The Eastern Conference’s top team will be at home when the Cleveland Cavaliers (13-4) welcome the Washington Wizards (6-8) to the Quicken Loans Arena. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Dec. 1 and can be seen on NBA, FxO and WA2.
The Cavaliers enter this game hoping for similar success after barely hanging on to beat the Nets 90-88 on Saturday. LeBron James was the game’s leading scorer with 26 points on 10-for-22 shooting. The Wizards, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their close 84-82 loss against the Raptors on Saturday. Bradley Beal led the team in scoring with 20 points.
Over the last five games, Kevin Love has taken his game to another level for the Cavaliers, averaging 24.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.6 blocks, and 4.2 three-pointers.
When evaluating effective field goal percentage, the Cavaliers could have a healthy advantage on offense. They’re ranked second in the league in that category at 52.3%, while Washington’s suspect effective field goal percentage defense is ranked 26th, allowing opponents to connect at a rate of 51.8% this year.
The Cavaliers are a seven-point favorite against Washington and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at 202 points. The Cavaliers have gone 13-4 Straight Up (SU) and 7-10 Against The Spread (ATS). Although they have struggled to cover the spread against the East (6-9), they’ve won fairly consistently (11-4). The Cavaliers have no trouble scoring as they rank fourth in the league in home offense with 106.2 points per game. The rebounding edge goes to the Cavaliers in this matchup, who are one of the top rebounding teams in the league with an average of 46.5 boards per game.
In the other locker room, the Wizards have a record of 6-8 both ATS and SU. Against the Eastern Conference, Washington is 5-7 SU and ATS.
This game marks the season’s first head-to-head clash between the conference foes. Their previous game was a Cavaliers victory, bumping their SU record to 7-3 over the Wizards in their last 10 meetings. With a 6-4 record, the Cavaliers also have the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cle, ATS Winner – Cle, O/U – Under
Notes
Cleveland is 4-10 ATS in its last 14 games.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Cleveland’s last 8 games.
Cleveland is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Cleveland’s last 7 games at home.
Cleveland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Cleveland’s last 15 games when playing Washington.
Cleveland is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing Washington.
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Cleveland’s last 8 games when playing at home against Washington.
Cleveland is 17-5 SU in its last 22 games when playing at home against Washington.
Cleveland ranks sixth in points per game with 103.1, while Washington ranks 25th in points allowed with an average of 105.1 given up.
Washington ranks 26th in points allowed per road game (105.6 PPG), while Cleveland ranks fourth in points per home game with 106.2.
The Washington Wizards lost their last game by a two-point margin. In games decided by a margin of three points or less, the Cleveland Cavaliers are 1-2. Washington is 3-1 in close games this season.
The Washington Wizards have an exceptional 5-1 record when their opponents score fewer than 100 points this season. The Cleveland Cavaliers are 4-3 when they score less than 100.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Wizards are just 1-7 this season. Cleveland is a stellar 9-1 when registering triple digits.
The Wizards have an offensive rating of 98.6 (ranked 26th), while the Cavaliers rank 11th for their defensive rating of 100.3.
Cleveland has an average field goal percentage of 46.1% (ranked fifth). Washington is an abysmal 1-5 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
On average, the Cleveland Cavaliers attempt 27.0 three point field goals per game and the Washington Wizards attempt 24.0 per game. In games where they attempt at least 25 threes, Cleveland has a winning 9-4 record, while Washington is 2-3.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.69, rank sixth in the NBA. The Washington Wizards have a lower A/TO (1.36), ranking 22nd.
Cleveland ranks fifth among all teams in rebounding, placing the team near the top of the league (46.5 per game). Washington, however, ranks 26th in rebounding with 42.2 per game.
Cleveland is ranked third in defensive rebounds, while Washington ranks 20th in offensive rebounds.
Though Washington is one of the best in the league in forcing turnovers with opponents averaging a TOV% of 16.4% (ranked sixth), Cleveland has an outstanding 5-1 record SU when it has a TOV% of 16.4% or greater.
