Basketball Playoff Predictions – Chicago on Brink of Elimination Against Cavs Tonight

The Cleveland Cavaliers are on the brink of eliminating the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. After stubbing their toe in Game 3, where the Bulls beat Cleveland 108 to 106 as 4-point dogs in the basketball sportsbook, the Cavs bounced back big time in Chicago in Game 4.

They racked the Bulls for a 23-point victory, 121 to 98, as 5 ½ point favorites. LeBron James was every bit the King, scoring 37 points, grabbing 12 boards and handing out 11 assists. James and the Cavs look to end any thoughts that Chicago has of making this a series by dominating the Bulls again on Tuesday night.

The basketball odds makers have installed Cleveland as a huge favorite in tonight’s game.

Chicago Bulls +12 -110 +900 O 199 -110

Cleveland Cavaliers -12 -110 -1600 U 199 -110

The trends point to Chicago being the team to beat in this game.

• The Chicago Bulls are 8 and 2 ATS in their last 10 games on the road.
• The Chicago Bulls are 4 and 1 ATS in their last 5 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
• The Cleveland Cavaliers are 2 and 6 ATS in their last 8 games at home.
• The Cleveland Cavaliers are 1 and 6 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight-up win.

With Derrick Rose and Luol Deng probable for Tuesday’s game, the Bulls are in worse shape in Game 5 then they have been in any of the other 4 previous games in this series.

Without either Rose or Deng, the Bulls have absolutely no chance of covering the 12-point spread much less beating the Cavaliers. But, this is a playoff game and it’s unlikely that either Deng or Rose will sit it out tonight.

Will the Bulls be able to keep this game close? Chicago is the type of team that implodes when the pressure becomes great. The pressure was great on them in Game 4 after they pulled off the victory over the Cavs in Game 3.

They didn’t respond very well, shooting 37.4% from the field when making only 34 of 91 total shots. Yes, the loss to the Cavs had a lot to do with how great LeBron was and LeBron can put together two stellar games in a row, but the real reason that the Bulls lost Game 4 was because they shot so poorly from the field.

Interestingly enough, the Bulls are in line to shoot much better from the field in Game 5. Instead of allowing the Cavs to run all over them again, the Bulls could put up a spirited fight, shoot closer to 45% from the field, and keep the game close…at least until the 4th quarter.

The Bulls and Cavs are 2 and 2 in this game when it comes to the basketball betting spread. The Bulls are coming off of their worst shooting game of the series and have a legitimate shot to bounce back to their season average of 45.1%.

If they do, then they could keep this game to around an 8 to 12 point margin. That’s the way that I’ll bet it.

Although it’s a tough wager to make, I’ll be putting money on the Chicago Bulls to cover the spread.

Pick: Chicago Bulls +12