Round 1 of Cavs-Bulls is going down on Wednesday in CLE

On Wednesday, down in Miami, the Cleveland Cavaliers embarked on what is arguably their most difficult month of the season. It feels like the schedule makers still have a vendetta against the Cavs for making the finals 4 straight years (2015-2018). The difficulty of December began on Sunday with the start of five games in seven days, including two sets of back-to-backs.

The first back-to-back against Utah and Milwaukee was arguably the biggest test of the season to this point. The middle game of this difficult five-game stretch will be Round 1 against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Round 1 of Cavs-Bulls is going down on Wednesday in Cleveland, and this looks to be a fun one.

Being that the Cavaliers and the Bulls are Central Division rivals, the two teams will play each other four times. As stated earlier, Round 1 between the Cavs and Bulls will be Wednesday night at RMFH. Round 2 is going down on Jan. 19 at the United Center in Chicago. Round 3 will be on March 12 in Chicago, and finally, Round 4 will be on March 26 back at RMFH.

Going into this season, Chicago looked like the most intriguing opponent on the Cavs schedule. Early on, that is looking to be correct. The Bulls are 17-8, and second in the Eastern Conference. When Chicago brought together Lonzo Ball, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic, they were expected to be contenders. But my guess is that not many people expected them to be like this.

Let’s flip it over to the other side and take a look at the Cavaliers. Before the season, I don’t think many fans and experts were expecting the Cavs to be anywhere near the playoffs or the play-in tournament for that matter. But guess what? The Cavs are 13-12 and sit in ninth place in the East. So if the season ended tonight, they would be in the play-in tournament.

The Central Division has been so top-heavy in recent years. When LeBron James was in Cleveland, it was basically a formality that the Cavs were going to win. the division. Given what the Milwaukee Bucks have done in recent years, it has felt the same way. But this season, it certainly doesn’t feel like a formality.

The Cavs have only played two division games thus far and they are 1-1. The Bulls have played three division games so far and they’re 2-1. Given that your record against divisional rivals is a huge proponent of who gets crowned as champions of the division. But that makes Round 1 of Bulls versus Cavaliers and the overall season series that much more important.

The Cavs appear to be catching the Bulls at the right time as Chicago is down several players. Chicago is going to be without DeRozan, Alex Caruso, Coby White, Javonte Green, and they’re already without Patrick Williams. Meanwhile, the Cavs are relatively healthy as Dean Wade is doubtful and Collin Sexton has been out since early November.

Although he was the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, it still seems fair to call Evan Mobley the X-factor in this matchup. Right now Mobley is averaging 14.6 points, 2.6 assists, and has shot 46.5 percent, and 33.3 percent from 3-point range. Mobley has been a good foil to Jarrett Allen because Mobley plays more of that mid-range/face-up game, and can step out to the three-point line. Whereas Allen plays down low in the post with his back to the basket some and is a terrific roller/screener.

How does that make Mobley the X-factor? Well, it’s because it kind of cancels out what Vucevic can do on the offensive end for Chicago. So although they won’t be guarding each other much, that is still a matchup to watch.

The other interesting matchup to watch is when Isaac Okoro is matched up defensively on LaVine when Chicago has it. Okoro is not a player that’s going to put up big numbers, clearly, but he is a strong defender and puts in a good effort there, and can create headaches for the opponent. LaVine has come a long way with his game as he has become a bit of an assassin from the mid-range game and at other levels.

You put all these ingredients in a bowl and you stir it up, and what comes out should be a fantastic battle all season long. That starts Wednesday night in Cleveland.