Cavaliers vs Bulls Picks and Predictions: East's Changing of the Guard on Full Display

If two teams can be looked at as the embodiments of the Eastern Conference’s rise, as well as its turnover this season, they are the Cavaliers and the Bulls. Neither made the playoffs last year, not even the play-in, yet both would have home-court advantage in the first round if the season ended today.

The Bulls are trying to regain their footing following Zach LaVine’s knee scare, but they remain atop the conference, while the Cavs have quietly surged again in the last couple of weeks to put themselves in contention for that top seed, as well.

Here are our free NBA picks and predictions for the Cavaliers at the Bulls on January 19, with tip set for 8:00 ET.

Cavaliers vs Bulls odds

Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.

This may as well have been a pick’em when it opened on Tuesday night, the Cavaliers favored by a point. By midmorning, though, that had risen to -3.0. The total opened at 215.5 before sunrise on Wednesday and by lunch, it had settled at 215.0.

Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until tip-off and be sure to check out the full NBA odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.

Cavaliers vs Bulls predictions

• Prediction: Cavaliers -3.0 (-110)
• Prediction: Under 215.0 (-110)
• Best bet: Cavaliers -3.0 (-110)

Predictions made on 1/19/2022 at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.

Cavaliers vs Bulls game info

• Location: United Center, Chicago, IL
• Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2022
• Tip-off: 8:00 p.m. ET
• TV: NBCSCH, BSOH

Cavaliers vs Bulls betting preview

Injuries

Cavaliers: Ricky Rubio PG (Out), Rajon Rondo G (Out), Colin Sexton PG (Out), Lamar Stevens PF (Out).
Bulls: Zach LaVine PG (Out), Lonzo Ball PG (Out), Derrick Jones Jr. SF (Out), Alex Caruso SG (Probable), Tyler Cook SF (Probable).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.

Betting trend to know

The Bulls are 0-5 ATS in their last five games against teams with a winning straight up record, all within the month of January and three of them coming in the last week. Find more NBA betting trends for Cavaliers vs. Bulls.

Cavaliers vs Bulls picks and predictions

Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.

Spread analysis

You know those friends you have, the ones that insist the NBA is boring and the players don’t play fundamental basketball and all those friends are really doing is confessing they have not watched the NBA in the last decade? You might be able to get them to watch this game, simply based on the idea that the last time both the Cavaliers and the Bulls were good was also when they were still watching Joakim Noah and Matthew Dellavedova.

These are not those Cavs and Bulls.

The Bulls have the No. 6 offensive rating in the NBA, per statmuse.com, and the Cavaliers rank No. 11. They provide fun basketball, as often contingent on DeMar DeRozan’s lethal mid-range game or Darius Garland’s combination of playmaking and deep shooting as they are anything that makes that ignorant friend gripe.

The difference between these contenders comes defensively. Cleveland’s size — Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and Lauri Markkanen all playing at least 30 minutes per game in 36 or more games this season and all standing 6-foot-11 or 7-feet — has made it an unexpected defensive marvel with the No. 3 defensive rating in the league this year. The difference between the Cavaliers and the No. 2 defense (the Phoenix Suns) is nearly as wide as between the Cavs and the No. 4 defense (the Dallas Mavericks).

Chicago, meanwhile, has the No. 20 defensive rating this season, as close to the bottom of the rankings as to Cleveland.

Only five teams can claim offenses and defenses both within the Top 11 in those ratings: the Suns, the Cavs, the Grizzlies, the Bucks, and the Heat.

At some point, Cleveland should be given the deference in handicapping that the rest of those teams are routinely given. It may be an upstart leaning on youth that no one saw coming this soon, but it has arrived and is more complete than Chicago even when the Bulls are healthy, and they are not at the moment.

Prediction: Cavaliers -3.0 (-110)

Over/Under analysis

LaVine was injured minutes into the Bulls’ matchup with the Warriors last week. Including that game, Chicago’s offensive rating in the last three games has been more comparable to the No. 25 in the league this season than its usual high-scoring, efficient output.

DeRozan, Coby White, and Nikola Vucevic, in particular, have done their best to carry the offensive load without LaVine, but things have unquestionably fallen off, even as White has averaged 18.3 points per game in the last three games compared to his 11.7 points per game before that.

There is simply no one to take the burden off DeRozan’s shoulders in spurring the offense when both LaVine and Ball are out, despite White’s impressive efforts. DeRozan’s usage rate of 31.3 percent in the last three games drastically overshadows the next highest mark of anyone who has played at least 24 minutes in the stretch, with Vucevic’s 24.3 percent ranking second.

Going against an already elite defense with such a workload on one wing’s shoulders creates a recipe for one offense to falter, as it has been all week.

Prediction: Under 215.0 (-110)

Best bet

LaVine’s injury is unfortunate in a number of respects, and all basketball fans — even including the aforementioned fans in name only — should be glad he avoided a serious injury and is expected back on the court before too long. In tonight’s respect, losing a chance to genuinely preview a possible playoff matchup is a lost opportunity.

If these two meet at full strength, expect more of a track meet. Until then, though, the more complete Cavaliers should find a way to distance themselves from Chicago tonight, which will only bring the two closer in the standings, within half a game, to be exact.

Pick: Cavaliers -3.0 (-110)

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