The Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls both have NBA Finals aspirations. Both teams made significant roster upgrades in the offseason in hopes of being a contending team come playoff time. The Bulls have ended the past two seasons with disappointment following injuries to Derek Rose. The Cavaliers have not seen the playoffs since LeBron James' first stint with the team. As the season approaches, the Bulls and Cavaliers face off in a preseason matchup to test their new roster adjustments.
According to James, the Bulls are a better team than Cleveland at this very moment. Could that change mid-season? Yes, but for now a majority of the Bulls projected starting five have been playing together with the exception of Pau Gasol. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers have a brand new starting lineup that have not gotten the chance to all be on the court at the same time.
James believes this is the most important preseason game for the Cavaliers in terms of chemistry. James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving will all be on the court together for the first against a real NBA team. James knows that chemistry will be a major factor in the team's success in 2014 and it may take some time to adjust.
"[The Bulls] are a team that's much better than us right now just off chemistry," James said, via ESPN.com. "They've been together for a while, we've got a long way to go. You've got to go through something to create a bond; that means for the worse. We've got to lose ballgames that we think we should've won, we've got to get into an argument every now and then just to test each other out."
Individually, the Cavaliers have looked impressive, but they have yet to really show anything as a total unit. James and Love were acquired in the offseason along with several other veterans to hopefully get the Cavaliers back into contention in the playoffs. The Bulls added Gasol along with Nikola Mirotic and a few rookies. Their starting five has plenty of experience together while Derrick Rose returns healthy, the most important acquisition of them all. This preseason does not mean anything win or lose for either team, but it is a good look at what is to come in the Eastern Conference.
