The Cleveland Cavaliers will be missing two key players when they open the Eastern Conference semifinals against the visiting Chicago Bulls on Monday.
Chicago At Cleveland
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, May 4, 2015
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TNT
PREDICTION: Cavaliers 100, Bulls 93
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Oddsmakers currently have the Cavaliers listed as 5-point favorites versus the Bulls, while the game’s total is sitting at 194.
Forward Kevin Love is out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery and shooting guard J.R. Smith will miss the first two games after being suspended for hitting Jae Crowder in the face in the final game of the first-round series with over the Boston Celtics.
The absence of Love and Smith opens the door for third-seeded Chicago to pounce on the second-seeded Cavaliers and avoid a 0-2 hole. “You know when you play against them you’ve got to get back and you’ve got to take their momentum away,” Bulls point guard Derrick Rose told reporters. “It should be a fun series.” Forward LeBron James isn’t overly concerned with the roster shortages and says everyone just needs to compete hard and play their best. “From Day One we knew that we’d face adversity,” James told reporters. “You don’t know in what form or fashion. For us, it just happened to be a devastating injury but the games will still be played.”
Power forward Pau Gasol had five double-doubles in the six-game, first-round series win over the Milwaukee Bucks while averaging 16.3 points and 11.8 rebounds. He’ll look to control play in the interior while Chicago hopes Rose – four games of 15 or fewer points versus the Bucks – can match the caliber of play delivered by backcourt mate Jimmy Butler (24.8 average, five games of 20 or more points). “You to have to remember: This is his first time in the postseason in a long time for him,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters of Rose. “He feels real good, feels strong. He has to get ready for the next challenge.”
Team record: 54-34 SU,43-45 ATS
Chicago is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games
Chicago is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chicago’s last 5 games
Chicago is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Love’s injury thrusts afterthought reserve Tristan Thompson into a key role in the series as the Cavaliers attempt to slow down Gasol. “Everyone still has to do more and has to get adjusted to whether they’re starting of coming off the bench,” Thompson told reporters. “We got to be able to still do our roles.” Thompson averaged 7.3 points and 6.8 rebounds in the first-round sweep of the Celtics after averaging 8.5 points and eight boards during the regular season.
Team record: 57-29 SU,43-43 ATS
Current Streak: won 6 straight games.
Cleveland is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
Cleveland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Cleveland is 15-8 ATS in its last 23 games at home
Cleveland is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home
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