Cavs And Bulls Ready For Game 2 Showdown

The most intriguing series in the NBA Playoffs as shifted to the East, as the two top contenders in the conference are meeting in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Championship semi-finals.

The Cleveland Cavs have opened as favorites with a point spread that has been hovering between -5 to -6 points depending on the sportsbook you are looking at.

It is clear that the books are not counting the Cavs out after taking a Game 1 loss at home in a game where they were favorites by as much as -4.5 points. The Cavaliers lost 99-92 at home against the Chicago Bulls.

Cleveland has been struggling to keep key players on the court this postseason. Kevin Love will be sitting this game with an injury, while J.R. is suspended. Iman Shumpert did a good job filling in for Smith last game with 22 points, but Mike Miller only scored three points filling in for Love.

Regardless of the injuries, it is clear that the sportsbooks are expecting a bounce back game from Cleveland. We saw the books take a lot of bettors money yesterday, when they put up a spread expecting the Atlanta Hawks to bounce back against the Washington Wizards, which they did.

Meanwhile, Chicago had three players reach 20 points in Game 1, including Derrick Rose (25 points), Pau Gasol (21 points) and Jimmy Butler (20 points).

The total is set at 195 points over at Bovada. The total hit the UNDER last game and their as been little adjustment done to it for this game. The Bulls like a slow and methodical pace with a heavy focus on defense and with three Bulls players in the 20-point range last game the Cavs will also likely buckle down on D’, meaning the UNDER looks like the safe bet. The Bulls have hit the UNDER in five of their last six games, while Cleveland has hit the UNDER in four of its last five games.

The game starts at around 7 p.m. ET tonight. You can watch it on TNT.