The Eastern Conference’s top team will be at home when the Cleveland Cavaliers (13-7) welcome the Portland Trail Blazers (9-13) to the Quicken Loans Arena. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Dec. 8 and can be seen on FxO and CNW.
The Cavaliers are expecting a better outcome after their 99-84 loss to the Heat on Saturday. Timofey Mozgov had a good outing, putting up eight points, four rebounds, and two steals for Cleveland. The Trail Blazers, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their close 90-88 loss against the Bucks on Monday. Damian Lillard had a game-high 23 points.
This one isn’t expected to be close when the Cavaliers, a substantial nine-point favorite, take on the Trail Blazers. According to the oddsmakers, the Over/Under (O/U) is currently 202 points. Despite being 13-7 Straight Up (SU), the Cavaliers have struggled to cover the spread in most of their matchups, only managing a record of 7-13 Against The Spread (ATS).
In the other locker room, the Trail Blazers have 9-13 SU and 11-11 ATS records. Against the Eastern Conference, Portland is 1-4 SU and ATS.
These two will be squaring off for the first time this season. In their previous head-to-head meeting, Cleveland came out on top, but the win was not enough to overtake Portland in the recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 3-7 SU over the most recent 10 meetings. Furthermore, the Trail Blazers hold the advantage ATS with a record of 5-4-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cle, ATS Winner – Por, O/U – Over
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland’s last 5 games.
Cleveland is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games.
Cleveland is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Cleveland’s last 8 games at home.
Cleveland is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games at home.
Portland puts up 101.5 points per game (ranked 13th), but Cleveland typically allows only 97.5 points per game (ranked fifth).
Portland ranks 18th in points per away game with 98.2 points, while Cleveland ranks 11th in points allowed at home with 97.6.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are 8-3 in games where they allow fewer than 100 points, while the Portland Trail Blazers are winless (0-7) when they don’t hit the century mark.
Cleveland has a 5-4 record when allowing at least 100 points. Portland has a 9-6 record when it hits the century mark.
The Trail Blazers have a defensive rating of 103.8 (ranked 21st). The Cavaliers rank seventh for their offensive rating of 104.3.
Cleveland averages fewer possessions per game than Portland, with 97.3 compared to 98.3. However, the Cavaliers score an average of 1.043 points per possession, more than the 1.032 that the Trail Blazers score.
Portland is among the top-ranked teams based on its average effective field goal percentage of 50.1% (ranked eighth in the NBA). Cleveland is an even 4-4 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
Cleveland attempts an average of 28.0 three pointers per game, and Portland attempts 27.0 per game. In games where the teams have 25 or more three point attempts, the Cavaliers have a 9-7 record while the Trail Blazers have an 8-6 record.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.59, rank ninth in the NBA. The Portland Trail Blazers have a lower A/TO (1.37), ranking 23rd.
The Cavaliers rank seventh in rebounds per game with 45.9, while the Trail Blazers rank eighth with 45.8 per game.
Cleveland is ranked seventh in defensive rebounds, while Portland ranks ninth in offensive rebounds.
The Portland Trail Blazers’ opponents have had an average turnover percentage of 11.9% this season. The Cleveland Cavaliers have a winning 10-5 record when their TOV% is 11.9% or higher.
