Noah ready for challenge presented by Cavs, James

Many NBA fans see a first-round playoff date against LeBron James and Cleveland as punishment for the Bulls.

Joakim Noah usually has a slightly different perspective on the world, so it's no surprise that he does not agree.

"That's why you stay in the gym at night," Noah said Friday. "That's why you get into the gym early. All those sprints, all that hard work in the beginning of the year, all that adversity - it comes down to this. This is what you play for."

Some might see a moral victory if the Bulls manage to pull off one win against Cleveland before being sent home for the summer. The Cavs (61-21) own the NBA's best record, but as long as the Bulls made it this far, they'll give it their best shot. Game 1 is Saturday at 2 p.m. in Cleveland.

"You don't go into a series thinking you're going to lose," Noah added. "I'd be disappointed if we don't win. We've shown that we can compete against the best teams. We've just got to prove it again on the biggest stage."

Of course, Cavaliers are going to ready, too. James is in his seventh NBA season and anxious to win a title, which would be Cleveland's first in a major pro sport since the Browns won the NFL championship in 1964.

The Cavs reached the Finals in 2007 and were swept by San Antonio. Since then, Cleveland lost in the second round to Boston in 2008 and last year was upset by Orlando in the Eastern Conference finals.

"I've been waiting personally on this since Game 6 of the Orlando series," James told reporters in Cleveland. "It kind of hurts for a long time. You kind hold that in for all summer and all regular season to get back to this point. I'll be happy Saturday when I get the opportunity to release it."

Early in the 2008-09 season, James dropped 41 points on the Bulls twice in four days. Since then, James has scored less than 30 points in his last five meetings with the Bulls.

Is that a sign the Bulls are playing better defense against the league's likely repeat MVP? Tough to say, but the numbers suggest they're doing something right. In three games against the Bulls this year, James averaged 25.7 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds while shooting 47.3 percent from the field. Overall this season, he was at 29.7 points, 8.6 assists, 7.3 rebounds and shot 50.3 percent.

Bulls forward Luol Deng usually supplies the bulk of individual defense against James. Deng has been battling a right calf strain and sore knee late in the season. It will be interesting to see if the Bulls keep Joe Alexander on the active roster, giving them another athletic small forward to throw at James. Rookie James Johnson has been battling a foot injury, but is expected to play.

"Luol's got some length against LeBron, which helps," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. "You have to mix up the coverages. There's not one guy that's going to be able to guard him. You know he's going to attack the basket, shoot the threes.

"We've won this year with our defense and rebounding. We're going to have to do a good job of not giving them second shots, taking threes away from them."

On the other side, Cleveland has done a decent job of keeping all-star point guard Derrick Rose off the scoreboard. In three games against the Cavs, Rose averaged 17 points and 9.3 assists, while shooting 43.7 percent.

Those numbers suggest the Cavs have utilized the popular strategy of crowding the lane and daring the Bulls to drain outside shots. The Bulls ranked 28th in the league in 3-point shooting percentage.

"Well, they're big upfront and they load up on the ball side very well. That's what very good defensive teams do," Del Negro said. "(Rose) hasn't gotten to the basket quite as easily on some things.

"We're going to have to do a good job of spreading them out a little bit and we're going to have to make some shots. If they sag in, we're going to have to penetrate and kick and guys are going to have to knock shots down to open up the inside for Derrick."

Aging center Shaquille O'Neal hasn't played since Feb. 25 because of a thumb injury, but is expected to start Game 1 against the Bulls. After James, Cleveland's top scorers are guard Mo Williams and power forward Antawn Jamison, both at 15.8 points.

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