The Chicago Bulls host the Cleveland Cavaliers in a battle for the Central Division! It's time to continue our NBA odds series with a Cavaliers-Bulls prediction and pick.
The Cavaliers are (0-1) on the year after falling to the Toronto Raptors in the first game of the season. Donovan Mitchell made his Cavs debut and he scored 31 in the loss. There is a lot to look forward to for this Cavs team. As for the Bulls, they are (1-1) on the year after losing to the Washington Wizards last night. They took down the Miami Heat on Opening Night and will now get one of their top players back. Zach LaVine is expected to play tonight after not playing in the first two games. This should be an exciting matchup between two potential playoff teams.
Here are the Cavaliers-Bulls NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NBA Odds: Cavaliers-Bulls Odds
Cleveland Cavaliers: -1.5 (-114)
Chicago Bulls: +1.5 (-106)
Over: 220.5 (-110)
Under: 220.5 (-110)
Why The Cavs Could Cover The Spread
Spida showed up in his Cavaliers debut. His 31 points really showed that he can lead this team and he also finished with nine assists. His playmaking ability will really catapult this team and alongside Darius Garland will only make him better. Garland only played 13 minutes in the loss and is out for tonight's game. However, the Cavs still showed that they look like an elite team even with him off the floor. Cedi Osman scored 17 in the loss and Evan Mobley and Jarred Allen combined for 27 points. With the first-game jitters out of the way, the Cavs have a great shot at covering the spread tonight.
This was one of the better defensive teams in the NBA last season and that should continue into this year. Kevin Love understands his role and provides great defense and leadership from the bench. Allen and Mobley can be one of the best frontcourt duos in the league if they continue to defend at a high level. The Cavs ended with five blocks on the night and will need that presence against a team with athletic guards.
Why The Bulls Could Cover The Spread
The Bulls will get LaVine back and the offense should improve tremendously. DaMar DeRozan continues to be a scoring machine averaging 34.5 points per game. He scored 37 in the first game and then 32 against the Wizards. They fell short but it certainly wasn't because of him. The rest of the lineup needs to get more comfortable scoring outside of Nikola Vucevic. He is averaging 19.5 points per game as well as 12.5 rebounds. He is one of the best two-way centers in the game but will have Jarrett Allen defending him all night.
Andre Drummond backs up Vucevic and provides elite rebounding for this team. He's averaging 7.5 rebounds in just 16.5 minutes per game. If the Bulls can put everything together now that LaVine is back then they can go on a run like they did last season and be one of the better teams in the conference. If they continue to see improvement from Ayo Dosunmu and Patrick Williams then there is no reason why they can't be a deep team.
Final Cavaliers-Bulls Prediction & Pick
This has the makings of being a very exciting game to watch. I expect it to be high scoring and the Bulls should expload with LaVine back. Take the Bulls to cover this spread at home as well as the over at 220.5.
Final Cavaliers-Bulls Prediction & Pick: Bulls +1.5 (-106); Over 220.5 (-110)
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