Nothing is settled after three wins. Every team in the NBA playoffs with a 3-2 series lead already knows that.
The Cavaliers are one of those teams -- and are looking to finish off the host Chicago Bulls in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinal Thursday (8 p.m. EST).
But this is a best-of-seven format. The Cavs still need another victory.
Plenty of teams have overcome 3-2 deficits. Winning two in a row isn't exactly a miracle. It's plenty doable. That's especially the case with a team like the Bulls -- a veteran team, a hungry team, a team with quality players such as Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol.
"All of us are aware of the current situation," said Cavs coach David Blatt. "We're certainly aware we're playing a very high-quality opponent, and each and every game has been a battle."
Blatt speaks the truth. The first two games were mostly blowouts. The Bulls won the first, the Cavs won the second. Then the Bulls won Game 3 on a miraculous banked-in bomb by Rose. Then the Cavs captured Game 4 on a long buzzer-beater from the corner by LeBron James. Then the Cavs won Game 5 via another too-close-for-comfort fashion.
The Bulls have won in Cleveland. The Cavs have won in Chicago. Everyone important on both sides seems to be banged up or sore in some capacity. Things have been fairly equal.
And this is playoff basketball. Anything can happen.
Should the Bulls pull it off Thursday, a seventh and deciding game will be held in Cleveland on Sunday. Should the Cavs finish the job, it's on to the conference finals for the first time since the first stint of You Know Who.
But as former NBA coach and 11-time champion Phil Jackson once said, "Focus on the task at hand." That's good advice for the Cavs in Game 6.
"We've got to think about the game (Thursday) before we look forward to what could be," Blatt said. "Anybody that's hurting, the ability to rest a little bit is going to help, naturally. But we're not looking past (Game 6) for sure."
The LeBron Factor
Now, a quick look at history tells us the Cavs may have the edge. After all, they have James. Three times, he has faced the Bulls in the playoffs. Three times, he has won.
The Bulls lost to LeBron in 2010 when he was with the Cavs -- then again in 2011 and 2013 when he played for the Heat. In both of the series involving LeBron and the Heat, the Bulls won the first game. They did the same in this series.
"That's a tough dude to handle," Bulls swingman Mike Dunleavy said after James compiled 38 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in the Cavs' 106-101 win in Game 5.
Clearly, LeBron is capable of doing similair things again. Worse for the Bulls is the fact the rest of the Cavs have played well off their star.
Kyrie Irving has battled through a sprained foot and knee tendinitis to remain the team's second-biggest threat. Tristan Thompson has refused to surrender any ground near the basket. Timofey Mozgov has protected the rim. And Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith have added enough on both ends to keep the Bulls from feeling too high and mighty at any point in each game.
For the Cavs, the results are nice. They have won three times. And three is undoubtedly better than two.
But it takes four.
The Bulls have nothing to lose now. Not many people outside their locker room think they can win two straight. Not many people are giving them a chance to claim the series.
All of that means nothing. You still have to play the games, and if you're the Cavs, you still need one more victory. One more. And it's not likely to be anything resembling a gimme.
