The argument could be made that the Chicago Bulls (55-35 SU, 44-46 ATS) should still be favored to win their series with the Cleveland Cavaliers (58-30 SU, 43-45 ATS) even though they lost Game 2. There's no debating that they are favored in Game 3 though, as the fact that they are giving two points should be considered a massive warning to those who just think that Cleveland is going to waltz into the NBA Finals.
HISTORY ON ANGRY LEBRON
When LeBron James gets angry, it's bad news for whomever he is playing against, especially the Bulls. And knowing LeBron the way we have gotten to know LeBron for the last decade, when the team he is playing on loses, LeBron gets angry.
The Bulls have made the "mistake" of winning Game 1 against James' teams on three different occasions now. In the first instance in 2011, the Miami Heat were beaten in Game 103-82, and they proceeded to win and cover each of the next four games, holding Chicago in the 70s or the 80s in regulation time in each game.
In 2013, the Bulls won the opening game 93-86 in South Beach, only to turn around and get blasted in four games in a row, covering just one of the four.
There is definitely a common thread that should be followed in these games. The Bulls just don't have any way of getting out of the blocks in a hurry against James when he is playing hard on both sides of the ball.
In the eight games following Game 1 losses, the Heat held the Bulls down to just 20.8 points per first quarter, which set the tone for the rest of the game to be a huge disappointment. We saw something similar in Game 2 here in this series with Cleveland. James was at his best on both sides of the court, and the Cavaliers went up 38-18 and never looked back.
The best time to live bet on Cleveland in this game could very well be at the very beginning, as we just don't know if the Bulls can figure out how to score against him when he is running the show at full strength.
THE TRISTAN THOMPSON EXPERIMENT
David Blatt might not be long for the NBA, but we really think he made a fantastic move by starting Tristan Thompson instead of Mike Miller in Game 2 on Wednesday night.
In Game 1, Cleveland was -20 with Miller on the court in his 16 minutes. The Bulls were +22 in terms of points in the paint and +3 on the glass.
With Thompson starting in Game 2 and James getting a chance to shift back to the small forward spot where he is more comfortable playing, the Cavaliers were +8 in rebounds and +2 in points in the paint.
There's just a toughness that's there with having Thompson on the court, and letting James do what he does is really the key here. When the Cavaliers go small, that's the time to bet against them, as James isn't nearly as effective as a power forward as he is as a small forward, particularly against this Chicago lineup with Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol on the court at the same time.
However, when Cleveland is playing big, if Thompson is getting to the glass, you can bet that the Cavaliers are going to have a good price in live betting, something that you should not miss out on, knowing how much Chicago has struggled against their big lineup in this series.
The NBA betting lines for this Friday game were first available at BookMaker Sportsbook. The Bulls were set at -2. Live wagering during commercials offers adjusted moneylines, totals and spreads. Log in and start gambling during the game now!
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