The Eastern Conference’s top team will be on the road when the Cleveland Cavaliers (20-9) head to the Pepsi Center to face off against the Denver Nuggets (12-19). Action begins at 9:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Dec. 29 and can be seen on FxO and ALT.
The Nuggets are hoping for a better outcome after their 122-112 loss to the Thunder on Sunday. Despite the loss, Kenneth Faried earned his sixth double-double this season with 25 points and 11 rebounds. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are coming off a 101-97 win against the Suns on Monday. Kyrie Irving was the team’s top scorer, registering 22 points on 7-for-16 shooting.
Will Barton has taken his game to another level over the last five games for the Nuggets. During that stretch, he has averaged 21.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 3.0 three-pointers.
The Cavaliers are favored by eight points over Denver and the Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 200 points. The Nuggets come into this game 12-19 Straight Up (SU) and 14-15-2 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 3-3 SU and 2-3-1 ATS against the Eastern Conference.
In the other locker room, the Cavaliers have 20-9 SU and 12-17 ATS records. Despite having a winning record against the Western Conference, Cleveland is unsuccessful ATS in those games with a record of 3-5. The Cavaliers allow just 95.3 points per game, ranking them second in the league.
These two meet for what will be their first head-to-head battle of the season. Denver won the last game in the matchup, bumping its SU record to 6-4 over the Cavaliers in their last 10 meetings. The teams are even ATS, with a 5-5 record.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cle, ATS Winner – Cle, O/U – Under
Notes
Denver is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Denver’s last 9 games.
Denver is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games.
Denver is 2-7 SU in its last 9 games at home.
Denver is 2-6-1 ATS in its last 9 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Denver’s last 5 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Denver’s last 7 games when playing Cleveland.
Denver is 12-6 SU in its last 18 games when playing Cleveland.
The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Denver’s last 19 games when playing at home against Cleveland.
Denver is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Cleveland.
Cleveland ranks 21st in points per game with 99.9, while Denver ranks 23rd in points allowed with an average of 103.9 given up.
Cleveland puts up an average of 96.5 points per away game (ranked 24th). Denver ranks 27th in points allowed per home game with 105.1.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are 13-4 in games where they allow fewer than 100 points, while the Denver Nuggets are winless (0-13) when scoring less than 100.
Cleveland is 7-5 when allowing 100 or more points this season. The Nuggets have a winning 12-6 record when hitting triple digits.
The Nuggets have a defensive rating of 106.8 (ranked 28th), while the Cavaliers rank sixth for their offensive rating of 104.3.
Denver has an average field goal percentage of 43.7%. Cleveland is a solid 8-5 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
Denver attempts an average of 24.0 three pointers per game, and Cleveland attempts 27.0 per game. In games where the teams have 25 or more three point attempts, the Nuggets have a 7-9 record while the Cavaliers have a 12-9 record.
Denver has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.57 this season (ranked 15th). Cleveland ranks higher with an A/TO of 1.60 (ranked 11th).
The Denver Nuggets rebound 44.0 times per game and are ranked 12th. Ranked seventh, the Cleveland Cavaliers rebound 44.9 times per game.
Denver is ranked 22nd in defensive rebounds, while Cleveland ranks 15th in offensive rebounds.
The Nuggets’ opponents have had an average turnover percentage of 14.3% this season. The Cleveland Cavaliers have a dazzling 12-3 record when their TOV% is 14.3% or higher.
