Cleveland at Chicago NBA Lines, Betting Pick & TV Info

One of the most unusual winning streaks in years is on the line Thursday night as the Chicago Bulls have somehow won 18 straight home games played on Thursday nights and broadcast by TNT. The desperate but struggling Cleveland Cavaliers look to end that and could be slight NBA betting favorites.

Cleveland at Chicago NBA Lines, Betting Pick & TV Info

When: Thursday, March 30, 8 PM ET Where: United Center, Chicago TV: TNT Stream: NBA.tv Radio: Cleveland / Chicago NBA Odds: Cavs favored by TBA

Why Bet on Cleveland?

Cleveland is having a terrible month of March with fewer wins than the Brooklyn Nets. That has cost Cleveland the top seed in the Eastern Conference as it’s now held by Boston. The Cavs were embarrassed on Monday in San Antonio in a potential NBA Finals preview, 103-74. The Cavaliers were downright awful Monday, scoring a season-low 74 points on just 15.4 percent shooting from 3-point range. Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said he thought his team looked flat and tired against San Antonio, Cavaliers star LeBron James was injured late in the third quarter after taking an elbow to the base of his neck. He remained on the bench for a while receiving medical attention, then headed toward the locker room and didn’t return to the game. James finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in 29 minutes. James absorbed the blow standing under the basket as Spurs forward/center David Lee pulled down a rebound with his elbow coming in contact with the Cavaliers star. James says he’s fine and will play Thursday. The Cavaliers had a 5½-game lead on the Celtics on Jan. 10. Since then, Cleveland has gone 19-17 while Boston has gone 25-11. The Cavs had held sole possession of the East’s best record for 129 straight days. They’ve at least shared for the lead since the end of play on Nov. 9, 2015. That ended Monday. Celtics star Isaiah Thomas thinks the Cavaliers will be OK despite recent struggles. “They’ve been struggling for whatever reason but it’s still an NBA-championship- caliber team. They’re defending champions so it goes through them until someone eliminates them. I don’t think you can be too worried about the things that they’re struggling with right now. They’re a really good team. Sooner or later they’ll probably figure it out.” Kyle Korver (foot) will miss the Cavs next three games, but he says he’s seen “progress” and is hopeful he won’t miss the remainder of the regular season. Korver said the training staff is trying out new pads in his shoes to alleviate the soreness. J.R Smith will continue to start and log heavy minutes.

Why Bet on Chicago?

The Bulls are battling for the final playoff spot in the East. They have been off since winning 109-94 in Milwaukee on Sunday. Nikola Mirotic tied a season high with 28 points, while Jimmy Butler had 20 points and a career-high 14 assists. It was the third straight game with double-digit assists for Butler, who is also Chicago’s leading scorer (23.6 points). The last Chicago player to total that many points and assists in a game was Pau Gasol (22 points, 14 assists vs. the Blazers on Feb. 27, 2016). Rajon Rondo racked up 18 points on 8-of- 11 shooting, nine rebounds, nine assists, one 3-pointer and one steal in 34 minutes. Rondo has scored double-digit points in consecutive games just once in March, but he’s been solid in other areas with averages of 3.8 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.6 steals. Over the past month, Rondo has emerged as a 3-point threat for this Bulls squad. He’s made 17 threes in March – including a season-high four on March 21 at Toronto – after making a total of 26 through the prior five months. His 3-point percentage in March is .515 (17-of- 33). Bobby Portis vanished on Sunday with just four points and two rebounds in 13 minutes of action, finishing 2-of- 6 from the field. Portis was averaging 15.0 points and 6.8 rebounds in his previous four games, so this was a serious letdown for his owners. Coach Fred Hoiberg said he thinks his team can build off this win with games coming up against defending champion Cleveland and another playoff hopeful, Atlanta. The Bulls also outrebounded Milwaukee 49-34. The last time the Bulls played on Thursday night at home on TNT, they upset Golden State 94-87 in February. They handed the Warriors their second straight regular-season loss for the first time since April 2015, a league-record streak of 146 games. The Warriors had been 18-0 following a loss over the last two seasons, winning by an average of 15 points.

Cleveland at Chicago Betting Pick: Cleveland Cavaliers

The Bulls are 3-0 vs. the Cavs this year, but LeBron is going to play angry. Take Cleveland unless James does sit.