Becoming A Team
2014-10-20
LeBron James has come out and stated that he thinks the Bulls are the more battle tested team in the East. While some may think LeBron is admitting that he believes the Bulls are a better team, that is not really the case. Brian Windhorst reported on LeBron’s thoughts today.
“[The Bulls] are a team that’s much better than us right now just off chemistry,” James said. “They’ve been together for awhile, we’ve got a long way to go.”
“You’ve got to go through something to create a bond; that means for the worse,” James said. “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.”
LeBron also had comments about facing issues as they arise during the season.
“It has to happen. I know it is going to happen,” James said. “A lot of guys don’t see it, but I see it. That’s the only way we’re going to be able to grow. You don’t define yourself during the good times, you define yourself through the bad times. That’s for the players and the coaching staff as well.”
The Cavs will face the Bulls tonight at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. This will be the first time the Cavs big three get to start together against an NBA team. This could be the start of a historic rivalry, and LeBron is saying the right things at this point to make sure he doesn’t jinx the team.
LeBron isn’t going to go all out and say the Cavs are definitively anything yet in the Eastern Conference, especially against a Bulls team that features Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose, and Pau Gasol. The Bulls are also coached by Tom Thibodeau; Thibodeau designed the Boston defenses as an assistant coach in both of the years the Celtics took the LeBron led Cavs out in the playoffs. The Bulls are the exact animal that can come into the King’s palace and wreck it this year.
The Bulls are no threat to this cavs team. You could even see it tonight. 66-69 wins for this team is pretty realistic. Anyone worrying about the Bulls is wasting their energy.
By the way, I HOPE the Bulls are formidable this year. They may be literally the only team in the EC that can come close to preparing the Cavs for whoever comes out of the pitched battle that is the WC. If the playoff rookies on the Cavs can withstand whatever Thibs and the Bulls throw at them, they will be that much more battle tested for SA, OKC, DAL or LAC.
Yeah that’s an interesting take. I felt like the Cavs weren’t prepared for the Magic after winning 8 straight games by double digits in 2009.
If you want an excercise in jarring juxtaposition, play the infamous Heat pep rally from July 2010 on youtube and then chase it with this current commentary on the Bulls from LBJ. Some of this is obviously to keep Bulls from feasting on bulletin board material, however, one of the biggest changes in LBJ 2.0 is that he seems to know all the right things to say. Yes, he is older and presumably wiser now entering his 12th season in the NBA, but there’s just a whole different demeanor to how he carries himself. What it shows me is that… Read more »
Cavs – Bulls is going to be epic this year, assuming that D. Rose is healthy. So cool that our team leader says mature realistic things instead of dopey ego inflating things like last year’s squad of young players.
Crazy early prediction — LeBron pulls out the Jordan step-back to beat the Bulls in game seven. PAYBACK!!!
Yes, these two teams will be duking it out (literally) for years to come. Cavs – Wizards should turn into a rivalry, too.
The Bulls will be a great regular season team. They bring defensive energy and strategy to every game. More importantly, Thibs plays his guys big minutes. That is exactly why I am still not afraid of this team in the playoffs. As long as Thibodeau manages minutes like every night is Game 7 of the Finals, the Bulls will have a hard time staying healthy for a long playoff run. Beyond that, who on the Bulls has any chance of guarding LeBron? Jimmy Butler can handle it in spurts but he is far too small to do it for big… Read more »