Tip-off: Monday,7:35 p.m. ET
Line: Cleveland -3.5, Total: 205

The surging Cavaliers look for their third straight victory when they host the Bulls on Monday night.

There is no doubt that Chicago is one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference, but it has faltered of late with five losses in the past seven contests. Bettors have been crushed by this club lately as well, with the team covering the spread a mere three times since Dec. 27 (3-10 ATS). It hasn’t even been that the Bulls are losing to tough teams, as they absorbed defeats against Utah and Orlando as double-digit favorites. Their latest challenge was the streaking Hawks and they really had no chance in the affair as they allowed Atlanta to jump out to a 24-16 first quarter lead and forced only nine turnovers the whole game. The Cavs have also had some struggles in the past few weeks with a 3-9 record (SU and ATS) since Dec. 28. Not surprisingly, many of those losses came without the services of SF LeBron James, who missed eight games in that stretch in which the rest of the team managed a 1-7 record with a putrid 90.6 PPG. Since James' return, the team has gone 2-1 and has upped its offensive game to 111.7 PPG. Cleveland had an impressive victory in its last outing on Friday, as it capped off a brutal five-game road trip with a 126-121 win over the Clippers as 8.5-point underdogs and hit 55.4% of its field-goal attempts. The Bulls have preferred to play on the road this season, going 15-5 SU (11-9 ATS) away from home, while the Cavaliers are 11-9 SU (7-13 ATS) at Quicken Loans Arena. It was Halloween of this season when these clubs last met and Cleveland had no problem grabbing a 114-108 victory as a 4.5-point underdog that night despite shooting a meager 39.4% from the floor. The Cavaliers really earned that win a 20-11 offensive rebounding advantage and 19 forced turnovers compared to nine turnovers committed, while and attempting 33 free throws to just 17 by the Bulls. In the previous four meetings in Cleveland, Chicago has a 3-1 record (SU and ATS), as it held the Cavs to 88.8 PPG. Trends show that the Bulls are 8-4 ATS (67%) after failing to cover five or six of their previous seven ATS this season, while Cleveland is 8-1 ATS (89%) after four straight games of allowing a shooting percentage of 47% or higher in the past three seasons. Injuries could certainly play a large factor in this one as C Joakim Noah (ankle) and SG Mike Dunleavy (ankle) and are out for Chicago, but SF Doug McDermott (knee) has been upgraded to probable. For Cleveland, PF Kevin Love (back) is also probable, with C Anderson Varejao (Achilles) and SF Iman Shumpert (shoulder) remaining out indefinitely.

Can the Cavaliers pick up a third straight win on Monday? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Forecaster has a strong 56% ATS record (106-85-1) in featured games this season. In terms of Best Bets, the experts have a stellar 67% ATS (43-21) record since Jan. 2, led by StatFox Scott, who is a sizzling 70% ATS (14-6) in Best Bets since Dec. 21, improving his record to 55% ATS (33-27) for the season. StatFox Brian is 63% ATS (24-14) in Best Bets since Nov. 29, and is now 57% ATS (34-26) in season Best Bets, while StatFox Gary is 69% ATS (9-4) in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 1, and 57% ATS (34-26) this season. StatFox Zach is 69% ATS (9-4) in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 2, while StatFox Dave is 58% ATS (7-5) since Jan. 2.

Last season the Bulls had the worst scoring offense in the league, but they were able to add PF Pau Gasol (18.9 PPG, 11.4 RPG, 2.1 BPG), and have also seen the breakout of SG Jimmy Butler (20.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.8 SPG). This has led to a strong 102.3 PPG (10th in league) behind 44.7% shooting in the 2014-15 campaign. Unfortunately, their defense has fallen off after being dominant last season, as it is now allowing 99.5 PPG on 44.3% shooting as a team (9th in league). PG Derrick Rose (18.0 PPG, 5.2 APG) has started to look like his old self with averages of 28.0 PPG and 8.3 APG over the past three games. Rose did well in the Oct. 31 loss to Cleveland with 20 points (8-of-16 FG) with four rebounds and four assists. Butler has been the difference maker for this team and has continued to be a defensive force with 11 steals in the past three games. He was not on the court against the Cavs earlier this season and has only 6.2 PPG and 2.6 RPG in 19.1 MPG over nine career games (two starts). Gasol was one of the better offseason acquisitions and he has seven double-doubles over 10 January games, as he is averaging 22.7 PPG (52% FG) in that time. His efficiency was not there against Cleveland in the loss this season, making only 6-of-18 shots and finishing with 15 points and six blocks.

The Cavs are a different team if they are missing some of their stars, but have been able to score 100.7 PPG overall as they make 45.1% FG. Their team is set up to win with offense, and that has been evident with them allowing their opposition to put up 100.7 PPG (12th-worst in league) on 47.2% shooting (2nd-worst in NBA). SF LeBron James (26.0 PPG, 7.4 APG, 5.5 RPG, 1.4 SPG) has put up some huge numbers in his three games since returning from injury (33.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 5.7 APG), but also struggled with nine turnovers against the Clippers on Friday night. He took a season-high 30 shots when the Cavs defeated Chicago at the start of the season, as he went for 36 points, eight rebounds, five assists, four steals and one block. PG Kyrie Irving (21.2 PPG, 5.1 APG, 1.5 SPG) was an absolute beast against the Clippers on Friday as he scored 37 points on 12-of-18 shots (5-of-7 threes) and added five assists, four rebounds and three steals. He made 10-of-10 free throws in the first meeting with the Bulls, but will look to improve on his 6-of-17 shooting which led to 23 points in that Halloween matchup. PF Kevin Love (17.7 PPG, 10.3 RPG) missed the last game with back spasms, but posted a double-double in six of the first nine January contests. He hopes to get back on the court, as he was vital in the win against Chicago on Oct. 31 with 16 points, 16 rebounds and four steals.