The Chicago Bulls got the better of the Cleveland Cavaliers when these two last squared off back in the middle of December. Cleveland will get a chance for revenge when they host the Bulls on Wednesday night. To do so, however, they’ll need to do a better job at containing Chicago’s starting five while getting a bit more inside from Kevin Love who shot just 5-for-14 from the floor in Chicago last month.
At 8 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN for live television coverage of this NBA basketball game on Wednesday, January 4, 2017, at the Quicken Loans Arena. We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Wednesday schedule.
Odds Analysis
The Bulls got back in the win column on Monday night, beating the Charlotte 118-111 as Chicago rallied with a 36-point fourth quarter to come away with the victory, snapping a two game losing streak SU and a three game skid ATS.
Chicago’s be a constant underperformer this season given the names on the roster, but have been able to come up big against Cleveland beating them in both head-to-head matchups—albeit one before the start of the regular season, but Wednesday will be the Cavaliers’ first chance to host the Bulls.
Chicago will enter play just 2-6 ATS in their last eight games and 7-10 ATS on the road this season while Cleveland is 5-3-1 ATS in their last nine games after beating New Orleans on Monday, but failing to cover the nine point spread.
Revenge Angle
The Cavs are a better team than the Bulls, but Chicago played well against its rival back in December to win 111-105.
The Bulls took a one-point lead into the half, but came out strong in the third quarter, separating themselves from Cleveland in route to a win, despite being pups at home.
Outside, the Bulls dominated the Cavs as Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo shot 18-for35 from the floor. Wade notched 24-points while Rondo collected a triple-double with 15-points, 12-assists and 10-rebounds.
In addition, Jimmy Butler played nearly 42 minutes and shot 8-for-20, but was able to rack up the points with 10 shots made from the free throw line. In total, he led the team with 26 points while Taj Gibson added 23 points and 11 rebounds inside. Gibson shot 10-for-13 from the floor. That won’t carry over to Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Cleveland should get more from Kevin Love who struggled in Chicago. Kyrie Irving and LeBron James combined for 47 in the loss and could do even better at home.
The Cavs have just seven losses on the season, one coming at the hands of Chicago. LeBron and company won’t be in a hurry to surrender a second loss to a team that’s under-.500.
Injury Report
All of the big names are questionable for Wednesday night and depending on who actual is able to take to the court, this game could go a number of different ways.
LeBron James is currently battling the flu, but looked like himself against the Pelicans on Monday with 26 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 39 minutes on the court, but the Cavs did cancel their Monday shoot around and could limit their practices to give the star some needed rest while also limiting the rest of the team’s exposure.
Since James played on Monday, he’s likely to be good to on Wednesday with rest, but Kevin Love left the game with an illness. Right now, it’s being called food poisoning. He lasted 24 minutes before leaving and notched a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
With the team’s front court sick, it doesn’t help that the star of the back court, Kyrie Irving, has missed two straight with a hamstring injury. The team is 1-1 both SU and ATS without him, but the injury couldn’t come at a worse time. He had just led the team to a 124-118 win over Boston with a 32-poings and 12-assist game when he tweaked the hammy.
Flipping over to the Bulls, they’ve got a few list questions in terms of injury, but there is uncertainty around Dwyane Wade. The shooting guard is dealing with swelling in his knees and missed the team’s game on Monday after coming up with just eight points on Saturday in a loss to Milwaukee.
Free NBA ATS Picks
For some reason, the Bulls play the Cavaliers tough and you can expect that to happen once again. Keep a close eye on the spread. Given the records of each team and the fact this game will be played at the Quicken Loans Arena should give the Cavs a nice edge, though that could be minimized pending the status of the big three.
Provided James plays, look for the Cavs to get the win, but bank on the Bulls to cover the spread. There’s less injury concern on the side of Chicago. Besides, the Bulls’ offense has kicked it up a notch, scoring 111 or more in three straight games.
NBA Odds: Cavaliers 107, Bulls 106
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