The Chicago Bulls will travel to Quicken Loans Arena to face off against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, May 12 and can be seen on TNT.
The Cavaliers are expecting a better outcome after their 99-96 loss to the Bulls on Friday. Despite the loss, LeBron James earned his 22nd double-double this season with 27 points and 14 assists. Derrick Rose led the game in scoring by accounting for 30 points on 10-for-26 shooting.
From an effective field goal percentage perspective, this will be a matchup of two heavyweights. Cleveland’s sharp-shooting offense is ranked fourth in the league in that metric at 52.0%, while Chicago is second-best in the NBA at making opponents miss (47.3%). Furthermore, getting to the line could play a crucial role for the Bulls. They rank fifth in the league in free throw attempt rate (30.4). However, the Cavaliers are among the best in the NBA at keeping opponents off the charity stripe (ranking first at 23.8).
The odds for Cleveland and Chicago are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable as of now. The Cavaliers have gone 53-29 Straight Up (SU) and 40-42 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a solid 7-3 SU record over their last 10 games, but have not fared as well ATS (3-7).
Over on the other bench, the Bulls have 50-32 SU and 39-43 ATS records. Against fellow division members, Chicago has an 8-8 SU and a 7-9 ATS record. The Bulls convert their free throws at a high percentage, ranking third in the league at .783. The Bulls have controlled the glass with an average of 45.7 rebounds per game, third in the league.
With the Bulls’ last win against Cleveland, they evened up the head-to-head record over the last 10 meetings, 5-5 SU. The Bulls lead the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4. Chicago held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers four times in the last 10 matchups. On the other side of the court, Cleveland never accomplished this feat in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – CHI, ATS Winner – CHI
Notes
Ranked zeroth, Cleveland puts up 0.0 points per game. On the other hand, Chicago allows 0.0 and also ranks zeroth (in points allowed).
Cleveland and Chicago are well matched, ranking zeroth in points per home game and points allowed per away game respectively. Cleveland puts up an average of 0.0 points per home game, while Chicago allows 0.0 points per away game on average.
The Chicago Bulls won their last game by a three-point margin. In games decided by a margin of three points or less, the Cleveland Cavaliers are 6-4. Chicago is 7-2 in close games this season.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Bulls are 35-11 on the season. When the Cavaliers score fewer than 100, they are an underachieving 11-24.
When the Chicago Bulls allow at least 100 points they are 15-21, while the Cleveland Cavaliers are 42-5 when they reach the century mark.
The Cavaliers have a defensive rating of 103.4 (ranked 17th), while the Bulls rank 11th for their offensive rating of 104.5.
Ranked eighth in the NBA, Cleveland has an average field goal percentage of 45.8%. Chicago is 12-18 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
Cleveland averages 27.5 three point attempts per game, and Chicago attempts 22.3 per game. In games where the teams have 25 or more three point attempts, the Cavaliers have a winning 34-21 record while the Bulls have a 13-16 record.
The Cleveland Cavaliers rank 16th with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.62. The Chicago Bulls have a higher A/TO (1.65), ranking 15th.
With 45.7 per game, Chicago ranks near the top of the NBA for rebounds at third. Cleveland ranks 18th with 43.0.
Cleveland is ranked 21st in defensive rebounds, while Chicago ranks sixth in offensive rebounds.
Cleveland averages a forced turnover rate of 13.3% this season. Chicago has a 23-17 record when they suffer a turnover rate equal to or exceeding this.
