Cleveland Cavaliers odds: Predicting the Knicks game against the spread
The Cleveland Cavaliers will face off with the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden as they look to improve their record to 4-5 on the season. Which team will cover the spread?
The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming off of a fantastic performance in the nation’s capital on Friday night as they lead wire-to-wire and came away with a 113-100 win to improve their record to 3-5 on the season.
The Knicks will enter the contest against the Cavaliers with a 2-7 record and are off to a very disappointing start to the season. According to ESPN, Marcus Morris leads the team in scoring at 19.1 points per game, Julius Randle leads the team in rebounding at 9.3 rebounds per game, and assists at 4.2 per game.
Rookie and number three overall pick RJ Barrett is off to a solid start this season. According to Basketball-Reference, he has per-game averages of 16.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists. He is shooting the ball poorly, however, his effective field goal percentage sits at just 44.4%.
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The Knicks made a lot of moves this summer in free agency after they struck out on their main targets, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant, as they brought in the aforementioned Morris and Randle. They also added Elfrid Payton, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, and Wayne Ellington.
Knicks’ fans had high hopes that their team could make a run at the back end of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference due to adding so many solid players but it just hasn’t worked out.
As of late Saturday night, the Action Network had the Cavaliers as two-point underdogs. 75% of the money has come in on the Cavaliers thus far and the line still sits at Cavaliers +2.
According to NBA.com, the Cavaliers are averaging 6.4 more points per game than the Knicks as they are averaging 107 points per night and the Knicks are next to last in the NBA at 100.6.
The Knicks, to this point, have been one of the worst teams in the NBA. They have the third-worst net rating in the league so far this season at -8.9 according to NBA.com. The Cavs, meanwhile, are slightly better at -3.7.
Another key point to this game is the hit the Knicks are going to take on the interior from a defensive standpoint as shot-blocking extraordinaire Mitchell Robinson will miss the contest. The Cavs’ frontcourt duo of Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson should feast on the interior in this contest.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to overcome for Cleveland is how Darius Garland and Collin Sexton handle the defensive wizardry of Frank Ntilikina. According to Basketball-Reference, Ntilikina has a defensive rating of just 109, but he has moments where he locks in and can cause a lot of havoc on the defensive end. How the young guard duo deals with his defensive pressure will be key in the Cavs covering the spread in this one.
The bet – Cleveland Cavaliers +2
Simply put, the Cavaliers are a better team to this point in the season. The only reason they are receiving points against the spread is that they are the road team.
The Knicks missing Robinson and Dennis Smith Jr. is a big deal. Robinson is excellent at blocking and altering shots at the rim which adds another dimension to their defense.
While Smith Jr. hasn’t panned out since he was brought over to New York in the Kristaps Porzingis trade, he still has moments where he shows that he has the potential to be an excellent player.
Love and Thompson should continue their dominant start to this season against an undermanned Knicks’ frontline.
Take the points and bet the Cavaliers, a money line bet is also a great bet as the Cavaliers should win this game if they continue to get dominant play on the interior and Garland builds off of his excellent game against the Washington Wizards.
Next. Win over Wizards could be a springboard for Darius Garland. dark