The No. 2 Cleveland Cavaliers (5-2 SU, 4-3 ATS) will try to even their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the No. 3 Chicago Bulls (6-3 SU, 6-3 ATS) on Sunday. You can watch the game live on ABC.
It’s not truly a must-win situation for the Cavaliers but Sunday’s game is as close as a team can get to playing in one. The Cavs dropped a heart-breaker 99-96 on Friday and trail the series two games to one. A win Sunday gets Cleveland the homecourt advantage in a series that becomes a best-of-three while a loss has them on the brink of elimination. The Cavs lost their last two games in Chicago failing to reach 100 points each time.
Derrick Rose showed the Bulls what they’ve been missing during the postseason by draining a buzzer-beating three-pointer for the win on Friday. Limited in recent years by injuries to both knees, Rose has played well at times in these playoffs and had a breakout game banking in the winning shot Friday. It’s the first time Chicago won more than one game in a playoff series against a team led by LeBron James and the Bulls have a chance for a commanding lead with Game Four at home on Sunday.
KEY INJURY
Both teams revealed injuries to key players after Friday’s game. Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving was hindered by a sore foot that limited him to just 11 points. Meanwhile, Bulls forward Pau Gasol said he was dealing with a sore left hamstring and was uncertain about his status for Sunday. Cavs guard Iman Shumpert was cleared to play Friday despite straining a groin on Wednesday.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“That’s his greatness. There are not many like him. As a matter of fact there are probably not any like him that combine the speed, the quickness, the power. He is shaking the rust off. The more he plays the more comfortable he becomes.” – Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau on Derrick Rose
BETTING TRENDS
- Cleveland is 6-10 ATS in its last 16 games overall.
- Chicago is 10-4 ATS in its last 14 home games.
- The OVER is 9-6 in Cleveland’s last 15 road games.
KEY STATS
0: Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving, who averaged 5.2 assists per game during the regular season, failed to record one Friday for just the second time this season.
10: After going 10 quarters in the series without attempting a free throw, Chicago’s Derrick Rose finally got to the line two minutes into the third quarter on Friday and converted nine of 10 from the stripe in the game.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The Cavaliers can’t afford to have LeBron James distracted and that’s exactly what Bulls center Joakim Noah did Friday. Sure James scored 27 points with 14 assists, but Noah effectively got in LeBron’s head and had him more concerned about what was being said on the court than actually playing the game. James needs to let his play do the talking, like he did on Wednesday, and not let the antics of Noah get in the way. He can deal with that garbage when the series is over. But the Cavs could be faced with more problems when it was revealed Kyrie Irving has a foot problem and Iman Shumpert, though he started on Friday, was still hobbled by a groin injury.
Following a poor performance Wednesday the Bulls responded and rode the play of former league MVP Derrick Rose to victory. Rose scored 30 points Friday with the final three coming on a long jumper at the buzzer to give Chicago the win and the series lead. It was by far his biggest shot of the postseason. “It was huge. We needed that. That’s what he does,” backcourt mate Jimmy Butler said of the final shot.
In a series that is quickly turning into a battle of attrition, the team with the most healthy bodies gets the win. The Cavs got a boost with the return of JR Smith, who hit the game-tying bucket just before Rose’s heroics and scored 14 points following his two-game suspension. The Bulls may be without Pau Gasol on Sunday after he left Friday’s game late with a sore hamstring and did not return. The Bulls have a deeper bench but the Cavs have LeBron. And as long as James stays focused on hoops, the rest of the team will feed off his energy. We like the Cavs to even the series with a win taking homecourt advantage in what will be a best-of-three.
Cleveland 104, Chicago 97
BookMaker will be the first to send out the NBA spread for this game. Since this game can be seen by anyone with a TV, BookMaker will have a multitude of wagering options available for it. Outside of the normal lines, you can gamble on real-time odds and player props during the game. Live betting is open during every commercial break!
Need to fund your account before the big game but don’t have your computer? No problem, BookMaker sportsbook now offers a mobile betting cashier so you can deposit money directly from your smartphone. Don’t miss out on getting paid because you couldn’t bet, click here and deposit at BookMaker now! The contest between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls will take place Sunday, May 10, 2015, at 3:30 p.m. ET at the United Center. The game will be televised nationally on ABC.
