Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: Betting odds and prediction
An important game for the Chicago Bulls lies on tap on the night of Jan. 19 against the division foe Cleveland Cavaliers. Second-year head coach Billy Donovan is looking to finally get the Bulls off this losing skid that is now going on five games. The Bulls need to right the ship soon if they want to continue to sit atop the Eastern Conference standings.
The last game the Bulls played in was another convincing double-digit loss, which came back on Jan. 17 at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies. That gives the Bulls a record of 27-15 heading into this meeting with the Cavaliers.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers head into this game sporting a record of 27-18 as they are surging lately. Their last game resulted in a nice 114-107 win at home over the Brooklyn Nets on Jan. 17. The Cavaliers are riding a five-game winning streak heading into this game.
Here’s a look into the betting odds and game prediction as the Bulls get set to take on the Cavaliers at the United Center in Chicago on Jan. 19, with tip-off time set for 7 p.m.
Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers betting odds
According to WynnBet, the Bulls are a three-point underdog to the Cavaliers in this game. And the over/under is set at 215 points just ahead of tip-off.
The ESPN matchup predictor gives the Bulls a 31.2 percent chance to beat the Cavaliers.
Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers prediction
One key aspect to this game for the Bulls will be the fact that defensive standout point guard Alex Caruso will be returning to the rotation. This is a welcome addition back to the lineup for the Bulls as Caruso had missed more than the last dozen games dating back to last month.
While it is nice for the Bulls to be getting Caruso back, there are still some key players missing due to various injuries. Point guard Lonzo Ball, star shooting guard Zach LaVine, forward Derrick Jones Jr., etc. are all still missing for this meeting with the Cavs.
That will still place a lot of pressure on the shoulders of the duo of star forward DeMar DeRozan and center Nikola Vucevic. While DeRozan has still played pretty well of late for the Bulls, Vucevic just had one of his worst games of the seasons in the loss to the Grizzlies to round out the holiday weekend.
Vucevic needs a strong response against a lengthy and athletic Cavs frontcourt unit to find his stride again. He’s an important part of this starting unit, especially when the likes of Lonzo and LaVine are missing.
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The Bulls are facing a difficult stretch in the January schedule right now. It would be big for them to get a win over a streaking opponent like the Cavs before they get overtaken by either Cleveland or the Milwaukee Bucks also atop the Central Division standings. This actually seems like a game where the Bulls could pull an upset at home.