Cleveland Cavaliers vs Chicago Bulls Prediction, 4/17/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Chicago Bulls

Date: Saturday, April 17, 2021

Location: United Center in Chicago, IL

TV: NBC Sports Chicago

Odds/Point Spread: Cleveland (+1)

The Chicago Bulls (22-32) play the Cleveland Cavaliers (20-35) at United Center on Saturday. Chicago opens this contest as 1-point favorites. The O/U has been set at 212.

The Cleveland Cavaliers played the Golden State Warriors and took a loss by a score of 119-101 in their last game. Cleveland walked away from the game having earned a 43.2% FG percentage (35 of 81) and made 10 of their 31 shots from downtown. From the free throw line, the Cavaliers converted 21 of 27 attempts for a rate of 77.8%. Concerning grabbing rebounds, they earned 39 with 8 of them being offensive. They also dished out 21 assists in this matchup as well as forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and earning 11 steals. When discussing defending, Cleveland let their opponent shoot 51.1% from the field on 47 of 92 shooting. Golden State recorded 33 dimes and had 9 steals for the contest. In addition, Golden State snagged 47 rebounds (9 offensive, 38 defensive) and had 2 blocks. Golden State ended up going 80.0% when shooting free throws by making 8 of their 10 tries. They also converted 17 of 46 tries from 3-point range.

Collin Sexton is someone who was a contributor for the contest. He totaled 30 points on 10 out of 19 shooting. He was on the court for 34:20 minutes played and also collected 4 rebounds. Sexton finished the contest at 52.6% from the floor and also totaled 2 assists. One more player that was a factor in the matchup for the Cavaliers was Darius Garland. He snagged 4 rebounds in 34:46 minutes on the court. He finished 35.0% from the field in the game via 7-of-20 (20 points). When all was said and done, Garland totaled 7 assists.

Cleveland will enter this matchup with a record of 20-35 on the year. They turn it over 15.4 times per game and as a group they are committing 18.7 fouls per game. As a unit, Cleveland is collecting 42.6 rebounds per game and has 1,304 assists for the year, which has them ranked 21st in basketball in terms of passing. The Cavaliers are hitting 33.8% on three-point attempts (532 of 1,572) and 74.0% from the free throw line. They have an average of 103.9 points per outing (30th in the league) while shooting 45.2% from the floor. On the defensive end of the court, the Cavaliers have forced 15.3 turnovers per contest and they draw 20.1 personal fouls. The Cavaliers defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 48.0% (841 of 1,103) and they relinquish 43.9 boards per game as a basketball team. They are ranked 16th in the league in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,357 conceded for the season. They are giving up 38.3% from 3-point land and they are ranked 11th in basketball in opponents points per game (111.1).

For their last game, the Chicago Bulls went home defeated by a final of 115-106 when they played the Orlando Magic. The Bulls recorded 33 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 40 for this contest. They also turned the ball over 12 times, while getting 7 steals for the matchup. The Magic committed 15 personal fouls in this game which took the Bulls to the free throw line for a total of 9 tries. They were able to bury 7 of the free throws for a percentage of 77.8%. Pertaining to shooting from downtown, Chicago made 17 of their 37 attempts (45.9%). Overall, the Bulls ended up shooting 41 for 86 from the field which had them sitting at 47.7%. The Bulls permitted the Magic to bury 44 out of their 89 tries from the field which left them shooting 49.4% for the game. They shot 44.4% from 3-point land by hitting 12 of 27 and ended up going 15 of 20 from the free throw line (75.0%). When it comes to team rebounding, Chicago permitted Orlando to collect 46 overall (13 on the offensive glass).

Zach LaVine ended up having an impact for the Bulls in the matchup. He buried 11 of 22 in this matchup giving him a rate of 50.0%, and accumulated 5 rebounds. LaVine earned 30 points in his 38:59 mins on the hardwood and had 7 assists in this matchup. Someone else that ended up playing a role for Chicago was Nikola Vucevic. He finished with 1 assist in 33:34 mins on the court, and he knocked down 11 out of 20 from the floor. Vucevic finished going 55.0% from the floor while also totaling 29 points and 11 total rebounds.

Chicago has a win-loss mark of 22-32 so far this season. The Bulls have committed 19.2 personal fouls every game and they connect on 80.1% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 26.5 times per game (8th in the NBA) and they are turning it over 15.6 times per game. Chicago has scored 6,060 pts on the year (112.2 per game) and they pull down 44.7 rebounds per contest. On the offensive side of the court, the Bulls are connecting on 47.9% from the field, which ranks 8th in the NBA. The Bulls on defense are ranked 21st in the league in PPG allowed with 113.6. The Chicago defense allows 35.2% on 3-point shots (611 of 1,736) and opponents are making 78.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 24.1 assists and 42.1 boards every game, which is ranked 9th and 4th in basketball. They are forcing their opponents into 13.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 47.6% from the floor (25th in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Cleveland (+1)

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