The meme makers waiting for LeBron James to fail will have to wait one more series, as the Cleveland Cavaliers finish the job against the Chicago Bulls in impressive fashion, leaving Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah wondering when the “LeBron Bulls curse” will be over.
For the fourth time in his career, James kicks the Bulls out of the playoffs. For the third time, his team completed the job despite losing the first game to the Bulls. James didn’t play a great game 6, at least not on offense (credit to Jimmy Butler) but got enough help from Matthew Dellavedova and Iman Shumpert to complete the job.
So while the Bulls think about whether or not to fire Tom Thibodeau, the Cavaliers are back in the conference finals for the first time since 2009. For James himself it’s a fifth consecutive appearance in the conference finals, making four in a row with the Heat before jumping ship.
It’s a long way from here to the NBA finals, but the Cavaliers are overcoming the injuries and problems they’ve had along the way. It might not be the prettiest basketball out there, but it gets the job done.