CLEVELAND -- Quick pregame dribbles on Game 5 between the Cavaliers and Bulls:
1. The Cavs did not shoot the ball well in the two games in Chicago. A lot of that has to do with injuries to Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert, but some has to do with just missing.
2. Irving, who's playing with a sprained foot and knee tendinitis, was just 5-of-25 in the last two games. Shumpert, who suffered a groin injury in Game 2, went 4-of-17 in that same span. Both of those players contributed greatly on offense in the first two games of the series.
3. Of course, LeBron James has been miserable all along, especially on 3-pointers. For the series, James is 2-of-19 beyond the arc. But as we saw in Game 4, he made it when it mattered.
4. No matter, someone, anyone on the Cavs will have to get their jumper in order to win this thing and advance to the Eastern Conference finals. LeBron is remarkable, but he can't beat the Bulls alone.
5. Perhaps that someone will be J.R. Smith, who went 4-of-4 for 11 points in the fourth quarter of Game 4. With Irving injured, Smith will likely have to play the role of Robin to LeBron's Batman.
6. Meanwhile, Irving and James will have to continue to take the ball to the basket. At the very least, Irving can draw fouls and make his free throws. And James leads the entire league in playoff scoring off drives. Good things happen when you take the ball to the basket. Question is, are Irving and James healthy enough? Both have bad wheels.
7. The Bulls are without Pau Gasol (hamstring) for the second straight game. That may or may not help the Cavs in the rebounding department. Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson (and especially, LeBron) have done fairly well on the boards so far, collectively making up for the loss of Kevin Love. Every game in this series has been won by the team with the rebounding advantage.
