Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Preview and Prediction (2/11/23)
Line: Cavaliers -5, Bulls +5
Total: 221.5
Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Betting Odds Breakdown
The Chicago Bulls will be on the road this weekend to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers are coming into this game as the favorite at -5, and the over/under is sitting at 221.5 points.
Chicago Bulls Preview
Chicago is coming into this game on a little two game skid, and they are going to try to end that against the Cavaliers.
Chicago has had a bit of a difficult time with the Cavaliers this season, with their last game against them had them losing 145-134 in overtime. In that game, their offense was very solid, with them shooting about 50 percent from the field, and they even protected the ball pretty well, with them only turning the ball over seven times. Their offense hasn’t been great as a whole this season, with them sitting at only 17th in the league for offensive efficiency, but they were able to have a very good offensive night against one of the best defensive teams in the league when they last met up. But, they really do need to worry about their defense.
The Bulls defense is what caused them to lose the last time they played the Cavaliers. And for a team that has had a solid season defensively with them sitting at tenth in the league for defensive efficiency, it’s surprising that their defense performed that badly. And for the most part, their poor defensive play in that game was caused mainly by Donovan Mitchell, who put up a total of 71 points on the board. So this time, they will have to keep an extra eye on him, because they can’t let that happen again or they could be in for a long night.
Cleveland Cavaliers Preview
The Cavaliers are on a five game winning streak as of now, and they will look to grow that streak against the Bulls at home.
The young Cavaliers have had a very solid season so far, with them sitting at 36-22 coming into this game. Their offense has been solid this season, with them sitting at tenth in the league for offensive efficiency. It also appears that Cleveland is very confident in their offense to connect on a high percentage of shots, as they slow at the slowest pace in the entire league. And for most of the year, it has paid off for them to do that. They are sitting at 36-22, so they may not change much down the stretch.
The Cavaliers have had a great defensive season this year, and with them being pretty active on the defensive side of the ball, that has put them at second in the league for defensive efficiency, only behind the Memphis Grizzlies. And this should be a good matchup for Cleveland, who is facing off with a team that has not been too great on the offensive side of the ball. It wouldn’t be surprising if this is a defensive game, but at the same time it could end up like their last game against Chicago where it had a lot of offense. They may even turn to Donovan Mitchell once again after the performance he had against Chicago the last time. Either way, this should be an entertaining game.
Winner Prediction: Cleveland Cavaliers -5
It feels like the Cleveland Cavaliers have the advantage over the Bulls going into this game.
Cleveland is on a hot streak right now, and you should expect that to continue at home against Chicago.