The Cavaliers won a hard fought battle with the Bulls last night to move on to the next round of the NBA Playoffs. Antwan Jamison led the way for the Cavs last night with 25 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. LeBron James filled up the stat sheet with 19 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 blocked shots. Delonte West was solid off the bench in this game with 16 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists in 31 minutes. Shaquille O’Neal was solid around the basket with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in 26 minutes on 7 of 9 shooting from the floor. The Cavaliers win this series 4-1 and they will start up against the Boston Celtics in Round #2 of the playoffs starting Saturday in Cleveland.

The Cavaliers punished the Bulls yesterday as they shot 53.2% from the floor while holding the Bulls to 37.4% shooting from the floor which helps explain the scoreboard. LeBron James was unstoppable for the Cavs yesterday as he got a impressive triple double with 37 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and 2 steals. Antwan Jamison backed up LeBron with 24 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocked shots. Mo Williams pitched in with 19 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in this game. Anthony Parker (12 points) and J.J. Hickson (10 points) both pitched in offensively for the Cavaliers yesterday. The Cavaliers are now up 3-1 in this series as they will be looking to put the Bulls away in Game #5.

The Cavaliers didn’t play any defense last night as the Bulls shot 50% from the floor and they dug too big of a hole in this game to come all the way back and win it. The Cavaliers woke up outscoring the Bulls 38-29 as the “Cleveland Sucks” chants seemed to fire up the team. LeBron James was outstanding as usual last night as he finished up with 39 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocked shots. Mo Williams did a solid job also last night with 21 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Antwan Jamison was very tough inside as he finished up with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 2 assists last night. The Cavaliers are now up 2-1 in this series as the Bulls now have their full attention.

The Bulls planned to get more physical last night and all it did was tick off LeBron James. James is averaging 40.5 minutes, 32.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.0 steal and 3.0 blocked shots per game in this series. Let’s see how Chicago likes having the shoe on the other foot as they don’t have Michael Jordan anymore. No matter what the Cavs tried they couldn’t stop him in his prime and the Bulls have absolutely no chance of stopping King James. James Johnson tried to get physical and he got posterized. Enjoy your short stay in the playoffs, Bulls’ fans.

The Bulls stuck with the Cavs for three quarters before the Cavs swatted them like a fly on the wall. The Cavaliers outscored the Bulls 35-25 in the 4th quarter pulling away from the Bulls. The Cavaliers shot 56.3% from the floor in this game and they were 10 of 20 from three point range. LeBron James led the way for the Cavs last night with 40 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots on 16 of 23 shooting from the floor. Antwan Jamison (14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists) and Mo Williams (12 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists) both helped out offensively for the Cavs last night. But, Jamario Moon was awesome last night as he and LeBron really led the Cavs down the stretch last night to victory. He scored 12 points, grabbed 3 rebounds and he blocked 2 shots last night but it was his shooting that was off the hook as he hit 4 of 5 shots from three point range stabbing the Bulls with daggers in the 4th quarter. The Cavaliers are up 2-0 in this series as it shifts to Chicago.

The Cavaliers thumped the Bulls in the first half of this game before letting their feet off the gas pedal allowing the Bulls to cut the lead to 7 in the 4th quarter before putting them away. LeBron James led the way for the Cavaliers as usual with 24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 4 blocked shots. Mo Williams had a great offensive game for the Cavs finishing with 19 points, 4 rebounds and 10 assists. Antwan Jamison was solid around the basket finishing with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocked shots today. Shaquille O’Neal looked solid in his first game in a couple of months finishing with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocked shots in only 25 minutes on the court. Anderson Varejao was outstanding off the bench bringing a lot of energy to the court finishing with 8 points, 15 rebounds and 2 steals in 32 minutes in this game. The Cavaliers are up 1-0 in this series.

The Bulls played their butts off to get to the playoffs but now they must face the big dog in the Eastern Conference. Joakim Noah has tried to get into LeBron James’ head but it has just appeared to tick him off. Here’s a breakdown of the matchups in this series:

POINT GUARD: Derrick Rose proved that his Rookie of the Year Award was no fluke as he was outstanding all year long. He played in 78 games (all starts) for the Bulls this season and he averaged 36.8 minutes, 20.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. With him being a mis-match offensively with Mo Williams I fully anticipate the Cavs to use Anthony Parker to defend him in this series. Rose will need to be a little more selfish that usual in this series as points will be hard to come by against a Cavs’ team that prides itself on defense. Still, look for Rose to have a good series.

The Cavaliers counter with Mo Williams. Williams played in 69 games (68 starts) for the Cavaliers last season and he averaged 34.2 minutes, 15.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Williams is not a pure point guard as he likes to shoot the ball. The Bulls cannot afford to leave Williams open or they will pay in this series.

EDGE: BULLS

SHOOTING GUARD: Kirk Hinrich has been really playing solid basketball lately but he had a poor year overall for the Bulls. He played in 74 games (53 starts) for the Bulls last season in which he averaged 33.5 minutes, 10.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Hinrich is a shooting guard/point guard mix type of player so he is a pretty good passer who will look to set up other players.

Anthony Parker will be starting at shooting guard for the Cavaliers. He is a defense first player but he can hurt the opposition if they leave him wide open for a three. Parker played in 81 games (all starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he averaged 28.3 minutes, 7.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Parker will likely be guarding Derrick Rose defensively in this series.

EDGE: BULLS

CENTER: Joakim Noah really stepped up down the stretch when the Bulls really need him to. He played in 64 games (54 starts) for the Bulls this season and he averaged 30.1 minutes, 10.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 blocked shots per game. Noah is like the Energy Bunny as he just keeps playing all out when he is on the basketball court. The Cavs will come at him in waves at center as Shaquille O’Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varejao and J.J. Hickson all could be on hit at one point or another.

Shaquille O’Neal hasn’t played in quite a while but his focus this year was to win a “Ring for the King”. With that in mind I look him to own the paint in this series when he is on the basketball court (about 20 minutes per game). He has played in 53 games (all starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he averaged 23.4 minutes, 12.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. O’Neal will rise to the challenge as he always steps up with the bright lights of the playoffs on.

EDGE: CAVALIERS

POWER FORWARD: Taj Gibson had a great rookie season. He played in 82 games (70 starts) for the Bulls this year and he averaged 26.9 minutes, 9.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game. Gibson will have to use his athletic ability to try to outplay Antwan Jamison but I don’t think he will.

Antwan Jamison was brought in specifically for the playoffs. He has played in 25 games (23 starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he is averaging 32.4 minutes, 15.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Jamison knows all of the tricks and I’m sure he’ll use them in this series. His elbow is a big reason the Bulls are in the playoffs as it broke Chris Bosh’s face up.

EDGE: CAVALIERS

SMALL FORWARD: The Bulls really like Luol Deng but he will have his hands full working against a well rested LeBron James. Deng played in 70 games (69 starts) for the Bulls this season and he averaged 37.9 minutes, 17.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He must make James work on defense or the Bulls are going to be in serious trouble in this series.

LeBron James is simply the best player on the planet and he is going to be highly motivated in this series to shut up Joakim Noah’s trap. James played in 76 games (all starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he averaged 39.0 minutes, 29.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.0 blocked shot per game. He will score as many points in this series as he wants because the Bulls have no one who can stop him, period!

EDGE: HUGE FOR THE CAVALIERS

BENCH: The Bulls would be smart to keep the bench short using only Flip Murray, Brad Miller and Hakim Warrick in this series. Miller will be needed to most out of this bunch to deal with the incredible depth the Cavs have along the front line. Miller played in 82 games (37 starts) for the Bulls this year and he averaged 23.8 minutes, 8.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Hakim Warrick will also be likely needed a lot in this series. He played in 28 games (0 starts) for the Bulls after coming over from the Bucks in a trade and he averaged 19.0 minutes, 8.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Flip Murray will be needed for instant offense off the bench. He played in 29 games (1 start) after coming over from the Bobcats in the Tyrus Thomas trade and he averaged 23.4 minutes, 10.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Jannero Pargo, James Johnson and Acie Law won’t likely get much P.T. in this series.

The Cavaliers have the deepest bench in the NBA without a doubt as Sebastian Telfair and Leon Powe probably won’t be on the first round roster. It will be interesting to see how coach Mike Brown spreads out the minutes on the frontcourt with Shaq back. Anderson Varejao, J.J. Hickson and Zydrunas Ilgauskas would all be starters for a lot of teams in the NBA but they will be coming off the bench in this series. This is bad news for the Bulls. Hickson is the most ahtletic of this bunch for the Cavs. He played in 81 games (73 starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he averaged 20.9 minutes, 8.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. But he could still be the odd man out. Anderson Varejao is the Cavs’ version of Joakim Noah as he goes all out, all of the time. Varejao played in 76 games (7 starts) for the Cavs this season and he averaged 28.5 minutes, 8.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Zydrunas Ilgauskas gives the Cavs great length off the bench as he is a legit 7-footer. He played in 64 games (6 starts) for the Cavs this season and he averaged 20.0 minutes, 7.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Delonte West will be the Cavs’ #3 guard in this series and he will likely get a lot of P.T. West played in 60 games (3 starts) for the Cavs in which he averaged 25.0 minutes, 8.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Daniel Gibson, Jamario Moon and Jawad Williams will likely round out the roster for the Cavs and they have all started games for them this season and are quality players.

EDGE: HUGE FOR CAVALIERS

COACH: Vinny Del Negro is under fire in Chicago, but give him credit for getting the Bulls into the playoffs this season. The Bulls finished this year 41-41 and they are 82-82 in Del Negro’s two years as a NBA head coach. He also almost pulled a upset in the first round last season taking the Celtics to seven games.

Mike Brown always seems to have the Cavs ready for early playoff series. He led the Cavs to the best record in the NBA (61-21, .744) this season earning them a shot to play the Bulls. In his five years in Cleveland the Cavs have a 272-138 record (66.3%) in the regular season and they are 36-24 (60%) in the post-season.

EDGE: CAVALERS

PREDICTION: The Cavaliers are focused to win a “Ring for the King” and I don’t see them overlooking the Bulls not even in one game. I like the Cavaliers to pummel the Bulls in 4 games.

22-year old SG/SF Danny Green didn’t get much P.T. in his rookie year for the Cavaliers. He played in 20 games (0 starts) for the Cavaliers this season in which he averaged 5.8 minutes, 2.0 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Green showed enough ability in his short stints for the Cavs to bring him back next season.

The Cavs rested Mo Williams, Shaq and LeBron in this game so it’s no surprise that they lost last night in Atlanta. The Cavs didn’t play much defense as they Hawks shot 54.4% from the floor and they outrebounded the Cavs 42-35 which helps explain the scoreboard. Jamario Moon led the way for the Cavaliers last night with 15 points, 7 rebouinds, 1 assist and 2 steals in 31 minutes on the court. J.J. Hickson pitched in with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Sebastian Telfair had 8 points, 1 rebound and 5 assists in 24 minutes off the bench last night. The Cavaliers finish the regular season with a 61-21 record and they draw the 41-41 Bulls in the first round of the playoffs which starts this weekend.

The Cavaliers didn’t have LeBron James, Shaq or Anthony Parker in this game so you have to take the result with a grain of salt. But the Cavaliers that did play tried to do everything they could do to win this game despite being overmatched. Delonte West led the way for the Cavs today with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists in 30 minutes off the bench. Antwan Jamison was sharp when he was on the court finishing with 19 points and 6 rebounds in only 29 minutes on the court. Mo Williams did a great job of running the offense today with 19 points, 2 rebounds and 9 assists in only 28 minutes. Jamario Moon got the start at shooting guard today and he had a solid game finishing with 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals in 39 minutes on the court. The Cavaliers are now 61-20 and they are on a three game losing streak.