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LeBron James Smart To Say Bulls Are Better Than Cavs

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By @DSchultz89

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The biggest story of the NBA offseason remains LeBron James returning home to play for a title with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but that did not keep the superstar forward from acknowledging the talent level of their Eastern rivals, the Chicago Bulls.

Before the Cavaliers squared off against the Bulls in a preseason game at Ohio State University on Monday night, James was quoted as saying:

“[The Bulls] are a team that’s much better than us right now just off chemistry. They’ve been together for a while; we’ve got a long way to go.”

The Cavaliers would go on to beat the Bulls 107-98, but this hardly matters given that it is still the preseason.

First off, I do not believe that James truly believes this. After all, why would he have left the Miami Heat, the best team in the East four years in a row, for a team he felt was not good enough to win a championship right now? This is a total public relations move on his part in an effort to bring the team closer together and also give them perspective given James knows how difficult it is to return to the NBA Finals every year.

With that said, there might be truth to his statements, even if he does not truly believe it. The Bulls are highly praised because of their teamwork and rugged defense thanks mainly to the tenacity seen by head coach Tom Thibodeau, who is probably on the verge of blowing out his vocal chords if he has not done so already. “Tibs” is a relentless leader who constantly yells out strategy and plays to his team from the sideline. He is primarily viewed as a coach who demands perfection, but at the same time he has also demonstrated he can be patient when he needs to be, especially given the variety of injuries that have hindered the Bulls over the last few years.

But there are just as many question marks about the Bulls as there are for the Cavaliers. Where the Cavaliers are facing some uncertainties with their defense and if they have a true rim protector in the post, the Bulls’ ability to score the ball has been an issue at times. Derrick Rose scored 30 points in only 24 minutes against the Cavaliers, but how much will we see this kind of play from him, being that he is coming back from two crippling knee injuries?

These teams are basically polar opposites of each other, but everyone knows the saying that “defense wins championships”, which is why James is smart to make these remarks.

He is fully aware that the Cavaliers have a long way to go, especially given all the new pieces on the team and how young their core players are. Many are still wondering how the ball-dominant shooting guard Dion Waiters fits with this team, and some are concerned that Kevin Love might continue to stray too far away from the basket and settle for outside shots like Chris Bosh has done recently with the Heat when he was with James.

Over the last few seasons, we have seen James really emerge as a leader both on and off the court. While he appeared shy about taking on this responsibility when he first came into the league, he has grown up a lot during his late 20s to the point where he now relishes the opportunity to be the main man.

While I do not believe James thinks that the Bulls are a better team than the Cavs, this is a good time to light a fire under his guys and give them momentum going into this season.

It is what leaders do. In fact, something like this might very well be the moment we look back on down the line after we see the Cavaliers morph into a respectable defensive team as the season goes on and one that is good enough to eventually topple the Bulls in the playoffs when these two teams inevitably meet.

The Bulls will most likely be the main roadblock for the Cavaliers to get to the NBA Finals, and with these comments, it is clear that even though we are still in preseason, the new journey for a championship has already begun for James and the Cavaliers.

Dan Schultz is an NBA sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @dschultz89. “Like” him on Facebook and add him on Google.

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