Tip-off: Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ET
Line: Cleveland -11

The Cavaliers will be going for their third straight win when they face a tired Bulls group on Saturday night.

The Bulls have really struggled recently, losing two straight games and six of their past eight. The team has been playing some miserable defense over the past few weeks, allowing over 100 points in six of its past eight games as well. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers have won two straight games after defeating the Clippers 115-102 on Thursday. However, coach David Blatt was fired on Friday, which could make for an interesting game on Saturday. These teams previously met on opening night of the NBA season and the Bulls won that game 97-95 as four-point home favorites. Chicago is now 6-4 ATS versus Cleveland in the past 10 meetings between these teams, but Cleveland is 6-4 SU in those contests. The Cavaliers had also won three straight against the Bulls before the opening night loss. PG Kirk Hinrich (Quad), C Joakim Noah (Shoulder) and SF Mike Dunleavy (Back) are out indefinitely for Chicago and Cleveland will be entering this game at close to full strength in this game.

Although the Bulls haven’t been doing very well, Chicago PG Derrick Rose (15.7 PPG) is starting to play extremely well. Over the past two games, Rose is averaging 28.0 PPG in 33.0 MPG. The Bulls will need him to continue playing this way and it would be huge if he could outplay Kyrie Irving on Saturday. SG Jimmy Butler (22.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.8 SPG) will also need to play well for the Bulls on Saturday. Butler is averaging 25.5 PPG and 9.5 RPG over the past two contests and will really need to be at his best in this one. Butler could spend a large majority of this game on LeBron James and he would need to play some excellent two-way basketball if that is the case. C Pau Gasol (16.3 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 2.2 BPG) will also be featured heavily by Chicago in this one. Gasol had 18 points and 11 boards in Friday’s loss to the Celtics and will need to be a force in the paint against Cleveland in this game.

The Cavaliers have responded very well to their blowout loss to the Warriors on Monday, defeating the Nets in Brooklyn on Wednesday and beating up on the Clippers on Thursday. The main reason Cleveland has been playing better is because of the team’s effort to get PF Kevin Love (15.7 PPG, 11.0 RPG) more involved in the offense. Since scoring just three points against the Warriors, Love has averaged 17.5 PPG and 17.0 RPG over the past two games. He is just 9-for-20 from the field, but he is a solid 13-or-16 from the line. Love is being more aggressive and it would really help Cleveland if he can continue to be a factor around the rim, as he spends most of his time in the corner these days. PG Kyrie Irving (16.1 PPG, 3.9 APG) also responded to some recent struggles, finishing with 21 points in 29 minutes against the Clippers on Thursday. He really held his own against Chris Paul and will now need to play well against Rose in this one. As always, SF LeBron James (25.0 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 6.2 APG, 1.4 SPG) will also need to be at his best for the Cavs. He had 22 points, 12 assists and five boards in 35 minutes against the Clippers and could potentially need to do even more against the Bulls in this one.