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Last game before the break and the Chicago Bulls come to town. The Bulls are pretty much the definition of mediocrity. They are 26-28 overall and 11-16 on the road. In their last 10 games they are 5-5. In two games against the Cavs in December and January they lost by nearly identical scores of 109-95 and 109-91.
The Cavs are looking to end the first “half” on a winning note after being upset at home on Monday by a Sixers team missing Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, and several backups.
Since January 1 the Bulls are 1-8 against teams over .500 and 10-1 against the under .500s. Their one impressive win in 2024 was at home against Minnesota in overtime. So in 20 games this year they were predictable 90% of the time.
The Bulls are below average offensively, ranking 25th in scoring, points in the paint, and 2-point shooting percentage. They’re 24th in effective field goal percentage and fast break points. They don’t take a lot of 3’s (23rd) and aren’t good at shooting them (22nd). They’re below average in drawing fouls and they tend to go one-on-one (26th in assist percentage). The only thing they do well offensively is avoid turnovers, where they rank 3rd. When you don’t pass the ball you turn it over less often.
Zach LaVine is their second leading scorer at 19.5 ppg and he is out for the season, so they may be even more challenged offensively. But Zach has only played 25 of their 54 games so I don’t know how much his absence affects them. They’re 6-5 since his last game so I don’t think his loss is a big deal. Either way they’re a .500 team.
The Bulls are the league's slowest team in terms of pace.
Defensively they’re above average but not elite, ranking 11th in scoring. Opponents shoot more 3’s against the Bulls than any team; 45.2% of their shots are from deep. I’m not sure why - the Bulls are average at defending 3’s and also at defending 2’s. The Bulls allow fewer points in the paint than any team, but that might be because their opponents are taking so many 3’s.
My guess is the Bulls know they lack rim protection so they pack the paint and invite opponents to shoot from deep and hope they have an off night. Everybody on their team is 6’5” or 6’6” except the two centers; Vucevic and Drummond, and only one of them plays at a time.
The one area they excel on defense is steals and forcing turnovers, where they rank 6th and 5th. The Cavs need to protect the ball and not force risky passes into small windows like they kept doing against Philly. The Bulls are small but athletic and it appears they gamble for steals knowing they are at a huge height disadvantage.
DeMar DeRozan averages 23 points and 5 assists per game as the king of the mid-range jump shot. The Cavs have defended him very well; in two games he’s averaging 13.5 points in 39 minutes. DeRo is 34 so playing nearly 40 minutes a game is probably not a good idea, but they’re desperate for scoring.
PG Coby White averages 19 points and 5 assists, shooting 46% overall and 39% on 3’s. C Nikola Vucevic averages 18 points and 11 rebounds on 48% and 28%.
After DeRo, White, and Vucevic the scoring really drops off. PF Patrick Williams averages 10 ppg but he is out. SG Alex Caruso and SG Ayo Dosunmu both average 10 ppg. SF Torrey Craig averages 6 points and C Andre Drummond 8 points and 8 rebounds. Only Vucevic and Drummond at 6’10” and 6’11” are taller than 6’5” among the available rotation players.
The Cavs will have home court advantage where they won nine straight before being upset by Philadelphia on Monday. They also have the height advantage, especially at power forward with Mobley and Wade, assuming he is able to play. The Cavs will also be looking to avoid going into the All-Star break with two straight home losses. And the Bulls are 1-8 against teams over .500 in 2024.
It all points to a Cavs’ win but it looked even more lopsided in the Cavs’ favor against the Sixers on Monday and the Cavs lost. Hopefully the Cavs won't be on the wrong end of another St. Valentines' Day massacre.
It’s impossible to predict the NBA. When the Cavs played Philly in November Embiid, Harris, Batum, Melton, Covington, Morris, and Beverly combined to score 85 points, but the Sixers still lost in OT. None of those guys were available Monday, but the Sixers still put up 124 points. In the November game the Cavs were missing Mitchell, and LeVert, but won anyway. On Monday they had Mitchell and LeVert and still lost. Go figure.
The game is on ESPN.
The Cavs are looking to end the first “half” on a winning note after being upset at home on Monday by a Sixers team missing Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, and several backups.
Since January 1 the Bulls are 1-8 against teams over .500 and 10-1 against the under .500s. Their one impressive win in 2024 was at home against Minnesota in overtime. So in 20 games this year they were predictable 90% of the time.
The Bulls are below average offensively, ranking 25th in scoring, points in the paint, and 2-point shooting percentage. They’re 24th in effective field goal percentage and fast break points. They don’t take a lot of 3’s (23rd) and aren’t good at shooting them (22nd). They’re below average in drawing fouls and they tend to go one-on-one (26th in assist percentage). The only thing they do well offensively is avoid turnovers, where they rank 3rd. When you don’t pass the ball you turn it over less often.
Zach LaVine is their second leading scorer at 19.5 ppg and he is out for the season, so they may be even more challenged offensively. But Zach has only played 25 of their 54 games so I don’t know how much his absence affects them. They’re 6-5 since his last game so I don’t think his loss is a big deal. Either way they’re a .500 team.
The Bulls are the league's slowest team in terms of pace.
Defensively they’re above average but not elite, ranking 11th in scoring. Opponents shoot more 3’s against the Bulls than any team; 45.2% of their shots are from deep. I’m not sure why - the Bulls are average at defending 3’s and also at defending 2’s. The Bulls allow fewer points in the paint than any team, but that might be because their opponents are taking so many 3’s.
My guess is the Bulls know they lack rim protection so they pack the paint and invite opponents to shoot from deep and hope they have an off night. Everybody on their team is 6’5” or 6’6” except the two centers; Vucevic and Drummond, and only one of them plays at a time.
The one area they excel on defense is steals and forcing turnovers, where they rank 6th and 5th. The Cavs need to protect the ball and not force risky passes into small windows like they kept doing against Philly. The Bulls are small but athletic and it appears they gamble for steals knowing they are at a huge height disadvantage.
DeMar DeRozan averages 23 points and 5 assists per game as the king of the mid-range jump shot. The Cavs have defended him very well; in two games he’s averaging 13.5 points in 39 minutes. DeRo is 34 so playing nearly 40 minutes a game is probably not a good idea, but they’re desperate for scoring.
PG Coby White averages 19 points and 5 assists, shooting 46% overall and 39% on 3’s. C Nikola Vucevic averages 18 points and 11 rebounds on 48% and 28%.
After DeRo, White, and Vucevic the scoring really drops off. PF Patrick Williams averages 10 ppg but he is out. SG Alex Caruso and SG Ayo Dosunmu both average 10 ppg. SF Torrey Craig averages 6 points and C Andre Drummond 8 points and 8 rebounds. Only Vucevic and Drummond at 6’10” and 6’11” are taller than 6’5” among the available rotation players.
The Cavs will have home court advantage where they won nine straight before being upset by Philadelphia on Monday. They also have the height advantage, especially at power forward with Mobley and Wade, assuming he is able to play. The Cavs will also be looking to avoid going into the All-Star break with two straight home losses. And the Bulls are 1-8 against teams over .500 in 2024.
It all points to a Cavs’ win but it looked even more lopsided in the Cavs’ favor against the Sixers on Monday and the Cavs lost. Hopefully the Cavs won't be on the wrong end of another St. Valentines' Day massacre.
It’s impossible to predict the NBA. When the Cavs played Philly in November Embiid, Harris, Batum, Melton, Covington, Morris, and Beverly combined to score 85 points, but the Sixers still lost in OT. None of those guys were available Monday, but the Sixers still put up 124 points. In the November game the Cavs were missing Mitchell, and LeVert, but won anyway. On Monday they had Mitchell and LeVert and still lost. Go figure.
The game is on ESPN.
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