Cleveland Cavs Eastern Conference Finals

After a tremendous first 5 games of the Cleveland Cavaliers-Chicago Bulls series, Game 6 was the opposite of the first 5 games. Expecting another down-to-the wire game and maybe a Chicago win to force Game 7, Game 6 was everything but that. Derrick Rose started off really hot, scoring 10 in the first quarter, which led many to believe that he would play hero again and force a game 7 with a tremendous effort. After that first quarter he hardly did anything. He finished with 14 points on 7/16 with no FTs made or attempted. One could make the argument that the only Chicago player that played halfway decent was Jimmy Butler, but even he shot very poorly at 8/22 and posting a -25 +/- rating. The Bulls' front court was a non-factor as well. Combining for just 21 points between Noah, Gasol, Gibson, and Mirotic, the Bulls were destroyed by Tristan Thompson, who recorded a career best 17 rebounds.

With Kevin Love out and Kyrie Irving twisting his knee/ankle in the 2nd quarter, you would think LeBron was going to have to carry the team on his back and have another remark game like Game 5. No, not this game. He had another horrible shooting night, but excelled in other areas, nearly notching a triple double with 11 assists and 9 rebounds to go with his 15 points. His teammates finally stepped up and played great. The small-ball game plan worked. The line up of Thompson, James, Shumpert, Smith, and Dellavedova was the line up that pushed the lead past 20. All the players in the line up had a +/- of +19 or better. Cleveland's bench was the key to winning Game 6. All the Cavs' role players played great, including James Jones who came off the bench to knock down 3 three pointers in the game.

After a competitive half, both teams came out of halftime with no offense. At one point, the teams were shooting a combined 3-23 6 minutes into the 3rd quarter. It was horrendous basketball to watch. The lack of a comeback by the Bulls helped lock the win in for the Cavs, as the 4th quarter was very undramatic as well.

Moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals for the Cavs is something Cleveland hasn't done since you guessed it: when Lebron led them there in 2009 in his last game as a Cavalier before going to the Miami Heat. Making it to the ECF marks 5 consecutive seasons for Mr. James as he waits to find out who his next opponent will be. This one will be different though. He has a new team, full of young stars and a few veterans. The young guys like Kyrie, TT, Dellavedova, and Shumpert have never made it this far, let alone played in the playoffs besides Shumpert. This will be another true test against a very talented and defensive minded Washington Wizards or a tough, well round team that plays great team basketball in the Atlanta Hawks. Either team will definitely test the Cavs to the brink, but I believe the Cavs have what it takes to make it to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2007.