NBA playoffs: East — No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 8 Chicago Bulls

Last season: Cavaliers lost in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bulls lost to the Celtics in the first round.

Overview: The Bulls won at Cleveland in November during the Cavaliers' 3-3 start, then pulled out a 109-108 home victory on April 8 when LeBron James was resting. The Cavs limited the Bulls to an average of 86 points in winning the other two meetings, though Chicago was without Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng in one of them.

The loaded Cavaliers begin the chase for a first NBA championship, hoping not to have any early rust after sitting James for the final four games of the regular season and choosing not to bring Shaquille O'Neal back from his February thumb injury. Chicago won its final three games to grab the last spot and was a dangerous underdog last year, pushing Boston to seven games in a thrilling first-round series.

Player matchup to watch: Mo Williams vs. Rose. Rose, last season's Rookie of the Year, was at his best down the stretch after finally shaking some frustrating injuries earlier in the season. Williams scored 35 points in the last meeting and made 18-of-34 shots over the last two. However, he was just 9 of 26 in the first two matchups, the kind of ugly shooting that will remind Cavs fans of his struggles late in last year's postseason.

Regular season series: Tied, 2-2.

Prediction: Cavaliers in five.