The Cleveland Cavaliers will take their 4-8 record into Madison Square Garden for the second time to take on the New York Knicks. Find out which way you should bet this game against the spread.
After a solid start to the season, the Cleveland Cavaliers are beginning to come back to Earth. They have been run out of the gym in their previous two contests, both at home and against playoff teams.
The Miami Heat defeated the Cavaliers 108-97 and the score doesn’t indicate how lopsided that game was as the Cavs actually trailed by as many as 27 points in the third quarter before widdling the lead all the way down to 10.
Yesterday, the Cavaliers were blitzed early by the Philadelphia 76ers and dropped another one in blowout fashion by a final score of 114-95.
They are currently in the midst of a three-game skid and will look to get back on track against the last team they defeated, the New York Knicks.
The Action Network opened this game up with the Cavaliers as three-point underdogs. The line has since moved to Cleveland +2 with 52% of the bets coming in on the Cavaliers.
The Cavs were able to not only cover the spread in the first contest in New York but won the game outright by a score of 108-87 and they absolutely dominated the matchup.
Cleveland had a surprise advantage when Knicks’ athletic big man Mitchell Robinson missed the first contest, that won’t be the case tonight as Robinson will suit up.
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Meanwhile, the Cavaliers will be without their best bench big man Larry Nance Jr. as he is battling a hand injury. The Cavs could have some problems matching up with Robinson off of the bench as Ante Zizic, who is back from injury, is still trying to find his footing.
Robinson has started six out of nine games he has appeared in for the Knicks, and according to Basketball-Reference, he is averaging 11.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.7 blocks in 19.1 minutes per game.
The Cavs elected to go small against Philadelphia, yesterday, with Nance Jr. out as Alfonzo McKinnie played a season-high 21 minutes. The Cavs could elect to take the same strategy tonight with Zizic still trying to find a rhythm. If they do so, they need to push the pace and move the basketball at a higher rate than they have over the last couple of games.
The bet – Cleveland Cavaliers +2
The Cleveland Cavaliers should cover the spread tonight as they are the better team and they should show a bit more of a sense of urgency tonight after their past two performances.
Collin Sexton has been scoring the basketball at an impressive clip and is leading the team at 18.3 points per game according to Basketball-Reference. In the previous matchup with the Knicks, he poured in a career-high 31 points.
As great as his scoring is, he has been over dribbling at times this season instead of moving the basketball which has really bogged the Cavaliers’ offense down. Sexton’s best asset is obviously his scoring, but he needs to pick and choose his spots and realize moving the basketball is better for the offense than dribbling the air out of the ball.
The way Cleveland has been playing makes this an iffy play, but the bet should be Cleveland +2. They are the better team and are getting points. Take the points and watch the Cavaliers cover tonight.