Cleveland Cavaliers odds: Predicting the Wizards game against the spread
The Cleveland Cavaliers will travel to the nation’s capital tonight to take on the Washington Wizards. The Cavaliers are looking to stop a three-game skid, the gambling odds say the Wizards should win, which way should you bet this game against the spread?
The Cleveland Cavaliers will head into Washington D.C. tonight to take on the 2-and-5 Washington Wizards. After a solid start to the season, the Cavaliers have dropped their last three games and will look to end their mini-skid as they look to climb out of the cellar of the central division.
Tonight is a great opportunity for the Cavaliers to show that they are a solid team as they will be playing in their first nationally televised game of the season, on ESPN.
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The Cavaliers and Wizards are tied for 12th in the Eastern Conference as both teams are currently a game out of the eighth seed.
The Action Network opened this game up with the Cavaliers as 4.5 point underdogs. To this point, 64% of bets have come in on the home team and the Cavaliers currently sit at +5.
When taking a look at the Wizards roster, on paper, it’s Bradley Beal and not much else. Thomas Bryant is a solid player but he is not to the level that should have the Cavaliers’ coaching staff specifically game-planning against him.
Washington is still letting John Wall recover from his Achilles injury he suffered last season and have started former Cavalier Isaiah Thomas for the last two games. Thomas, who had an incredible final season in Boston before a hip injury set his career back, struggled in Cleveland due to that same injury. He is looking to get his career back on track.
According to Basketball-Reference, his numbers indicate that he is having a solid start to his first season in Washington. He has per-game averages of 13.6 points, 6.4 assists and holds a 50% effective field goal percentage.
The Cavs have really struggled in their last couple of games of keeping perimeter players out of the paint and it has been a major factor in their three-game losing streak. Containing Thomas, and more importantly, Beal will be a major focal point for the Cavs in this one.
Beal hasn’t had his best season from a shooting perspective according to Basketball-Reference, his effective field goal percentage is only 46.8%. However, due to his extremely high usage, he has per-game averages of 27 points, 6.1 assists, and 4.7 rebounds.
The Wizards, according to NBA.com, are one of the best offensive teams in the NBA from a points perspective as they are tied for sixth in the league at 115.3 points per game. However, they are rated 27th in the league in defensive rating at 112.5.
They are one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the league per NBA.com as they have an offensive rebound percentage of 28.2%. However, their overall rebounding percentage sits at just 71.4%, good enough for 26th in the NBA. A lot of that is due to the fact that they allow teams to shoot so well and they don’t have many opportunities on the defensive glass.
The bet – Cleveland Cavaliers +5
The Cavaliers should be looking to win this game outright and get their first road win of the season. The Wizards will not be able to contain the Cavaliers’ frontcourt duo of Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson in this one.
Love is currently in the midst of a great start of the season. He is second in the NBA in rebounding according to ESPN as he is averaging 14.4 rebounds per game. In addition to those rebounds, he is leading the Cavaliers in scoring at 18.9 points and also dishing out a very solid 4.1 assists per night.
Thompson is off to the best start to a season in his career. He is third on the team in scoring as he is averaging a career-high 16.9 points per game in addition to 11.6 rebounds each night.
The Wizards don’t have the manpower to slow this duo down. If Cleveland contains the perimeter players, even a little in this contest, they should win going away.
The Wizards have the best player in this game in Beal, but the Cavs have a legitimate claim to having the next four to five best players on either roster. Take the points and the Cavaliers tonight.
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