The Brooklyn Nets (19-51) welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers (51-20), the Eastern Conference’s best team, to the Barclays Center. The game begins at 7:30 pm ET on Thursday, Mar. 24 and can be seen on YES and FxO.
The Nets are expecting a different result after their 105-100 loss to the Hornets on Tuesday. Brook Lopez finished with 29 points to lead the game. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are coming off a 113-104 win against the Bucks on Wednesday. LeBron James was the game’s top scorer, registering 26 points on 9-for-22 shooting.
Over the last five games, Bojan Bogdanovic and Thaddeus Young have been better than usual for the Nets. During that stretch, Bogdanovic has averaged 24.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 3.0 three-pointers. Not to be outdone, Young has put up 16.2 points, 11.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.4 blocks.
The productive offense of the Cavaliers (fourth in the league with an offensive efficiency of 108.9) will look to pick apart the poor defense of the Nets (29th in the NBA with a defensive efficiency of 108.3), a matchup that could favor Cleveland.
The Cavaliers have won both contests against the Nets this season, including a 91-78 win the last time these two teams met. Tristan Thompson put up a double-double in the victory with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Nets enter the game with records of 19-50 Straight Up (SU) and 34-34-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 19-50 SU and 34-34-1 ATS versus the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn has been on fire lately, averaging 108.8 points per game, well over their season average of 98.3.
On the other side, the Cavaliers have 51-20 SU and 31-38-2 ATS records. Against the Eastern Conference, Cleveland is 51-20 SU and 31-38-2 ATS. Cleveland is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the league, making 10.0 shots from three-point range per game. The Cavaliers are one of the top defensive teams in the league, essentially shutting down opponents to the tune of 97.9 points allowed per game.
The Cavaliers’ win over Brooklyn in their last clash brought their SU record in the past 10 games to 7-3. The Nets hold the advantage ATS with a record of 5-4-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cle
Notes
“Brooklyn is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games “.
“Brooklyn is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games “.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Brooklyn’s last 5 games “.
“Brooklyn is 6-19 SU in its last 25 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 11 of Brooklyn’s last 13 games at home”.
“Brooklyn is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing Cleveland”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Brooklyn’s last 5 games when playing Cleveland”.
“Brooklyn is 4-7-1 ATS in its last 12 games when playing at home against Cleveland”.
“Brooklyn is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Cleveland”.
“The total has gone OVER in 6 of Brooklyn’s last 9 games when playing at home against Cleveland”.
While Brooklyn puts up an average of just 98.3 points per game (ranked 27th), Cleveland ranks third in points allowed, giving up 97.9 points per game.
Brooklyn averages 98.3 points per home game, placing the team just 28th in the league. Cleveland ranks second in points allowed on the road, giving up 97.6 points per away game.
Brooklyn has an 8-7 record when allowing fewer than 100 points. Cleveland has a 12-15 record when failing to hit the century mark.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Nets are just 11-44 this season. Cleveland is a stellar 39-5 when it reaches the century mark.
The Nets have an offensive rating of 101.6 (ranked 27th). The Cavaliers rank ninth for their defensive rating of 102.7.
The Brooklyn Nets average 96.7 possessions per game and 1.016 points per possession, while the Cleveland Cavaliers earn fewer possessions (95.5) but more points per possession (1.089).
The Cleveland Cavaliers have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking third in the league with an EFF% of 52.3%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Brooklyn Nets have an abysmal 4-31 record.
The Brooklyn Nets average 17.0 three point attempts per game and have a losing 1-3 record when attempting at least 25 in a game. The Cleveland Cavaliers average 29.0 attempts and have a winning 36-16 record when attempting 25 or more.
Brooklyn has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.54 this season (ranked 20th). Cleveland ranks higher with an A/TO of 1.76 (ranked seventh).
The Nets rank 23rd in rebounds per game with 42.3, while the Cavaliers rank ninth with 44.4 per game.
The Cleveland Cavaliers rank 11th in offensive rebounding, while the Brooklyn Nets rank 25th in defensive rebounding.
On average, the Nets force a turnover rate of 13.9%. When the Cavaliers turn over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 22-11 record.
