The Cleveland Cavaliers (27-18) are in the Windy City Wednesday to play the Chicago Bulls (27-15) at United Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Cavaliers vs. Bulls odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Cleveland is on a roll, winning five straight and seven of its last nine games (4-3-2 ATS). The Cavs are 11th in both adjusted net rating at plus-2.4 and ATS margin at plus-2.0 in January, according to CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG).
Chicago has significantly regressed in January due to injuries. The Bulls are 4-5 straight-up (SU), 3-6 ATS and 27th in both adjusted net rating at minus-8.8 and ATS margin at minus-6.2 through the last two and a half weeks, per CTG.
The Cavs punched the Bulls in the mouth 115-92 at home as 3.5-point favorites the first time they met Dec. 8. Cleveland won all four quarters, outrebounded and outshot the Chicago from everywhere on the floor.
Cavaliers at Bulls odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:04 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Cavaliers -140 (bet $140 to win $110) | Bulls +115 (bet $100 to win $115)
- Against the spread (ATS): Cavaliers -2.5 (-112) | Bulls +2.5 (-108)
- Over/Under (O/U): 217.5 (O: -115 | U: -107)
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Cavaliers at Bulls key injuries
Cavaliers
- SG Lamar Stevens (knee) out
Bulls
- SG Alex Caruso (foot) probable
- PG Lonzo Ball (knee) out
- SG Zach LaVine (knee) out
- SF Javonte Green (hip) out
- PF Derrick Jones Jr. (knee) out
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Cavaliers at Bulls odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Cavaliers 113, Bulls 104
Money line
BET 1 unit on the CAVALIERS (-140).
The Bulls were missing wing DeMar DeRozan when the Cavs spanked them last month, but they had Ball, Green and LaVine, who will all miss this meeting.
More importantly, their backups — PG Coby White, SG Ayo Dosunmu and SF Alfonzo McKinnie — all grade in the 18th percentile or lower in their respective positions at adjusted on/off net rating, per CTG.
I think the length of Cleveland’s frontcourt can make life difficult for DeRozan who likes to operate in the mid-range.
However, the reason why the Bulls have sucked this month is that they rank 29th in adjusted defensive rating. That’s not good when playing a Cleveland team that is 11-3 SU versus teams in the bottom 10 of adjusted defensive rating with the best ATS margin at plus-5.3, per CTG.
This is also a better spot for the Cavs who have the second-best ATS record in away games and the best ATS margin while the Bulls are 0-5 ATS in their last five versus teams above-.500 and 3-5 ATS on the road versus above-.500. These ATS trends are applicable since this game is priced as a coin-flip.
BET the CAVALIERS (-140).
Against the spread
PASS since Cleveland’s money line is only 25 cents on the dollar pricier than the Cavaliers -2.5 (-115). That said, the Cavs are the right side.
Over/Under
PASS since there isn’t a big enough discrepancy between my numbers and the projected score, so there’s no value in me betting the total.
For what it’s worth, Cleveland is 17-28 O/U, Chicago is 21-20-1 O/U and the Under has cashed in four of the last five Cavaliers-Bulls meetings.
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