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Talent, chemistry and health. Those are the three qualities that go into making an NBA champion, and more often than not, the team that can best harness all three at once is the one that will take home the Larry OBrien Trophy.
The Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers have had those aspirations since this summer, but the roadblocks theyve met along the way have been different.
Its never been about talent for either team. The Cavs and Bulls both have that in abundance. Clevelands big three of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love ison paper, at leastas fearsome as any group in the league. The Bulls came into the season with a finally healthy Derrick Rose, the newly acquired Pau Gasol and a solid core of returning veterans like Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah and Jimmy Butler.
Checking that box was the easy part. Its the other twochemistry and healththat have given these teams different kinds of problems.
When the Cavaliers lured James home and traded for Love, the question was never whether their superstars could stay on the floor. Other than the two weeks James missed in January, the Cavs have had good luck with injuries.
What took more time was figuring out whether they could build the chemistry and whether they could do so under David Blatt. The Cavs January trades for J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov have largely addressed their roster shortcomings, and not even rumblings that Love is unhappy have been able to derail what has taken the shape of the most dangerous team in the Eastern Conference.
For the Bulls, chemistry has never been the issue. Since Tom Thibodeaus arrival in 2010, Chicago has had one of the strongest locker rooms in the NBA, full of veteran workers like Noah and Gibson who know their jobs, do them well and have each othersand their coachsbacks. And when theyve been able to field a complete team, theyve proven they can beat anybody.
But the full complement of players at peak health has been hard to come by for the Bulls. Theyve played just 19 games with their entire starting lineup intact, going 15-4 in those games. Theyve only had an entirely healthy roster for three games. You dont need to go through the laundry list of injuriesthose two numbers tell the whole story. And as of now, even with Butler and Gibson back in the fold after missing about three weeks each, the Bulls are still waiting on the return of Rose.
As it turns out, chemistry is an easier hurdle to clear than health. Thats why the Cavs enter the final 10-game stretch of the season looking like the favorites to win the Eastern Conference, and the Bulls are all but impossible to project. Its easier to bet on your elite-level talent when its all healthy at the same time on a regular basis.
Read more here:
Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers Taking Different Paths to Title Contention
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