The Denver Nuggets (29-41) will have their chance to beat the Eastern Conference’s best team when they face the Cleveland Cavaliers (49-20) at the Quicken Loans Arena. The game begins at 7:00 pm ET on Monday, Mar. 21 and can be seen on FxO and ALT.
The Cavaliers were blown out by the Heat 122-101 on Saturday. LeBron James was the game’s leading scorer, recording 26 points. The Nuggets, meanwhile, are coming off a 101-93 win over the Hornets on Saturday. D.J. Augustin led the team in scoring with 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Cavaliers won the first game 93-87. James was the game’s top overall scorer with 34 points.
The Cavaliers are attempting to build on their records of 49-20 Straight Up (SU) and 30-37-2 Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 7-3 ATS. Cleveland is excellent from the perimeter with 714 three-pointers made (10.0 per game), the fifth-most in the league.
As for their opponent, the Nuggets head into the game with records of 38-28-4 ATS and 29-41 SU. In Eastern Conference games, Denver has gone 29-41 SU and 38-28-4 ATS.
With the Cavaliers’ last win against Denver, the head-to-head record between these two is now an even 5-5 SU over the past 10 meetings. The Cavaliers lead the matchup ATS with a record of 5-4-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cle
Notes
Both Denver and Cleveland rank zeroth in points per game and points allowed per game respectively. Denver scores 0.0 points per game, while Cleveland allows 0.0.
Denver and Cleveland are well matched, ranking zeroth in points per away game and points allowed at home respectively. Denver scores an average of 0.0 points on the road, while Cleveland allows 0.0 points at home on average.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Cleveland Cavaliers are a formidable 27-9. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Denver Nuggets have a subpar record of 3-19.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have a winning 22-11 record when their opponents score 100 or more points this season. The Denver Nuggets are 26-22 when they register triple digits.
The Nuggets have a defensive rating of 106.3 (ranked 22nd). The Cavaliers rank fourth for their offensive rating of 108.4.
The Denver Nuggets average 98.9 possessions per game and 1.036 points per possession. The Cleveland Cavaliers earn fewer possessions with 95.6, but they score more points with 1.084.
Cleveland is among the top-ranked teams based on its average effective field goal percentage of 52.1% (ranked fifth in the NBA). Denver is an underachieving 8-24 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
Cleveland makes an average of 22.2 assists per game (ranked 15th). Denver ranks higher in assists with 22.5 (ranked 13th).
The Cleveland Cavaliers average 3.7 blocks per game for a rank of 28th. The Denver Nuggets rank higher (19th), earning 4.5 blocks each contest.
The Cleveland Cavaliers rank 11th in offensive rebounding, while the Denver Nuggets rank 17th in defensive rebounding.
Denver makes an average of 7.5 steals per game. Cleveland has a winning 28-10 record when it allows at least 7 steals.
