On the year, the Cleveland Cavaliers have checked in at 29-19, while finding ways to win eight of their last 10 games.
The Cavaliers have been hit with their share of injuries this season, though, and losing Lauri Markkanen for reportedly a minimum of a couple of weeks to a high ankle sprain, per Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, doesn’t help. In their first game without Markkanen, who had been getting it going, Cleveland won 95-93 over the New York Knicks on Monday, but their offense was luckluster in that one.
Not having Jarrett because of illness hurt too, for further context, and hopefully, he’s back soon.
Next up for the Cavaliers is a third meeting with their Central Division foe, the Milwaukee Bucks, on Wednesday. Milwaukee is one of the league’s best teams, but of late, they’ve been inconsistent, and are 5-5 in their last 10 games.
So, what do you have to know about this Cavs-Bucks matchup, and how to bet?
The Cavs earlier on in the season lost in Milwaukee the first go-round, and in the second meeting, they took care of business with a big win. The Bucks were missing so many key contributors in that game due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols absences, though, and this go-round, it should be much different.
As usual, Jrue Holiday will be very difficult to account for on both ends for Cleveland, given his sticky defense I’d assume often on Darius Garland, and at the other end, even for an Isaac Okoro that’s played so well defensively, that’s a tough matchup. Lamar Stevens I’d imagine should draw the assignment there for stretches, too.
Whether we see Giannis Antetokounmpo out there is obviously a big storyline as well, with all the ways the two-time NBA MVP affects games. He missed Milwaukee’s last game on Saturday in a close win over the Sacramento Kings, but realistically, with three full days of rest before this one since then, I could see him being involved heavily here.
If not, the Bucks will feasibly have Khris Middleton more at the 4, and they might go smaller in this one, particularly for stretches if Jarrett Allen is not active again for Cleveland.
Either way, the Cavs are going to need their bench to provide a spark once again, as Kevin Love and company will need to be productive in stretches against Jordan Nwora, Donte DiVincenzo and company. Cleveland is yet to face DiVincenzo this season because of his recovery from ankle surgery, and when healthy, he’s an impact player on both ends.
Cavs-Bucks: Odds, spread and over/under
According to our partners at WynnBet, the Bucks are favored in this one by 4 points.
As far as the over/under goes, the total for both is set for 217.5, with that for the Bucks at 111.5 and that for the Cavs at 107.5.
Cavs-Bucks: Projected starters and injury report
Bucks starters: Jrue Holiday, George Hill, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis
Cavs starters: Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Ed Davis/Jarrett Allen
Bucks injuries: Brook Lopez (out, back); Wesley Matthews (out, knee); Lindell Wiggington, (out, COVID-19 health and safety protocols); Grayson Allen (out, league suspension); Giannis Antetokounmpo (probable, knee).
Cavs injuries: Lauri Markkanen (out, ankle); Collin Sexton (out for season, knee); Ricky Rubio (out for season, knee); RJ Nembhard (out, G League assignment); Jarrett Allen (questionable, illness).
Cavs-Bucks: Prediction
Simply put, this does not figure to be a game where Cleveland really hangs around for four quarters, in my opinion, given the loss of Markkanen, and it being uncertain Allen is able to go with him dealing with a non-COVID-19-related illness.
I’m personally a fan of Dean Wade, and I find it odd that even with Markkanen pre-ankle sprain in a great groove, that Wade was recently out of the rotation. That’s been the case for a few stretches this season, not relating to injuries to himself, which, with his defensive abilities, and heady play, is just wrong, honestly.
He had a solid outing versus New York on Monday with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists in 35 minutes, and in that game, he knocked in four triples on seven attempts.
However, this is just a very difficult matchup for Cleveland and Wade, and they’ll have to find ways to get Stevens some minutes here for stretches, feasibly to defend Middleton and/or Antetokounmpo, assuming Giannis plays.
Wade is a very capable defender, and makes good rotations off-ball, but him I’d imagine drawing the Giannis assignment a fair amount in this game, even with Mobley help, is a tall order, and I don’t foresee that working out well, with Antetokounmpo’s strength, and his playmaking improvements.
And in regards to the backcourt outlook, Garland might have a really tough go of it with Holiday offensively, and as we alluded to, regarding bench minutes, DiVincenzo could be a difficult guy to account for in stretches.
I do still expect the Cavs to be fairly respectable here for three quarters; I just think in this instance, especially with the uncertainty involving Allen, that the Bucks will eventually pull away and cover. So much for the Cavaliers moving up in the standings over the Bucks, who are above them at #4 in the Eastern Conference currently.
Prediction: Bucks 109, Cavs 99
The Bet: Bucks (-4), UNDER
Cavs-Bucks: Where to watch
This one can be seen regionally on Bally Sports Ohio, Bally Sports Wisconsin and Bally Sports North, for those that applies.
And for those not with those options, and/or out of market, fans can watch via NBA League Pass.
Cavaliers upcoming schedule:
After this third game with Milwaukee, the Cavs will head up north to face another division foe in the Detroit Pistons on Sunday. Detroit’s a rebuilding club, but their young guys are getting valuable developmental minutes here.
Following that one, Cleveland will head back after it to face the New Orleans Pelicans on the second leg of a back-to-back on Monday. The Cavaliers will look to even it up on the season between the two teams this go-round, and having Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen should help in doing so.
From there, the Cavs will take on the Houston Rockets on the road on Wednesday. Cleveland should be facing a far different Houston team than when they played in December, when the Rockets were so shorthanded due to COVID-19-related absences.