Bulls vs. Cavs Betting Line February 18
Carrie Stroup here with your Bulls vs. Cavs betting line for Thursday night Cleveland -13, Total: 205.5
CHICAGO BULLS (27-25) at CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (38-14)
The Bulls will be looking to prevent a five-game losing streak when they face the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Thursday.
Chicago really struggled heading into the All-Star break, losing four straight games and six of its past seven. The losses weren’t necessarily close either, as the Bulls went just 1-6 ATS in those seven games as well. One thing that has plagued Chicago has been the team’s lousy defense. The Bulls have allowed opponents to shoot 44% or better from the field in six of the past seven and they will need to dig in and get stops against the Cavaliers on Thursday.
Cleveland was actually on a roll heading into the break, winning three straight games and scoring 120 points in each of the past two. The Cavaliers will be looking to stay hot against a Bulls team that can’t stop anybody at the moment.
These teams have met twice this season already and each team has won-and-covered when playing on the road. It’s worth noting that the Bulls have been miserable ATS versus the Eastern Conference this season, going just 10-21. They are also just 10-16 ATS on the road this season.
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are 3-0 ATS when playing with more than three days rest on the year. SG Jimmy Butler (Knee), PF Nikola Mirotic (Appendix) and C Joakim Noah (Shoulder) are out indefinitely for the Bulls and PG Matthew Dellavedova (Hamstring) is questionable for the Cavaliers.
With Butler out of the lineup, the Bulls are going to rely heavily on both PG Derrick Rose (15.9 PPG, 4.8 APG) and C Pau Gasol (17.0 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 2.0 BPG).
Rose is the guy that will have the ball in his hands for a majority of the time that Butler is out. He averaged 20.8 PPG in the four games heading into the break for Chicago, but he needs to be a lot better moving forward. Rose shot just 38.8% from the field in those games and that type of inefficiency will plague the Bulls. Rose has a big matchup with Kyrie Irving in this one and he can’t afford to be badly outplayed.
Gasol will be just as important as Rose these next couple of weeks. The big man had scored at least 20 points in three straight games heading into the All-Star break and he had nine points and seven rebounds in the All-Star Game for the Eastern Conference. Gasol is one of the most skilled centers in basketball and he’ll need to bully the Cavaliers around the basket. He is averaging just 13.5 PPG in two games against Cleveland this season and he’ll need to score more than that on Thursday.
The Cavaliers will be looking to continue winning after a long break and SF LeBron James (25.0 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 6.5 APG, 1.4 SPG) should be able to make that happen. James has dominated the Bulls this season, averaging 25.5 PPG, 11.5 RPG and 7.0 APG in two meetings with Chicago. His combination of strength and speed will be very tough for the Bulls to guard, especially with Butler out for the next few weeks.
PG Kyrie Irving (19.0 PPG, 4.5 APG) could give the Cavaliers a huge lift in this one as well. Irving will be matched up with Derrick Rose on Thursday and if he can outplay him then it’s tough to imagine the Bulls winning. Chicago is completely depleted and needs Rose to perform at a high level, and the Cavaliers could dominate this game if Irving can outshine him.
PF Kevin Love (15.7 PPG, 10.3 RPG) will be crucial in this game as well. Love is dealing with a banged up shoulder, but he is not supposed to miss any time with it. He’ll need to play better than he did just before the break, as he averaged just 10.3 PPG in the four games leading up to the All-Star Game. That is not going to cut it, as he is one of the better offensive power forwards in the league and Cleveland needs him to start playing like it.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
