James looks for better start in Game 2 vs. Bulls

CLEVELAND - Passing always has been one of LeBron James' greatest strengths. But without Kevin Love or J.R. Smith to receive those passes, James acknowledged he might need to do more scoring in Game 2 against the Bulls.

"I've never kind of went into a game saying, 'OK. I'm going to be ultra-aggressive to start a game,'" James told reporters Tuesday. "I've always had that feel-out thing, but last night it was little bit too much feel-out. I think I only had 2 shots at one point. I just was not aggressive offensively as I was defensively."

By the time Cleveland fell behind 21-7 at the start of Game 1, James had taken just 1 shot.

"We waited until we got down until we started to make a push," he said. "You've got to have a little bit better sense of urgency in Game 2."

If James is planning to turn it up, Bulls forward Jimmy Butler will once again be on high alert. Butler played 44 minutes in Game 1, guarded James full time and also hit 2 clutch baskets down the stretch in the fourth quarter.

"I guess he thought he didn't play well," Butler said. "He did miss shots that he normally makes. I don't feel like I played too well either. I think I missed a lot of shots I normally make. That's what film's for. He'll be putting up shots, I'll be putting up shots. We'll both be ready to go.

"I expect to see the same thing I saw in Game 1, him being aggressive. I don't know what else to say. I'm going to guard, I'm going to try to score on the offensive end. I'm going to do whatever I can to help the Chicago Bulls win."

Hinrich receives praise:

Kirk Hinrich played an important role in Game 1. He logged 15 minutes, scored 6 points and took a turn trying to guard Cavs guard Kyrie Irving.

None of the Bulls did much to slow down Irving, who scored 30 points Monday. But if Hinrich can provide a few good defensive minutes, in theory, that should give Derrick Rose a break.

"They used Kyrie at the two when they had (Matthew) Dellavedova with him," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "It's just the way it worked out in that situation. We can go a lot of different ways also. We can go with Aaron (Brooks) and Derrick as well.

"I like the energy that Kirk's bringing, the ball movement he's bringing to the team, the moving without the ball, getting the ball up the floor quickly. I think those are important."

Butler likes team game:

After all the injuries this season, the Bulls are 21-7 when the usual starting lineup of Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Mike Dunleavy, Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol is intact. Butler talked Tuesday about the state of the Bulls.

"It's huge to have guys playing their best basketball at the right time and playing the right way, at that," he said. "We don't have any selfish guys, we just have guys that buy into the whole team thing.

"Whatever it takes to help the team win, whether it's playing defense, rebounding, scoring baskets, whatever it may be - everybody just wants to win. Because everybody knows that when everybody wins, everybody gets noticed."

Bulls seek fast start:

The Bulls got off to fast starts in Game 6 at Milwaukee last week and again in the opener against Cleveland. Can they find that magic, locked-in formula for a third time?

"It's encouraging that we did it two games in a row," Mike Dunleavy said. "Obviously, we'd like to do it again in Game 2.

"It's an intangible thing. It's a mindset and focus you have to have. Just getting off to a good start is big. Everybody's realizing that going into Game 2. Hopefully we can do it again."