Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Chicago Bulls October 22 Betting Preview

History says …

In 226 regular season games, the Bulls have won 132 meetings to Cleveland’s 94. A season ago, the Cavs won the opener, but the Bulls won the remaining three meetings and look to extend that winning streak.

The Bulls also covered in all three of those wins against the spread, while the Cavs covered their win straight up and against the spread. The under was 3-1 last season.

It’s cliche to say but is also true that every game matters. The Bulls once led the Eastern Conference but slipped to sixth and avoided the play-in tournament by two games.

Meanwhile, the Cavs finished eighth and hosted the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament. Cleveland finished 44-38 with the same record as the Brooklyn Nets, who were both two games behind the Bulls.

Fast forward to this year, and the Cavaliers acquired Donovan Mitchell to pair alongside a young core of Darius Garland and Evan Mobley. Together, that core hopes to develop and avoid the play-in tournament altogether.

Injury Bug

Darius Garland will not play Saturday night. He suffered a laceration near his eye in the season opener, a 108-105 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.

The Bulls are sitting Zach LaVine in Friday’s game against the Washington Wizards. He also missed the season opener, a 116-108 win over the Miami Heat, due to left knee management.

Both teams have point guards out till later in the year. Ricky Rubio is out until at least January with a knee injury. Lonzo Ball is out until at least late December with the same injury.

Opposite Starts

The Bulls were victorious in their opener behind DeMar DeRozan’s 37 points. He was one of five scorers in double figures, including second-year guard Ayo Dosunmu who added 17 points. Chicago has depth in the frontcourt and backcourt with Nikola Vucevic, the return of Patrick Williams, and the addition of Andre Drummond.

Meanwhile, the Cavs couldn’t overcome Garland’s injury. Mitchell was strong in his debut, scoring 31 points to lead five scorers in double figures, which included Cedi Osman (17), Mobley (14), Jarrett Allen (13), and Caris LeVert (10). Still, it wasn’t good enough in a loss after leading by six at the half.

Odds And Ends

Lines show the Cavs are road favorites by -1.5 (-110). The Cavs are (-121) on the moneyline, and the Bulls are (+102).

Though the Bulls have dominated the series over recent history, sporting a 34-15 record against the spread in the last 49 meetings.

The public favors the Bulls against the spread, and 53 percent of the public bets are on the home team.

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