The Cleveland Cavaliers (8-3) can extend a five-game home winning streak when they meet the Milwaukee Bucks (5-6). Action begins at 8:00 pm ET on Thursday, Nov. 19 and can be seen on TNT and FxO.
The Cavaliers are hoping for a better outcome after their 104-99 loss to the Pistons on Tuesday. LeBron James was the game’s leading scorer with 30 points. The Bucks, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their deflating 115-86 loss against the Wizards on Tuesday. Greivis Vasquez played well for Milwaukee, recording 12 points, three assists, and two rebounds.
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Bucks winning the first matchup 108-105. James put up 37 points and 12 rebounds.
This one isn’t expected to be close when the Cavaliers, a big nine-point favorite, take on the Bucks. The Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 195 points for this matchup. Despite being 8-3 Straight Up (SU), the Cavaliers have struggled to cover the spread in most of their matchups, only managing a record of 3-8 Against The Spread (ATS). Although they have struggled to cover the spread against the East (2-7), they’ve won fairly consistently (6-3). Cleveland is one of the best passing teams in the league with an average of 23.7 assists per game. Crossing over to the defensive side of the court, it’s been a struggle for opposing teams to score on the Cavaliers. The 96.4 points that Cleveland’s defense allows per game makes them the fifth-ranked defense in the league. Cleveland will look to take advantage of the Bucks and their propensity to foul. Milwaukee ranks 29th in the league in fouls, averaging 24.0 per game.
In the other locker room, the Bucks have 5-6 SU and ATS records. Against the Eastern Conference, Milwaukee is 5-5 SU and 4-6 ATS.
In their previous meeting this season, Milwaukee beat Cleveland, but the win was not enough to overtake Cleveland in the most recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 4-6 SU over the last 10 meetings. With a 7-3 record, the Bucks have the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cle, ATS Winner – Mil, O/U – Under
Notes
Cleveland is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland’s last 6 games.
Cleveland is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games.
Cleveland is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland’s last 6 games when playing Milwaukee.
Cleveland is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Milwaukee.
Milwaukee has a perfect 1-0 record against the division, while Cleveland is 1-3 SU.
Milwaukee ranks 25th in points per game with 96.6, while Cleveland ranks fifth in points allowed with an average of 96.4 given up.
Milwaukee puts up an average of 95.4 points per away game (ranked 26th), while Cleveland gives up 98.2 points per home game (ranked 10th).
The Cleveland Cavaliers have a winning record (5-1) when their opponents score fewer than 100 points this season. The Milwaukee Bucks are 3-4 when they don’t hit triple digits.
Cleveland is 3-2 when it allows 100 or more points. The Bucks have an even 2-2 record when they reach the century mark.
The Bucks have a defensive rating of 107.0 (ranked 29th). The Cavaliers rank sixth for their offensive rating of 104.4.
The Cleveland Cavaliers average 98.1 possessions and 1.044 points per possession in games this season. The Milwaukee Bucks average fewer possessions with 95.8, as well as fewer points per possession with 1.009.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking fifth in the league with an EFF% of 51.2%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Milwaukee Bucks are winless with a 0-4 record.
Cleveland ranks near the top of the league with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.67 (ranked fifth). Milwaukee is ranked 15th, with an A/TO of 1.49.
The Milwaukee Bucks are one of the worst rebounding teams in the league with just 38.6 per game. Ranked seventh, the Cleveland Cavaliers average 46.8 rebounds.
Cleveland is ranked fourth in defensive rebounds, while Milwaukee ranks 20th in offensive rebounds.
Though Milwaukee is one of the best in the league in forcing turnovers with opponents averaging a TOV% of 16.3% (ranked sixth), Cleveland has a winning 3-1 record SU when it has a TOV% of 16.3% or greater.
