Chicago Bulls (15-19) vs Cleveland Cavaliers (22-14)
Game Info: Saturday, December 31, 2022 at 7:00 pm (United Center)
Betting Odds: Chicago Bulls +3.5 -- Over/Under: 223.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
Where to Watch: NBC Sports Chicago, Bally Sports Ohio Stream live sports and exclusive originals on ESPN+. Sign up now! 
The Cleveland Cavaliers travel to the United Center to take on the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.
The Cleveland Cavaliers look to have cooled off from their five-game win streak as they are now looking to stop a three-game skid after falling short against the Pacers in a 135-126 road loss on Thursday. Donovan Mitchell led the team with 28 points and eight assists, Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert each scored 19 points while Darius Garland chipped in with 18 points and eight assists on eight of 11 shooting. As a team, the Cavaliers shot 52 percent from the field and 12 of 28 from the 3-point line as they looked to be in control when they poured in 68 points in the first half to take the early lead, but they come out ready to play defense and got burned in the second half where the Pacers poured in 71 points to fall short in the end.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls have been in great form as they’ve won five of their past six games and they will be eager to stay hot after routing the Pistons in a 132-118 home win last night. Zach Lavine led the team with 43 points and six assists on 15 of 20 shooting, DeMar DeRozan added 22 points with six rebounds and five assists while Nikola Vucevic chipped in with 19 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. As a team, the Bulls shot 57 percent from the field and 12 of 27 from the 3-point line as they set the tone with 33 points in the first quarter to take the early lead, before they exploded for 72 points in the second half to pull away and win comfortably behind the hot hand of LaVine who barely missed all night.
Looking at the betting trends, the Cavaliers are 1-9-1 ATS in their last 11 road games and 2-5 ATS in their last seven games overall. The Bulls are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 home games, 4-0 ATS in their last four games playing on zero days rest and 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall.
Head to head, the Cavaliers are 16-34 ATS in the last 50 meetings overall.
The Cavaliers could be shorthanded for this one as Cedi Osman, Evan Mobley and Darius Garland as questionable, while the Bulls have ruled out Derrick Jones Jr once again. The Cavaliers have really been doing it tough over their past three games as they’ve leaked an average of 126 points per game during their three-game skid, so I’ll back the Bulls in this spot, even though they are playing their second game of a back to back set.
Peter’s Pick Chicago +3.5
AUTHOR: Peter Tran
Mitch's Take...
