Game 34: Bulls @ Cavs, Wednesday, January 4, 2017, 8:00 PM EST: ESPN

[The Wizard of Moz]

Your Eastern Conference Leading Defending Champions Cleveland Cavaliers
26-7(18-2 at home)
Streak:3W

Head Coach: Tyronn Lue (53-21, 100% of teams coached have won a championship)

Probable starting lineup (Kyrie is questionable with a hamstring injury)

PG-Kyrie Irving- 23.9 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 6 APG

View: https://twitter.com/demeatloaf/status/816398200806506496


SG- DeAndre "the man with no gifs" Liggins 3 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 1.2 APG

SF- LeBron James- 25.6 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 8.6APG

PF- Kevin Love- 21.8 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 1.7 APG

C- Tristan Thompson- 7.1 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 1.21 BPG

The 17-18 Chicago Bulls (6-11 on the road)

Streak: 1W

Head Coach: Fred Hoidberg (59-58, literally 0% of teams coached have won a championship lmao)

PG- Rajon Rondo?

Couldn't find definitive info on whether or not his timeout is over

Dwayne Wade SG (questionable with a bulky knee)- 18.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.7 APG

James "I got 22 free throws last night" Butler SF- 25.3PPG, 6.8 RPG, 4.4APG

PF- Taj Gibson 11.9 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.1 BPG

C- Robin Lopez- 9.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.7 BPG

Injuries

Cavs

Kyrie Irving - Hamstring - Questionable

J.R. Smith - Thumb - OUT

Chris Andersen - ACL - OUT

Mo Williams - Treason - OUT​

Mike Dunleavy - ankle - Questionable

Kevin Love - illness - questionable

Heat

Dwayne Wade- Knee- Questionable

Rajon Rondo- Being an all around shitty teammate- questionable

Denzel Valentine- ankle- OUT

Trade Rumors

View: https://twitter.com/samesfandiari/status/816355193310748672


Team stat comparisons

 

[Otsego Mar]

If the starting line-up ends up being Felder, Liggins, Jefferson, Frye, Thompson, do we lose by more than 20?

 

[JMoneyYourHoney]

If the starting line-up ends up being Felder, Liggins, Jefferson, Frye, Thompson, do we lose by more than 20?

We beat our own record against the Heat for most lopsided victory.

 

[melecoaze]

Meh this one might be unwatchable;

 

[Andrew]

No game is unwatchable to me, I will be on my couch rooting for whoever is out there playing. It just means if its no body playing for either squad really its ESPN being pissed off they decided to air it.

 

[MoFlo]

View: https://twitter.com/clevezirm/status/816755048600498176

 

[stick]

The Bulls are not a great scoring team (23rd in the NBA), however without Ky, Kev, and Bron (if they all really don't play), neither are the Cavs. We've had a taste of this setup when the Cavs played Memphis (another low scoring team) without any of the Big 3, unsurprisingly Cleveland lost, surprisingly... the game was relatively close.

In order to win this one without the Big 3;
- Liggins needs to slow down Jimmy Butler just enough
- At least two players need to step up the scoring (Kay? Shump?) with around 17+ points
- There needs to be some semblance of shot creation for the shooters to get clean looks (James Jones, Frye, etc.)
- TT needs to control the glass (Chicago is the best rebounding team in the NBA)

Obviously the factors are against this team, but there's a chance, especially at home, to steal this one. Chicago isn't exactly the most consistent team either...

I expect a low-scoring grind it out affair that could swing to the Bulls just because of the Butler factor. However...

If LeBron suits up, this should be a victory regardless.

 

[Meny]

God I hope at least Lebron plays, gonna be a real battle inside the paint.

 

[JMoneyYourHoney]

God I hope at least Lebron plays, gonna be a real battle inside the paint.

I hope he doesn't. Even with our whole team intact it's a real struggle to beat the Bulls. Playing LeBron with a bunch of bench players seems pointless.

May as well concede this one and hope to have everybody fresh for the road trip.

 

[MoFlo]

View: https://twitter.com/twithersAP/status/816785946452643840

 

[Walter White]

It is a televised game, so LeBron is probably trying hard to play. But if he doesn't feel well, don't bother. He would have to carry the team, which is a draining task completely healthy.

But him and Wade will probably decide together what they want to do. If Wade plays, LeBron probably will too.

 

[Otsego Mar]

No Edwin tonight. Maybe an Ed... But no Win.

 

[malus]

I just wanna see Felder continue to put good games together.

 

[iWx]

Raptors losing 3 out of 4 gave us a little breathing room. Their next four are against Jazz, then B2B with Bulls/Rockets, then the Celtics.

Glad to see them getting rest. Hopefully Lebron sits.

 

[godfather]

Just dont play LB. As great as he is, and he's sick, I don't think we are winning this game tonight.