Update: Kyrie Irving (knee) is out tonight for the Cavaliers.

Cleveland Cavaliers Status Check:
Record: 18-38
Division: 2-10
Conference: 13-20
Road Record: 8-22
Last 10 Games: 5-5
Streak: Lost 1
Last game: 109-105 loss to Miami
PPG: 97.6 (14^th)
Opponents PPG: 101.2 (23^rd)
Offensive Rating: 105.5 (13^th)
Defensive Rating: 109.4 (28^th)
Pace: 92.2 (12^th)
Effective Field Goal Percentage: .475 (24^th)
Turnover Percentage: .148 (3^rd)
Defensive Rebound Percentage: .719 (27^th)
Offensive Rebound Percentage: .290 (8^th)
Free Throws Per Field Goal Attempt: .203 (18^th)
Opp. eFG%: .524 (30^th)
Opp. TO%: .148 (3^rd)
Opp. FT/FGA: .228 (26^th)
Leading scorer: Kyrie Irving (23.3)

Stats from Basketball-Reference

Cleveland Injury Report:
Omri Casspi: out (appendectomy)
Daniel Gibson: doubtful (personal reasons)
Kyrie Irving: out (knee)
Anderson Varejao: out (surgery)

Overview:
The Bulls have fallen to sixth in the Eastern Conference after their loss to Oklahoma City, which was the worst shooting performance by any team this season. In the tough stretch that the Bulls find themselves in, they have two very winnable games, against the Cavaliers, who are last place in the Central Division and Sixers at home.

Before we get into the matchup, the somewhat obligatory Bulls injury update has some bad news. Taj Gibson suffered an MCL sprain, and could be out two weeks.

Back to the Bulls opponents, they have back-to-back games against non-playoff teams. First up: Kyrie Irving and Cleveland, who are coming off a loss to the streaking Heat. Miami blew a 22-point second half lead before rallying in the fourth quarter to win its eleventh straight.

Kyrie had a poor shooting night, going 6-16 from the field for 17 points, as he battled through a sore right knee. He isn’t expected to miss any time because of the injury, but the Bulls need all the help they can get with Nate Robinson possibly starting against Irving. An injured knee is more of a defender than Nate will ever be, sadly.

While Kyrie struggled, Dion Waiters, surprisingly was efficient, dropping 26 points on 17 shots. As a team the Cavs shot 50 percent from the field, but Miami finished at 52 percent and hit 63.2 percent of their threes.

Although the Heat mounted a comeback in the final eight minutes against Cleveland, it’s important for the Bulls to build a sizable lead early in this one, to avoid the fourth quarter monster that is Kyrie Irving. Irving averages 6.9 points per fourth quarter, in 7.3 minutes of playing time.

Chicago should be able to shoot better against Cleveland, who is 28th in defensive rating and last in opponent effective field goal percentage. The Bulls have scored 72 or fewer points in three of their last five games. Nobody shot well last game, but Luol Deng, who is shooting 38 percent in February, and Carlos Boozer, who is shooting a season-worst 43.6 percent this month, need to start scoring. With Gibson sidelined for some time, Boozer will have more of a chance to get his offense going. Or just more chances to scream about rebounds. Either way, it’s exciting.

This is the last time the Bulls and Cavs will meet this season. The Bulls have taken all three previous match-ups. Boozer is averaging 17.7 points on 52.8 shooting against Cleveland this season and Deng is chipping in 18.3 points , while shooting 60.6 from the field. That is the best field goal percentage against any team this season for Lu. Boozer and Deng have had help in each of the games. Rip Hamilton dropped 19 in the first meeting, Marco Belinelli scored 23 in the second and Belinelli and Nate Robinson combined for 29 off the bench in the most recent contest. Irving scored 15 points against Chicago in both games he’s play against them this season.

Cleveland is shooting 39.7 percent against the Bulls this year and getting out-rebounded by nearly nine per game. The Bulls, on the other hand, are scoring 109.3 points per game against Cleveland, their best against any team this season. So, it seems, if the Bulls are going to find a way out of their offensive funk, Cleveland came up on the schedule at a good time.

“It’s not the time to feel sorry for ourselves,” Noah said after the loss to Oklahoma City. “We’ve got a home stretch coming up and things move fast in this league. We’ve got to bounce back fast.”

Things do happen fast in this league. The Bulls are finding themselves slipping in the rankings as their injuries continue to pile up. They have two possible bounce back games before their schedule switches back to a stretch of playoff teams. The Bulls need to grab the easier ones when they are available.

Stat of the night: The Bulls shot 63.8 percent against Cleveland on November 2, the highest field goal percentage by any team this season, according to StatsLLC.

Cleveland Cavaliers Status Check:
Record: 8-27
Division: 1-8
Conference: 6-17
Road Record: 5-15
Last 10 Games: 3-7
Streak: Lost 1
Last game: 112-104 loss to Houston
PPG: 94.5 (23^rd)
Opponents PPG: 99.8 (24^th)
Offensive Rating: 102.3 (24^th)
Defensive Rating: 108.0 (26^th)
Pace: 91.8 (13^th)
Effective Field Goal Percentage: .462 (27^th)
Turnover Percentage: .139 (14^th)
Defensive Rebound Percentage: .734 (13^th)
Offensive Rebound Percentage: .299 (7^th)
Free Throws Per Field Goal Attempt: .193 (22^nd)
Opp. eFG%: .517 (30^th)
Opp. TO%: .147 (6^th)
Opp. FT/FGA: .244 (29^th)
Leading scorer: Kyrie Irving (23.4)

Stats from Basketball-Reference

Cavaliers Injury Report:
Daniel Gibson: expected to be out (concussion)
Anderson Varejao: out (bruised knee)

Overview:
The Bulls put in what was probably their best effort of the season last time out and topped the Miami Heat in a seven-point victory. It put an end to a run of two weeks and five games that the Bulls looked flat. Chicago went 2-3 over that stretch with a loss, most notably, to the Bobcats that ended Charlotte’s 18-game losing streak. The win over the Heat, to push the Bulls to 18-13, was a step in the right direction for a team that has looked lost for a few weeks.

Hopefully the Bulls will be able to build on this game. They love playing the Heat and are 6-2 against Miami during the regular season in the Big Three era. But LeBron James and company hasn’t been playing great basketball, going 2-3 over their last five games, with their two wins coming in overtime and their other losses coming against Detroit and Milwaukee.

Normally it would be fair to say that a Chicago-Miami meeting would be a game that both teams got pumped for. That’s still true for Chicago, because the Heat are the defending champions and the team to beat in the league. But without Rose, I can’t imagine Miami still views the Bulls in the same way. That’s not to say it wasn’t a great win, because it absolutely was, especially considering the Bulls’ recent play. However this one meant more to the Bulls and they played like it.

Wanting it more showed itself on the glass in this game, with Chicago outrebounding Miami 48-28. But where the Bulls really did their damage was on the offensive glass. They pulled down 19 O-boards to Miami’s 4, which translated to 20 second chance points for the Bulls. Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah each grabbed six offensive rebounds and Taj Gibson snagged five. Boozington finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds, Joakim Noah recorded 13 points and 12 boards and Hinrich dished ten assists to go with eight points.

Chicago now takes on the last place team in the Central Division—the Cavaliers—who are just 1-8 against the division this year. Kyrie Irving, much like Derrick Rose usually does, has been carrying the Cavs. Irving is averaging 23.5 points and 5.6 assists per game.

Tonight also gives the Bulls a chance to improve their poor home record. Chicago is just 9-8 in the United Center this season, compared to 9-5 on the road. The Bulls had the third best home record last season and the best in 2010-2011. Chicago’s last home game was the streak-breaking loss to Charlotte.

The Bulls have already topped Cleveland twice this year, both wins coming on the road by double digits. The Bulls have held the Cavs to 85.5 points in the two games on less than 40 percent shooting. It’s not going to make it any easier for Cleveland as Anderson Varejao, the league’s leading rebounder who also scores 14.1 points per game, is expected to miss his 10^th straight game due to a bruised knee.

The Bulls are coming off their best win of the year, and it put an end to a two week slump. Now Chicago needs to avoid a letdown against a lesser team.

Stat of the night: The Bulls have won ten straight against the Cavs, with the last nine coming by an average 18.8 points per contest, according to STATS LLC.

Cleveland Cavaliers Status Check:
Record: 4-14
Division: 0-3
Conference: 3-7
Home Record: 2-4
Last 10 Games: 2-8
Streak: Lost 2
Last game: 89-79 loss to Detroit
PPG: 95.9 (21^st)
Opponents PPG: 101.2 (25^th)
Offensive Rating: 103.0 (19^th)
Defensive Rating: 108.7 (26^th)
Pace: 92.0 (15^th)
Effective Field Goal Percentage: .465 (25^th)
Turnover Percentage: .145 (21^st)
Defensive Rebound Percentage: .747 (3^rd)
Offensive Rebound Percentage: .324 (2^nd)
Free Throws Per Field Goal Attempt: .193 (22^nd)
Opp. eFG%: .531 (30^th)
Opp. TO%: .151 (7^th)
Opp. FT/FGA: .223 (23^rd)
Leading scorer: Anderson Varejao (15.2)

Stats from Basketball-Reference

Cavaliers Injury Report:
Kyrie Irving: out (broken finger)
Dion Waiters: out (sprained ankle)

Overview:
The Bulls continue to play in the “injured starters tour” tonight, this time taking on the Cavaliers who are without their starting backcourt of Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters.

“Well, it’s terrifying to think about playing the Bulls without Kyrie and (Waiters), but everyone laces them up the same way,” Cavaliers’ coach Byron Scott said. “You’ve got to come out there and compete no matter who’s on the floor.

The Cavaliers were without those two guys their last time out and scored 79 points, while shooting 33.7 percent from the field against Detroit. Omri Casspi scored ten points on 4-11 from the field filling in at shooting guard. Cleveland fell to 2-6 without Kyrie.

Without Irving and Waiters, the guy to watch has to be Anderson Varejao who is having another great year. He’s averaging 15.2 points and 15.4 rebounds per game, including 6.2 offensive rebounds per contest. He is more than two rebounds ahead of the second place guy for total rebounds per game (Zach Randolph, 13.3).

In the second game of the season though, when the Bulls blew out the Cavaliers 115-86, Andy finished with just 12 points and five rebounds. Even with Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters the Cavs shot 40.5 percent in that game. Although, to be honest Waiters usually doesn’t help your field goal percentage. Cleveland only shot 51.9 percent (14-27) from the free throw line in that contest.

The Bulls on the other hand shot 63.8 percent and finished with an offensive rating of 122.3. Chicago assisted on 34 of their 44 buckets and Rip Hamilton scored a co-game high 19 points along with Carlos Boozer.

Speaking of Rip Hamilton getting injured as expected, in their first game without Rip this season, the Bulls struggled…big time. They finished 38.4 percent from the field, and made just two field goals in the final five minutes against Indiana.

The Bulls managed only four points in the final 4:30. Chicago has had trouble closing games without Rose, so that’s nothing new. But now with Rip gone—who had his trouble at the line this year, but was still a good free throw shooter and a guy that can create—it’s gone from bad to worse.

The Bulls couldn’t score, but really, neither could the Pacers, who shot even worse. David West had a bad game, going 3-12 for just ten points. George Hill was even worse going 3-16 and scoring just eight. As a team the Pacers shot just 36.3 percent, and 20 percent from three. Holding a team to 80 points is usually enough for a win, but not for this Bulls team.

Indiana took advantage of Chicago’s mistakes. They scored 23 points off 19 Bulls turnovers. Chicago managed just ten points off of 12 Indy turnovers. The Bulls only had three steals. They aren’t the type of team that gets a lot of steals, but they have to get more than three in a game. Paul George had three steals by himself.

The Bulls easy run of games doesn’t last much longer. After tonight, they face the Pistons on the road, which is where the light schedule ends. When they get back from Detroit, Chicago will host the Knicks and Clippers before playing the Sixers, Nets, Grizzlies, Celtics, Knicks (again) and Hawks in succession leading up to Christmas. At 8-8 the Bulls need to take the easy ones when they are on the schedule.