With both teams coming off tough performances and looking to get back on the winning side of things, the basketball-world will be in for quite the contest. The Bulls lost their last game to the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, 96-90 at home, while Cleveland has lost their last two games -- including their contest last night at home to the Los Angeles Clippers, by a score of 113-94. The Bulls are currently sitting at third in the East at 10-7, while the Cavs are still in the top spot, owning an overall record of 13-4 and have still won seven of their last 10 games.
Despite not making the postseason at all last season, while Lebron led Cleveland to the promised-land, Head Coach Fred Hoiberg saw his Bulls win all three games in the head-to-head department against the Cavaliers, and is hoping to see some more of the same on Friday night -- except this time, it will be behind a new, revamped roster that has the rest of the league taking notice. Even with the unexpected loss to the Lakers on Wednesday as double-digit favorites, the Bulls are one of the best teams in the league according to the numbers, both offensively and defensively.
Butler, who has continued to take his game to another level through the first 17 games of the season, is averaging 25.6 points per game, as well as 6.5 rebounds and four assists. He'll have his hands full in this game though, as he'll once again get the job of defending King James, in a game that you know he will be looking to bounce back in and play some of that scary-good basketball that everybody expects from him night-in and night-out. One thing we know for sure of though? This is one of Jimmy Buckets' favorite head-to-head matchups to play in, as he has always been known to give Lebron fits and play him as tough as anybody else in the game.
Another aspect to look forward to in this rivalry though? D-Wade. This will be the first time that Flash has taken apart in this rivalry as a member of his hometown squad, and after the sluggish performance on Wednesday night, he will be out for blood himself, too. He has always been up for these big games, but in front of a sold-out, rowdy crowd at the United Center? It doesn't get any better than this -- especially as a fan of the Bulls.
Despite the impressive start though, there are still a lot of non-believers and doubters of this current Bulls team -- and in a way, I still can still see why. Having said that, while this isn't much more than just another regular season game, it's certainly fair to say that it's much more than that to the home team. It always is when you're up against the number one team in your way, especially when Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving and Lebron are on the opposing side -- but there is no doubt that this is a statement game of sorts for the Bulls. With the revamped roster and the team meshing as well as they have, this is a good opportunity for the Bulls to send an early-season message to the defending champions -- and to let them know, we'll be ready to compete in the long-haul and come playoff time. The best rivalry in the Eastern Conference is finally ready to renew itself!
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