The Cleveland Cavaliers get a chance to avenge the disappointing home loss to the Brooklyn Nets when this lottery-bound team makes the second visit to Ohio on Tuesday. The Cavs have found a bit of stability lately, but need to keep the focus as there’s plenty of work to do.
Nets at Cavaliers
Spread: Cleveland -11.5 (-110) at BetDSI Sportsbook
Total: o/u 230.5 points (-110)
The Nets make the champs earn their paychecks
There’s a big difference between the last year’s Nets and what they have shown us for far this season. While they are the third worst team in the East (and Atlanta and Chicago are tough to beat), they’ve stayed competitive for the most part. On Sunday, they fell 111-118 to the Durant-less Warriors at home and it was a great example of their effort to improve.
Already playing without Russell (and Lin), the Nets also lost Trevor Booker to a sprained ankle, who started at the center position as the idea was to counter Warriors small ball with one of their own. It didn’t work. The Nets fell behind by double digits and trailed by 22 at the halftime. The deficit has grown to 28 in the third. The Nets of the past would have quit there, but instead, the made a valiant comeback attempt that fell short. If you are not a big proponent of trying to get back in games with three-pointers, I guess you can turn your back to this performance, as Brooklyn launched 48 attempts from behind the three-point line – double the number of their opponent. The game was always going to be a high-scoring contest, as the Nets hold the distinction of being the fastest team in the league per number of possessions. They attempted 95 field goals and 39 free throws, but not every shot is a good shot and it reflected in their percentages. 35.8 percent shots hit simply won’t get it done, and especially not when you miss 12 free throws. Not a single Net player hit all of his free throws, so it’s an area of concern for the coaching staff. Crabbe was the most active player once again, attempting 19 field goals and 11 threes as he finished with 25 points and seven rebounds. Dinwiddie got most of his points from the line (11-of-13) and had 21 points and 8 rebounds, in another solid display as the starting point guard. Both forwards, Carroll and RHJ had points-rebounds double-doubles. Nice stats and nice comeback attempt, but the Nets did very little on the defensive end and it had cost them the game.
Booker’s injury is of a day-to-day variety, but since he tweaked it against Utah and aggravated it in the last game, I believe he’ll be instructed to sit one out to let it heal. The Nets will probably turn to Zeller at the starting center spot, despite rookie Allen’s defensive prowess.
Place: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Date/Time: Wednesday, November 22nd, 2017. 7:00 PM ET
TV Coverage: FS Ohio, YES
Cleveland routs Pistons in Detroit
Few have been able to enjoy the Detroit Pistons’ new arena as the Cavaliers did on Monday night. The Cavs enjoyed good shooting and good defense to outscore their host by 39 points in the first three quarters, allowing their starters an extra rest at the end.
Kevin Love had 19 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists, and LeBron James supplied 18 points and eight rebounds while playing just 27 minutes in the blowout as the Cleveland Cavaliers extended their winning streak to five games with a 116-88 romp. The Cavaliers shot 52.5 percent from the field and 48.5 percent from three-point range. They’ve hit 11-of-17 3-point attempts in the first half, ending the game early. The Cavs caught the Pistons the night after they’d played in Minnesota. Still, James controlled the floor like he does when at his best – he hit cutters sliding to the rim or shooters waiting in the corners and converted on his own shots, using mismatches to his advantage. The Cavs were looking to make a statement on who owns the division and they get the message across. Whether it’s the game we were waiting for to say that they’re back, remains to be seen, as they know to follow statement wins with duds, just like the last time they’ve faced the Nets and lost at home.
The Cavs remain without Derrick Rose, Shumpert and Tristan Thompson. Jose Calderon moved back into the starting lineup and played well, but it’s still a fluid thing moving forward. Thomas started practicing without contact, so he’s still weeks away from his debut.
Brooklyn Nets at Cleveland Cavaliers Game Trends & Prediction
Brooklyn is 9-7 against the spread overall, covering in the last two and also in five of the last seven games. Two times they failed to cover was by 1 point and 0.5 points. With the pace, they are forcing, and the bad defense to go with plenty of threes attempted, the Nets are unsurprisingly profitable on the overs, despite facing big fat lines. Overall, they are 9-6, but most of the success comes at home, while they are 4-4 playing as a visitor.
The Cavaliers improved to 6-10-1 against the spread this season, but their troubles were never present on the road. Playing 8 games at home wasn’t enough for the Cavaliers to cover even once there, so this is their ninth chance. Even with the recent improvement, they are still winning by just 0.2 points on average. They are also a team which tends to play more overs, going 10-7 against the over/under this season, but the trend has been reverse lately – three of the last five game failed to reach the set total points line, and one of the overs happened only because the game went to overtime.
Admi-Rank: The Cavaliers stopped the fall and reversed the trend and with each win that confirms regained stability, they should continue to rise. The Nets are nowhere near their talent level and can only compete if the hosts show their usual bad face at home.
For veteran teams like Cleveland, motivation is the key. It’s obvious that they play at a much higher level when they feel they have something to prove. This should be the case in this game, as they’ve already let one slip by to their next foe, but it’s not a given – the Nets are not really their level. This may hurt them if the Nets start hitting their outside shots like in the second half of their previous game, so going against a large handicap doesn’t seem the right thing to do.
The Cavaliers are given a handicap of 11.5 points for this encounter, as they quickly captured all the momentum they lost in terms of market attractiveness. Despite the Nets battling, it’s a solid number and I won’t be jumping on the away side either. I’m going with +11 on their side, so the price would have to change a lot for me to consider it. Instead, I’m going with the unders here. The Cavaliers have been putting an effort into improving their defensive numbers (and not having Rose also helps), while the Nets have been overplaying their potential with Dinwiddie at the helm. They should regress but even with giving them full respect here, this game is likely going to be a blowout, and the bench would keep the scoring down.
My Pick: (no wager on the spread)
Total: Under 230.5 points (-110)
