In a marquee Eastern Conference matchup later tonight, the careening Chicago Bulls look to arrest their four-game losing streak when they travel to Cleveland for the third of their four-game regular season series with the Cavaliers.
The Bulls have defeated Cleveland twice already this campaign, but doing it for the third time in a row appears to be a tall task, considering the absence of some of their key players. Will the Bulls beat Cleveland again? Or will the Cavs finally take down Chicago?
Read on for more about this game. You can also check out our breakdown of Spurs vs. Clippers.
With a pile of injuries on their injury list, the Bulls are hoping that those left healthy are going to step up their play. Chicago entered the All-Star break on a four-game skid, a stretch that includes a 113-90 loss to Atlanta at home on February 10.
The Hawks had their way against Chicago’s disappointing defense, as they went 47.8 percent from the field and knocked down 13 threes. And with leading scorer Jimmy Butler out with a knee injury, the Bulls failed to match Atlanta’s offensive firepower, as they failed to score more than 91 points for the second consecutive game.
Butler is not going to be in uniform for at least three weeks, so there will be added responsibilities on offense for the likes of Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose. Gasol was sensational in the most recent meeting with Cleveland, scoring 25 points to go along with 10 boards and six assists.
On the season, Gasol is averaging 17 points and 10.9 rebounds. As for Rose, so long as he’s healthy, he can still be quite the difference maker for the Bulls. The former league MVP, who scored 14 against Atlanta, is putting up 15.9 points per game.
While Mike Dunleavy is no Jimmy Butler, the 13-year veteran’s return to the lineup after a long absence (back injury) should help fill in some of Butler’s void. He’s played three games so far this season and averaged just 5.0 points on 13.7 minutes, but those figures should rise moving forward.
Doug McDermott is also going to play a critical role tonight, as he’s been a nice source of points of late for the Bulls. He’s scored in double figures in four of his last five games, averaging 13.0 points during that stretch.
Chicago is the best rebounding team in the league with 47.9 boards per game.
The Bulls are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 trips to Cleveland.
Unlike Chicago, the Cavs had a smooth ride going into the midseason lull, as they stitched together three-straight wins, albeit against lightweights New Orleans, Sacramento, and the LA Lakers.
Cleveland’s offense has been outstanding over its last 13 games, scoring an average of 107.6 points on 47.8 percent shooting with 10.0 threes during the same stretch. In their 120-111 demolition of the Lakers, the Cavs shot 51.1% and uncorked 13 threes. That smells like trouble for the Bulls whose defense resembled a punching bag of late. The Bulls have given up 112.0 points over their last four games.
And with Chicago missing its best one-on-one defender in Jimmy Butler, LeBron James could be in for a huge night after scoring 29 points against the Lakers. James has 51 total points in two meetings with Chicago this season.
Kyrie Irving, who unloaded 35 points in the Atlanta game, is looking to continue his scoring barrage. He’s averaging 28.2 points on an astounding 57.1% shooting over the Cavs’ last five games.
Cleveland is 7-3 SU and 5-5 ATS in its last five home games.
