Bulls 100, Cavs 91: Not the way we wanted to start the New Year

New year, same story.

We thought with 2010 behind us, we could focus on a new team and a new year. In the back (or front) of our minds, we knew what to expect.

The Cavaliers suffered their 6th straight loss, in a game that the Cavs controlled for most of the 1st half. Missing key players might have played into the defeat, but this is also giving younger players a chance to step up and prove that they can contribute to this team.

You can't really predict who is going to show up in the starting lineup at this point, and last night was no different. The starting 5 consisted of Sessions, Parker, Harris, Jamison, along with Leon Powe who earned his first start of the season.

J.J. Hickson finished with a team high 21 points, and shot well from the field as he made 9 out of 16 attempts he put up. 

Hickson has also started to contribute where we need him to: namely rebounding.  Byron Scott has put an emphasis on his rebounding and has stripped him of his starting role for apparently just that. Over the last several games, it looks as if J.J. has really put forth a solid effort on the boards, and will likely be rewarded with more minutes as he continues to solidify his all-around game.

Manny Harris played 25 fairly efficient minutes, and provided the team with a boost as he nailed a rhythm 3 right at the end of the first half. He is a player with significant upside, and we will be following his progress closely.

Antawn Jamison added 19 points to the effort, but shot poorly going 5/16 from the field. A few of his uncontested shots in the first half even failed to draw iron.  His often-consistent 3 point shot simply just wasn't falling.

Anthony Parker was another sore subject, as his 3/14 game might have been the worst of the season.  Of the six 3 pointers AP attempted, only 1 fell.  A few of those shots were backbreakers, as we needed a 3 to complete a comeback the Cavs were mustering.

All-in-all, this game could have been worse.  The Cavs held a siginifcant lead in the first half before giving it away, and fell all the way down to behind 15 in the 3rd quarter.  They wouldn't give up though; We fought to cut the lead to 91-94 and had a legitimate chance at winning the game.

With Gibson, Varejao, and Mo Williams still out of the lineup it's going to be hard to compete on a nightly basis.  When Parker is playing 40 minutes and shooting 21% from the field, this team doesn't have the offensive firepower to compete with Derrick Rose, Boozer and the rest of the Bulls.

The Cavs play host to the Dallas Mavericks in what will surely be a tough back-to-back.  Although the Mavs are reeling without Dirk Nowitzki in the lineup, they still have a talented enough team to handle a Cavaliers team riddled with injury. 

It's about time the Cavaliers ended this pesky losing streak.  January's schedule should hopefully provide for a few more wins than did December.  All we can hope for is that our depleted roster plays well for 48 minutes.  If not, we're in for a long season. (We already are)