Cavs at Bulls Preview, Start Time, TV, Line and Injury Report

The Cavs, 11-0 after a comeback win vs Brooklyn Netswill head to Chicago to face the slumping Bulls looking to continue their blistering start to the season.

WHO: Cleveland Cavaliers (11-0) at Chicago Bulls (4-6)

Where: United Center, Chicago, IL

When: 20.00, Monday 11 November

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Ohio (formerly Bally Sports), NBA League Pass

Line: Cavs -8

Expected Cavs starting lineup: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

Cavs injury report from yesterday: Max Strus – OUT (ankle), Emoni Bates – OUT (knee), Luke Travers – OUT (two-way), JT Thor – OUT (two-way)

Expected Bulls starting lineup: Josh Giddey, Coby White, Zach LaVine, Patrick Williams, Nikola Vucevic

Bulls injury report from yesterday: Lonzo Ball – OUT (wrist), EJ Liddell – OUT (two-way), Zach LaVine – PROBABLE (right adductor strain), Adama Sanogo – OUT (two-way), DJ Steward – OUT (two-way)

Fear the Sword will be hosting a live stream watch party for select games this year Playback. Participate Jackson Flickinger and Corey Walsh as they react to all the action.

What to watch out for

Second half sadness?

Yes, the Cavs remain undefeated to start the season. But the last few games have shown a few cracks in the armor.

Namely a really bad third quarter.

Two games ago, the Cavs almost conceded Golden State Warriors within shouting distance after allowing 41 points in the third quarter. The uprising was crushed, but Kenny Atkinson was reportedly held back from tearing into his team after the poor second half against Golden State. The Cavs looked sloppy, primarily defensively, undoing much of their good work from the first half in which they built a 40-point lead against the Warriors.

Then in the last game against the Nets, the Cavs had a similarly bad third quarter that looked like the end of the streak. The Cavs were outscored 27-14 in the third frame, their lowest quarter-point output of the season. Things also looked fierce in the fourth quarter until the Cavs rattled off 10 straight points (eight of which came from Darius Garland) to take the lead for good. The Cavs may have taken their foot off the pedal a bit, either by choice or due to fatigue, but they’ve looked more vulnerable in the second half of late.

Board fight

For as good as the Cavs have been this season, one area they have struggled with is rebounding the basketball. The Cavs are 25th in the league in rebounds per. game (41.4), while the Bulls are 5th in the league (46.8). Nikola Vucevic leads the team with 10.3 rebounds per game, while Allen averages 11.3 rebounds per game. Allen had a tough game against the Nets, grabbing just three rebounds while going up against Nic Claxton.

Utilizes the paint

The Bulls as a team are 18th in defense, but they are particularly bad at defending the rim. Chicago allows the fourth-most shots at the rim and third-highest field-goal percentage at the rim per Cleaning the glass. That bodes well for a trying Cavs team eighth most shots on the rimpowered by the excellent big ones. Caris LeVert and Ty Jerome also provide plenty of rim pressure when on the floor. Both are in 81st percentile or better. The Cavs are one of the best offenses in the league overall, but their rim pressure may be more important against a leaky Bulls interior defense.