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NBA Playoffs 2015: 10 reasons Chicago Bulls will beat Cleveland Cavaliers

By FanSided Staff

Feb 12, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Pau Gasol (16) shoots the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) during the first quarter at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 12, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Pau Gasol (16) shoots the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) during the first quarter at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 25, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) celebrates in the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 25, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) celebrates in the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

J.R. Smith Is Out, Bulls Can Jump Out to Lead

Another detrimental blow to the Cavs lineup comes in the form of a suspension rather than an injury. In response to Kevin Love getting his shoulder yanked out of place in game four of the Boston Celtics series by Kelly Olynyk, J.R. Smith intentionally whacked Jae Crowder in the face. This led to a two game suspension and has further opened the door for the Bulls to steal the first couple games of the series.

Not having J.R. in the lineup means a couple things for the Cavs. For one, they get to go with a more defensively sounds starting lineup. Iman Shumpert getting the nod at shooting guard means Jimmy Butler will have to earn his points all night, rather than getting in a shootout with J.R. Smith. This also means the Cavs will sacrifice a heavy load of scoring.

In the last match up with the Bulls, J.R. Smith went off making 8 threes and scoring 24 points in Cleveland’s five-point win. If you watched that game you saw how every difficult three pointer made by J.R., the Bulls got absolutely deflated which ultimately led to their third loss of the season to the Cavs.

Not having J.R. in the lineup makes the Bulls not only the clear favorite in games one and two but almost a for sure thing. The Cavs just don’t have enough offensive weapons to go without JR Smith. I respect the man for standing up for his teammate. But he might have just cost his team any hopes at winning a NBA championship.

Cavaliers Response: J.R. Smith takes a ton of shots, but his selection often times leads to at least 10 points being scored over the course of a game. That’s his playoff PPG average at the moment, and not having those 9.8ppg is going to hurt. Still, the Cavaliers have to make up their scoring in other places, and having Kyrie and LeBron account for more than half their points on a given night no doubt helps out a lot. This will be a tough one for the Cavaliers to overcome, and it might be the factor that extends this series a full seven games. Read more reasons why Cavaliers will beat the Bulls here.

Next: Bulls Defense Will Win Games

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