The Cleveland Cavaliers will welcome the Brooklyn Nets into Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse as they look to win their second straight and get to 6-11 on the season. Which way should you be betting this contest?
The Cleveland Cavaliers went through a very rough stretch over the past two weeks which included a six-game losing streak in which they were outscored 710-595. However, they were able to get off the snide with a win against the Portland Trail Blazers, in their last game, on Saturday, by a score of 110-104.
The Cavaliers will welcome the injury-depleted Brooklyn Nets into Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse as they look to get to 6-11 on the season. Brooklyn comes into Cleveland with an 8-8 record, which is actually solid considering all of the injuries they have sustained. They currently sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference and they are a game and a half clear of the eighth-place Orlando Magic.
The Action Network has opened this game up as a pick-em, meaning to win a bet regarding this game all that you need to do is pick the winner of the game. 67% of the bets have come in on Brooklyn to win the game and the line still sits at a pick-em.
Former Cavaliers Kyrie Irving has already been ruled out of this contest and as everyone knows, Kevin Durant is still recovering from a torn Achilles he suffered in the NBA finals.
So far this season, Irving has appeared in 11 games and has per-game averages 28.5 points, 7.2 assists, and 5.4 rebounds according to Basketball-Reference.
In addition to the two superstar injuries, Brooklyn is currently dealing with, they are also missing Columbus Ohio native Caris LeVert. LeVert is a very solid role player for the Nets.
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Combo guard Spencer Dinwiddie has filled Irving’s role and has done so admirably in the five games Irving has missed. In those five games, according to Basketball-Reference, Dinwiddie is averaging 25 points, 6.2 assists, and 3 rebounds per game. For the season as a whole, Dinwiddie is averaging 19.6 points, 5.1 assists, and 2.5 rebounds.
He is the proverbial head of the snake in Brooklyn’s attack with Irving out. He has excellent size at 6’5” so Cleveland’s guard combo of Darius Garland and Collin Sexton may have a tough time matching up with his size. They will have to slow him down to have a chance to win tonight.
Another issue Cleveland is going to encounter tonight is the fact that their main source of production comes from the interior with Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and Larry Nance Jr. That is also a strength on the defensive end of the Brooklyn Nets. They employ two very solid defensive centers in Deandre Jordan and Jarrett Allen.
Cleveland will need to pull Jordan and Allen out on the perimeter to open up driving lanes for the Cavalier guards.
The bet – Brooklyn Nets – PK
The bet tonight picking the Brooklyn Nets. The Cavaliers just haven’t inspired enough with their recent play (although their last outing was solid against Portland) to justify picking them to win tonight.
There is also a question mark on whether or not Kevin Love will play tonight due to the fact that he is once again nursing a sore back.
Brooklyn is going to have a serious size advantage on the perimeter as well with Dinwiddie, former Cavalier Joe Harris, Garrett Temple, and Taurean Prince. The Cavs will need to play excellent team defense and gang rebound tonight to win this game and defense hasn’t been a positive aspect the last couple of outings.
Expect Brooklyn to win this outing tonight and drop the Cavaliers to 5-12 on the season. The confidence level isn’t very high in this decision due to the fact that Brooklyn is so depleted due to injuries. However, Dinwiddie has shown in Irving’s absence that he can carry the load. Bet Brooklyn tonight.