grabbed the player the needed all season long. Anderson Varejao was not going to become an elite defender for the Cavaliers, and we would be talking about how he is going to get gobbled up by the Bulls bigs.
Instead, Mozgov is a formidable opponent for Chicago, and is going to play the Ivan Drago role to Joakim Noah’s Rocky. Mozgov doesn’t mess around in the paint, as he may not be the best scoring center in the league but he’s the rim protector that the Cavalier needed for this specific scenario.
It’s now time for Cleveland to prove that getting Mozgov was the right move and that his defense will spark the Cavs down low to keep points in the paint off the board for Chicago.
Bulls Response: Acquiring Mozgov was definitely an upgrade from Anderson Varejao. But then again, just about any big man who can play semi-decent defense was better than Varejao. I will give Mozgov this, he will force multiple bad shots in the post by Joakim Noah, and probably force Derrick Rose to drive and kick a few more times than he really would like to. But the reality is he just isn’t a good enough defender to stop Pau Gasol. When Gasol gets on the block, his post moves can fool even the best of defenders. Not to mention his ability to step outside and knock down a mid-range shot. My thinking is that Mozgov is good, but just not good enough to handle Gasol.
Read more reasons why the Bulls will beat the Cavaliers here.
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