Live Thread: Cavs vs. Bulls (#Bullish)

On December 4th, the Cavaliers took down the Bulls in Chicago to win their 12th straight on their 13 game winning streak. Two games later, the Bulls started an impressive win streak of their own, ripping off seven in a row, including wins over some of the better teams in the EC like Boston and Milwaukee. What’s changed for the bullish Bulls? Nikola Mirotic returned after missing the first 23 games of the season with injuries suffered from getting punched in the face by teammate Bobby Portis. The two must have patched things up, since they now anchor a suddenly formidable bench unit for Chicago. Mirotic, a known thorn in the Cavs’ side, has averaged 19.6 ppg over the stretch with 7.7 rpg, while shooting a robust 52% from the floor (49% from three). The Bulls have also gotten improved play from PG Kris Dunn and SG David Nwaba since he returned from injury.

All that to say, the Cavs probably shouldn’t be sleeping on the stampeding Bulls going into tonight’s final home game of 2017. Even though Chicago played last night (and the Cavs rested), none of them played more than 29 minutes in their win over the Magic, so they shouldn’t be overly tired. Despite losing a close one to the Bucks on Tuesday, the Cavs have still been one of the hottest teams in the League over the last month, and with no games scheduled until Christmas Day, they should have no excuses for not giving maximum effort. Speaking of bullishness, the second unit should be feeling their oats again tonight after they dragged the team back from a 20 point deficit in the fourth quarter against Milwaukee. They’ll need to work hard again tonight to counter what Mirotic and Portis have been doing off the Bulls’ bench.

And, one more reason for the Cavs to feel bullish… they finally got some 5-on-5 practice time in for Isaiah Thomas (with the visiting Canton Charge) today, and he seems to be champing at the bit to get back onto the floor in game action.

Guess the G League scrimmage went well. https://t.co/fnc9ntoMRy

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 21, 2017

Prediction: The Bulls run wild to an early lead, but the Cavs wear them out ultimately to rope themselves a 118-112 victory.

Catch all the action starting at 7pm EST on FSO… and as always chime in here with your thoughts…