Cleveland is on a two-game winning streak after beating the Los Angeles Clippers in a wild 126-121 Friday night game.
Chicago is struggling having lost five of their last seven games, including a 107-99 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.
Projected Starting Lineups
Cleveland Cavaliers (21-20)
G Kyrie Irving – 21.2 ppg, 5.1 apg
G J.R. Smith – 13.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg
F LeBron James – 26.0 ppg, 7.4 apg, 5.5 rpg
F Kevin Love – 17.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg
C Timofey Mozgov– 8.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg
Chicago Bulls (27-15)
G Derrick Rose – 18.0 ppg, 5.2 apg
G Kirk Heinrich – 7.4 ppg, 2.8 apg
G Jimmy Butler – 20.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg
F Taj Gibson – 11.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg
F Pau Gasol – 18.9 ppg, 11.4 rpg
What to watch for:
Can Chicago take advantage of Kevin Love not being 100%?
Kevin Love expects to play tonight after missing Cleveland's last game with back spasms, and his back still isn't quite 100 percent. The Bulls will be without Joakim Noah, but Gasol and Gibson are still capable of dominating the paint. Love is a weak defender anyway, and that injury will further limit his mobility. If Chicago can exploit that potential mismatch while they're on offense, they'll give themselves a great chance to win.
Derrick Rose vs. Kyrie Irving
Irving has perhaps his best game of the season against Chris Paul and the Clippers, dropping 37 points while playing solid defense on Paul. Rose will come in motivated to prove he's back to his old MVP self against LeBron James, providing Irving with another tough test. If he can at least play even with Rose, Cleveland will win this game.
Prediction: Cavs win 102-96
I think Cleveland's win over the Clippers was a turning point in their season, and I think they'll carry that home with them. Chicago is a great road team (15-5 on the season) and they'll keep this close, but the Cavs will use the momentum from the crowd to pull away in the fourth quarter.
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