Cleveland Cavaliers vs Chicago Bulls Betting Preview
October 24, 2017Date & Time: Tuesday, October 24 @7:00 PM GMT
Venue: Quicken Loans Arena (Cleveland)
Head to head record
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Chicago Bulls 94-108 (2017 preseason)
Chicago Bulls vs Cleveland Cavaliers 99-93 (2016/2017 NBA)
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Chicago Bulls 99-117 (2016/2017 NBA)
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Chicago Bulls 94-106 (2016/2017 NBA)
Chicago Bulls vs Cleveland Cavaliers 111-105 (2016/2017 NBA)
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Chicago Bulls prediction
Cleveland Cavaliers will be looking to bounce back from a heavy 114-93 loss to Orlando Magic when they face Chicago Bulls at their Quicken Loans Arena. Bulls are after their first win of the season, but beating Cavs on the road is easier said than done.
All eyes on King James
Cleveland Cavaliers recorded a hard-fought 102-99 win over Boston Celtics in the opening match of the season and, to make things even better for the fans, they rolled over Milwaukee Bucks in their first away game of the 2017/2018 NBA campaign. Summer signing Derrick Rose has joined Isaiah Thomas in the recovery room, but the former New York Knicks ace should be back to the court soon. In their absences a man to watch in Tyronn Lue’s team will be LeBron James, who has been averaging 25 points this season. Kevin Love, who scored 19 points in the 114-93 loss to Orlando Magic, should play an important role in the home team as well and seeing that their Tuesday’s rivals Chicago Bulls have been struggling at the start of the season, home win should be considered.
The likes of Derrick Rose and Isaiah Thomas are both sidelined with injury, while Tristan Thompson should recover in time to face Chicago Bulls. Tyronn Lue has no other selection worries ahead of Tuesday’s game.
Back-to-back defeats
As expected, Chicago Bulls were outplayed by Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre (117-100) in the opening game of the season. Fred Hoiberg’s men then suffered an 87-77 loss to San Antonio Spurs and it is no surprise they are seen as underdogs in Tuesday’s clash against Cleveland Cavaliers. The club owners were force to sell key players in the summer and it has to be noted that Bulls head into the Cavs game with a severely-weakened team. Chicago are hit by injuries ahead of the trip to Cleveland and we do not believe that they are capable of upsetting Tyronn Lue’s troops at Quicken Loans Arena. Chicago Bulls, though, defeated Cleveland Cavaliers in each of their previous eight meetings in NBA and that is giving fans a reason for optimism. Finland international Lauri Markkanen has been producing fine performances at the start of the season and, no doubt, there is a bright future ahead of the 20-year-old power forward.
Kris Dunn is a major doubt and he will be assessed on the match day, whilst the likes of Bobby Portis, Nikola Mirotic, Zach Lavine and Cameron Payne remain in the treatment room.
Interesting Facts
- Chicago are eyeing their ninth consecutive win over Cleveland
- Kevin Love has been averaging 17 points this season
- LeBron James scored 26 points in last meeting between Bulls and Cavs in NBA
- Bulls had 19 turnovers in the 87-77 loss to San Antonio
- Cleveland recorded seven wins in last ten home games in NBA
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Chicago Bulls betting pick
Cleveland Cavaliers are determined to make amends for the upsetting loss to Orlando Magic and there is every chance LeBron James and Co. will leave their hearts on the court in Tuesday’s game against Chicago Bulls. Bulls are probably the worst team of the Eastern Conference and, taking everything into account, Cleveland are likely to record a routine win over Fred Hoiberg’s men.
Pick: Cleveland -14.5
Odds: -111