Cavaliers vs. Bulls Pick
Are the Cleveland Cavaliers going to pick up a 12th straight victory tonight when they play the host Chicago Bulls at 8PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Cavaliers are listed as a 9.5-point favorite on the spread line. The over-under is set at 211 points.
Cleveland enters with a 16-7 straight up and 8-14-1 ATS after a 116-111 home win over the Grizzlies, its 11th consecutive victory. Chicago is 3-18 overall and 9-11-1 ATS following a 107-106 home loss to the Kings, its eighth defeat in a row. The Cavs won the first meeting 119-112 at home on Oct. 24. The Bulls are 4-1 straight up and 4-1 ATS in five meetings since the start of last season. The over has gone 3-2.
In the win over Memphis, Cleveland was led by LeBron James with 34 points, 12 assists and two rebounds. Kevin Love tallied 20 points, 11 rebounds and two assists. JR Smith added 17 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists. The Cavaliers trailed by four after one quarter, but outscored the Grizzlies 38-20 in the second.
Jerian Grant had 17 points, six assists and two steals off the bench to lead the way in the loss to Sacramento. Lauri Markannen had 14 points and five rebounds. Robin Lopez recorded 14 points, five rebounds and four assists. Paul Zipser added 14 points and five boards off the bench. Chicago allowed the Kings to shoot 52.9 percent from the floor.
Cleveland is 7-24 ATS in the last 31 meetings and 2-6 ATS in the last eight meetings in Chicago.
The Cavaliers have had their struggles against the Bulls, but a lot of those meetings were against much more talented Chicago teams. This version of the Bulls is inexperienced and struggling badly, which Cleveland will take advantage of tonight. Look for yet another big night from both LeBron and Love, while the Cavs bench is playing their best basketball of the season. Take Ceveland in a rout.
NBA DAILY PREDICTION: CLEVELAND CAVALIERS -9.5