NBA Playoff Betting – (2) Cavaliers at (3) Bulls (Game 3)
By Zack Garrison in News
Updated: January 17, 2018 at 9:39 am ESTPublished:
Cleveland Cavaliers at Chicago Bulls (-1.5, 196, o/u)
Tonight, the Chicago Bulls (50-32, 27-14 home) host the Cleveland Cavaliers (53-29, 22-19 road) with their Eastern Conference semi-final series tied at one game apiece (8:00 PM Eastern at the United Center). The Bulls will be looking for a bounce back game after getting dismantled 106-91 in Game 2.
After coming out flat in Game 1, the Cavs announced to the world they would be aggressive in Game 2, despite missing two key starters (Kevin Love, who is out for the year with a shoulder injury, and J.R. Smith, who was suspended for the first two games of the series). The two remaining pieces of Cleveland’s “Big 3” played up to their superstar reputations in the win, with Lebron James scoring a game-high 33 points and Kyrie Irving adding 21.
“We’re a little banged up, we’re short-handed, so I have to be aggressive,” James said after the win. “Even more aggressive than my usual self, and I was happy I was able to make a couple of plays to help our team win tonight.”
The Cavs raced to a 38-18 first quarter lead, effectively putting the game to bed before Chicago had a chance to warm up.
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau was blunt after the loss. “They smashed us,” said the coach.
Chicago point guard Derrick Rose had an off night, shooting-wise, going just 6/20 from the floor for 14 points. He gave full credit to James for leading the Cavaliers to victory. “That’s what a leader of the team is supposed to do,” said Rose about James’ performance. “Everybody on the team followed right behind him.”
J.R. Smith will be back for Cleveland tonight, which should give the offense a boost. But the fact of the matter is that the Cavaliers were a mediocre road team this season (22-19), and the Bulls have been good at home (27-14). Taking the home team and laying the modest 1.5-points looks like the play.
Pick: Bulls -1.5.
(Photo credit:Â Keith Allison from Owings Mills, USA (Derrick Rose) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)
Sports Writer
Zack is a tour guide whose favorite sports are football, baseball, and golf. He enjoys giving obnoxious commentary during games and hopes to some day write a book about sports. His favorite underdog victory was the Diamondbacks beating the Yankees in game 7 of the World Series.
