Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images. Pictured: Garrett Temple #17 of the Chicago Bulls.
NBA Odds: Cavaliers vs. Bulls
| Cavaliers Odds | +2.5 |
| Bulls Odds | -2.5 |
| Over/Under | 212.5 |
| Time | Channel | 8:00 p.m. ET | NBCS-CHI |
The Bulls take on the Cavaliers as Chicago hopes to cling on to its play-in tournament hopes and Cleveland looks for some late-season improvement and four straight road covers.
Chicago has been abysmal on defense since the trade deadline, ranking 27th in defensive rating — allowing 116.5 points per 100 possessions since March 26, per NBA Advanced Stats — while struggling to integrate Nikola Vucevic into Billy Donovan’s offense.
The Bulls are 3-9 since the trade deadline and will need some solid perimeter shooting performances from their role players in the absence of All-Star Zach LaVine.
Coming off of their 11-point loss to Memphis, Donovan may experiment with yet another starting lineup after trying Daniel Theis at starting power forward on Friday night.
Cleveland has covered in three straight road games, and a big part of its success is a solid defense. The Cavaliers have lost three of their last five games, but in their last win, they held Charlotte to 90 points and 40.5% shooting from the field.
The Cavs’ defense can bring intensity in spurts, but at this point of the season, the over could provide real value. Cleveland has gone under on the total in back-to-back games but had gone over on the total in five straight games before that.
But as far as the spread goes, it seems as if sharp bettors are liking Chicago’s chances to get back on track.
Our latest PRO Report suggests that sharp bettors are backing the Bulls Saturday evening.
NBA Picks: Cavaliers vs. Bulls
Sharp Action
The line for Saturday’s game opened up at Bulls -1 before it was pushed up to -2.5.
Since this morning, there have been three Action Labs Bet Signals triggered on Chicago, signaling the sharp action backing the Bulls on Saturday night.
Big Money
At the time of this writing, the 54% of bettors backing the Bulls have generated 72% of the money wagered on Saturday’s game.
PRO Systems
Saturday’s Cavaliers-Bulls game fits into our NBA Tickets vs Money PRO System, which has a 55% win rate and an 8% Return on Investment since 2015.
PRO Report Pick: Bulls -2.5