The Chicago Bulls take on the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at the United Center. The game starts at 3:30 pm ET on Sunday, May 10 and will air on ABC.
The Bulls lost to the Cavaliers 106-91 on Wednesday. Jimmy Butler finished with 18 points to lead the team. LeBron James led the game in scoring with 33 points on 13-for-29 shooting.
Keep an eye on Chicago’s ability to get to the charity stripe. They rank fifth in the league in free throw attempt rate (30.4), but Cleveland is among the best in the NBA at keeping opponents off the line (ranking first by allowing a free throw attempt rate of 23.8). Also, the sweet-shooting offense of the Cavaliers ranks fourth in effective field goal percentage at 52.0%, while the Bulls are second-best in the league at forcing opponents’ misses (47.3%).
The odds are even for this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable at the moment. The Bulls enter the game with records of 50-32 Straight Up (SU) and 39-43 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 8-8 SU and 7-9 ATS against teams from their own division. Chicago has been steady from the free throw line, shooting a stellar .783. Chicago has an edge in the rebounding department for this game, where they rack up an average of 45.7 rebounds per game.
On the other side, the Cavaliers head into the game with records of 40-42 ATS and 53-29 SU. Cleveland managed to go 7-3 SU over the last 10 games, while only going 3-7 ATS during the same amount of time.
Cleveland beat Chicago in their most recent meeting this season, taking the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over the past 10 meetings. However, the Bulls lead the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Chicago held the edge in all three of these categories four times in the last 10 meetings. Cleveland never did so in those games.
Predictions: SU Winner – CHI, ATS Winner – CHI
Notes
Chicago is 2-3-1 SU in its last 6 games,.
Chicago 9-3-1 SU in its last 13 games.
Chicago 9-1-1 SU in its last 11 games at home.
Chicago is 2-4-1 SU in its last 7 games, when playing Cleveland.
Chicago 7-2-1 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Cleveland.
Ranked zeroth, Chicago puts up 0.0 points per game. On the other hand, Cleveland allows 0.0 and also ranks zeroth (in points allowed).
Chicago and Cleveland are well matched, ranking zeroth in points per home game and points allowed per away game respectively. Chicago scores an average of 0.0 points per home game, while Cleveland allows 0.0 points per away game on average.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Bulls are 35-11 on the season. When the Cavaliers score fewer than 100, they are a poor 11-24.
Chicago is 15-21 when allowing 100 or more points this season. The Cavaliers have an exceptional 42-5 record when they hit the century mark.
The Cavaliers have a defensive rating of 103.4 (ranked 17th). The Bulls rank 11th for their offensive rating of 104.5.
Chicago averages 96.5 possessions per game, scoring 1.045 points on each possession. While Cleveland averages fewer possessions per game with 95.4, the team scores more points per possession with 1.081.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking fourth in the league with an EFF% of 52.0%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Chicago Bulls have an underachieving 6-13 record.
Chicago makes an average of 21.7 assists per game (ranked 14th). Cleveland ranks higher in assists with 22.1 (ranked 10th).
The Chicago Bulls average 5.8 blocks per game for a rank of fifth. The Cleveland Cavaliers rank lower (25th), earning 4.1 blocks each game.
The Chicago Bulls rank sixth in offensive rebounding, while the Cleveland Cavaliers rank 21st in defensive rebounding.
The Cleveland Cavaliers make an average of 7.4 steals per game. When the Chicago Bulls allow 7 or more steals, they are a winning 31-20.
