The Bernstein Brief: Bulls Catch A Break With Kevin Love's Injury
By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) A twist of an arm could be a break for the Bulls.
When the Celtics' Kelly Olynyk wrenched Kevin Love's shoulder out of joint Sunday, the complexion of the Eastern Conference semifinals was altered. It's hard to imagine Love won't miss time after having to pop his arm back into place and leaving the arena in a sling, and that means a critical aspect of the Cavaliers' offensive strategy may be missing for some time. Love's expected to miss at least two weeks, according to initial reports.
Cleveland's spacing isn't the same without him, the floor not balanced as threateningly to the Chicago defense. Add in the possibility of a multi-game suspension for sharpshooter J.R. Smith after his blow to the face of Jae Crowder in Game 4, and the advantage tips even more greatly.
The Eastern Conference was already awful -- especially in comparison to its compelling counterpart -- and it looks like it just got significantly worse.
But if that helps the Bulls get to the NBA Finals, nobody cares.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. Follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.