Cavaliers vs. Bulls: 3 things you need to know

The Chicago Bulls can't avoid LeBron James in the playoffs.

For the fourth time since drafting Derrick Rose first overall in 2008, the Bulls will meet a James team. For the first time, James's squad enters weakened, giving Chicago the opportunity to potentially - finally - usurp James and break his stranglehold on the Eastern Conference's spot in the NBA Finals.

There's plenty clouding this matchup, which many felt would be the Eastern Conference finals before the season. Kevin Love is injured, J.R. Smith is suspended for two games and Rose's health remains on just about everyone's mind anytime Rose lands awkwardly or even frowns.

It's going to be one hell of a series, but it's a shame it won't see both teams at full strength.

Rose's chance at redemption

The Bulls first ran into James's Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the 2010 playoffs, playing a tight series and putting the conference on notice. A 21-year-old Rose averaged 26.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists, with the narrow gap - the Cavs won the series 4-1, but only one game was a blowout - chalked up mostly to the youth and inexperience of the new Bulls' core.

The following season, the Bulls met up with James, then of the Miami Heat, in the Eastern Conference finals. A 22-year-old Rose had taken a monster step forward and stolen the MVP award from James, but he shot 35 percent in the series and the Bulls succumbed to the eventual finals runners-up.

The rivalry was put on hold for 2012 after Rose tore his ACL in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs, a series the Bulls would lose without him. In 2013, James's Heat made five-game work of the Bulls once again, this time in the second round, Rose still sidelined by the same ACL injury. With a matchup seeming likely once again in 2014, the Bulls' hopes were dashed early when Rose tore his meniscus in November.

If anyone was skeptical of this eventual showdown this season, consider it justified, given the history. When Rose tore his meniscus once again in February, it seemed James's squad might cruise without having to vanquish Rose again. Instead, he's returned in time to shake any rust off ahead of another meeting.

Nothing else but Love can burn as bright

As much as Love's been derided this season, he's been a key part of the team's success. Sure, he plays most of his minutes with James and Kyrie Irving, but despite muted numbers this season, Love remains one of the league's most unique floor-spacers.

The James-Love pick-and-roll is deadly, and Love's presence spotting up in the corner contributes to the effectiveness of the Irving-James pick-and-roll. Given his (eventual) fit in the offense, it's little surprise that most of the Cavs' best lineups included the power forward. The league’s No. 5 offense scored 4.8 points per-100 possessions more with him on the floor, an impact that's even more notable when isolating James's performance with and without Love.

The Cavs will be in tough to replace Love, who will miss the remainder of the playoffs after undergoing surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder. The Cavs will call on Shawn Marion, Mike Miller and James Jones to play more, and Tristan Thompson has a golden opportunity to have a huge series against Chicago's formidable frontline ahead of restricted free agency.

Cleveland still has James and Irving, Thompson and Timofey Mozgov are quality defenders and the Bulls still appear to be working out the kinks of a fully healthy roster - but losing Love is a major blow, no matter the picture the narrative has painted this season.

Schedule does Bulls no favor

While Rose is back and has, on many occasions, looked like his old self, concern about his day-to-day health remains. There's nothing medically wrong with Rose, but the 26-year-old may spend the rest of his career with a specter of impending doom about him.

Rose has also been far better on extended rest since returning. ESPN showed that, all season long, Rose has been far more effective when he's had two or more days of rest and downright pedestrian on short rest. This carried over to Chicago's first-round series against Milwaukee, with Rose dominating the games he played on extended rest and struggling in those with a quick turnaround.

Rose and the Bulls haven't been given the good fortune of a spaced-out schedule: Game 1 comes after a multiday layoff, but the teams will play Games 2-6 on a single day of rest. While the Bulls facing James seems a long time coming, the NBA has done little to tilt the scales in Rose's favor.

Projected Starting Lineups

Series Outlook