LeBron sitting out will stoke even more speculation

There has been speculation in some places -- mostly north of the border -- that the Cleveland Cavaliers would rather play the Bulls than the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the playoffs.

Such talk figures to grow now that the Cavaliers chose to sit LeBron James for Thursday night's game against the Bulls at the United Center -- two days after James played 35� minutes against the Raptors.

''He's got some bumps and bruises, and we just decided to rest him,'' Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said before the game.

The Cavaliers already have clinched the best record in the NBA, and James said a few days ago that he wanted to get some rest down the stretch.

Bulls …