Eastern Conference Playoffs Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Chicago Bulls

#2. Cleveland Cavaliers (53-29) vs. #3. Chicago Bulls (50-32): 

     The Cleveland Cavaliers come into this series having swept the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. As for the Chicago Bulls, they got stretched to a Game 6 against the Milwaukee Bucks, but absolutely blew the doors off the Bucks to close the series. Despite having won the season series 3-1 against the Bulls, the Cavaliers come into this series as underdogs due to the loss of Kevin Love for the season and J.R. Smith for the first two games because of a suspension.

     Many already felt that even at full strength, the Cavaliers had their work cut out for them against the Bulls. But without Love and Smith, the general consensus is that the Cavaliers have too steep of a mountain to climb and the Bulls are going to win this series fairly easily. I am not of the opinion that the loss of Kevin Love and the suspension for J.R. Smith dooms the Cavaliers. I just think it makes things a lot tougher.

     If the Cavaliers are going to win this series, what they will need is for LeBron James and Kyrie Irving to play like the superstars that they are. Especially LeBron James, who has won two NBA championships. If those guys play up to the level that they are capable of playing and get some help from their supporting cast, the Cavaliers can still win this series.

     As for the Chicago Bulls, they have to take advantage of the depth that they have. The Cavaliers will need to heavily rely on the production of two players, but fortunately for the Bulls, they do not have this same kind of pressure. They can share the ball more and get more guys involved.

     While it is true that Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, Pau Gasol, and Joakim Noah are the leaders of this Bulls team, they don't have to do as much as LeBron James and Kyrie Irving because they have each other and quality guys coming off the bench like Mike Dunleavy, Nikola Mirotic, and Aaron Brooks. The Bulls' depth definitely gives them a huge advantage and they must take advantage of it throughout the series.

     In essence, this series comes down to the Bulls' depth going up against the Cavaliers' one-two punch of Kyrie Irving and LeBron James. Usually, you pick in favor of depth, but when the one-two punch consists of the best player in the world, it suddenly doesn't become such an easy call. Still, the absence of Kevin Love for the season and J.R. Smith for the first two games is huge. I think that the Bulls should win this series, which is why I will pick them to win the series in 6 games. If the Cavaliers win this series, it will be because LeBron James and Kyrie Irving played phenomenal and also because the Bulls underperformed. While that is certainly possible it isn't likely. On the flip side, if the Bulls play as well as they are expected to play, there is no reason to pick against them.

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord for NBA news