LeBron wants to team up with Rose

CLEVELAND -- Here’s the latest in the ongoing series, "Potential clues that LeBron James will think about joining the Bulls as a free agent."

Before Friday’s game in Cleveland, someone mentioned how Derrick Rose wished he could play with James. So would James like to play with Rose someday?

“Yeah, especially on an Olympic team,” LeBron answered. “He did a great job this past summer holding it down for some of the older guys, giving them some rest.”

Rose was part of the U.S. Select Team of younger players who scrimmaged against the USA varsity during a short training camp in Las Vegas.

“He’s a great point guard. He’s a great player,” James continued. “I love watching Derrick play, man, he’s unbelievable. All he’s going to do is continue to get better -- with every game, with every practice. Hopefully in the 2012 Olympics, he can be a part of that team and have some fun.”

OK, LeBron was talking Olympic teammate. But the fact that he’s such a fan of Rose’s game isn’t a bad sign for the Bulls when it comes to Decision 2010.

--In other pregame news, Jannero Pargo is back with the team after seeing a specialist in Philadelphia on Thursday and is expected to play. Pargo has been bothered since early in training camp by tightness in his back and hip.

Kirk Hinrich won’t play tonight and doubted that he’d be able to return Saturday against Toronto. Hinrich is planning to have his sprained left thumb checked out by a doctor in the morning.

Also, look for the Cavs to be wearing pink sneakers tonight in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness.

POSTGAME UPDATE:
There were a couple of alarming stats from Friday’s 101-87 loss in Cleveland. The Bulls were on the short end of a 46-20 count in points in the paint and were outscored 24-10 in second-chance points.

Obviously, the inside game wasn’t working well. According to the box score, the Bulls made just 10 of 29 shots from inside the paint, while the Cavs were 23 for 34.

Are Cleveland’s big men really so intimidating? Shaquille O’Neal played just 18 minutes and was barely a factor, unless going 0 for 5 at the foul line counts.

The final rebound count was close, with the Cavs leading 44-42. Taj Gibson collected 13 boards and Joakim Noah had 10, so it’s not like the Bulls abandoned the glass. But they did give up several bad offensive rebounds off missed free throws and brick jumpers, and had the ball knocked away a few times when it seemed like they had the defensive rebound corralled.

Will the return of Tyrus Thomas sometime in the next week or two help these issues? Probably not, but there’s always a chance.

THIRD QUARTER FREEZEOUT
Thanks to the Joakim Noah-LeBron James verbal throwdown in the fourth quarter, there was no room for the Bulls to explain why they hit a wall so suddenly in the game story. As a refresher, they led 54-52 with eight minutes left in the third, then missed 12 of their next 13 shots while Cleveland went on a 21-4 run.

Here’s the question: What happened?

"Just slipped defensively,” Derrick Rose said. “That's what always happens. Somehow, we've just got to find a way to end games solid. No excuses. We were that close. We're still supposed to close games no matter what.”

Here is Luol Deng’s take. He had a relatively quiet game with 11 points and 5 rebounds, while chasing James most of the night.

"Teams are going to make runs,” Deng said. “We've just got to stick with it. They made their run in the third. We just didn't answer.”

On the road against a good team, the Bulls don’t seem to have the offensive firepower to match an opponents’ run. Deng doesn’t think the change in personnel is an excuse.

"I don't see any difference from last year,” he said. “I don't think we're running anything we didn't run last year.”