The Cleveland Cavaliers almost pulled it off on Wednesday, coming all the way back from a massive deficit to the Philadelphia 76ers only to fall just short in the end. Now they get another chance at an MVP candidate, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.
The Cavs are in something of a skid, losing 9 of their last 13 games. They desperately want to hang on to the 6th seed (or better) in the Eastern Coneference playoff standings, and to do so they will need to pick up an unexpected win or two despite the injury report they are dealing with.
The Cavs play the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. What are the betting odds and preview of this matchup with the reigning MVP?
The Denver Nuggets are similarly sixth in their conference, fighting through a season without their No. 2 or 3 scorers in Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Nikola Jokic has been sublime, averaging historic numbers and breaking nearly every advanced metric with his quality of play. Denver is hungry for every win to secure the best possible spot in the Western Conference standings.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Nuggets: Odds, spread, over/under
The Cavaliers (39-30) will host the Denver Nuggets (42-28) tonight. According to our partners over at WynnBet, the Nuggets are favored by 2.5 points. The over/under point total is 221.0. These two teams met during the opening week of the season, with the Cavs notching a 99-87 win in Denver.
Cleveland has gone every-other-day this week for games, playing on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday and now Friday; they are as well-rested as one can be playing heavy minutes in the absence of multiple rotation players. The Nuggets have had a similar path this season, narrowly beating the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night and then clubbing the Washington Wizards.
Cavs vs Nuggets: Projected starting lineups, injury report
Nuggets starters: Monte Morris, Will Barton, Aaron Gordon, Jeff Green, Nikola Jokic
Cavs starters: Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Lamar Stevens, Lauri Markkanen, Evan Mobley
The Nuggets’ key injuries: Jamal Murray, Zeke Nnaji (out, knee); Michael Porter Jr. (out, back); Vlatko Cancar (out, foot)
The Cavaliers’ key injuries: Collin Sexton (out for season, knee); Jarrett Allen (out, finger); Dean Wade (questionable, knee); Rajon Rondo (doubtful, ankle)
Cavs vs Nuggets: Prediction
The Denver Nuggets are every bit as injured as the Cleveland Cavaliers. Depending on how you rank all of the players in question, both teams are missing their 2nd and 4th-best players, let’s say (Jarrett Allen and Collin Sexton vs Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., respectively). That shakes out to advantage Denver, as they have the reigning MVP and have had an entire season to acclimate to missing Murray and MPJ.
The Cavs are clearly still struggling to fill Allen’s void in the lineup, and that shows up most acutely against the league’s other premier centers. Joel Embiid went for 35 points and 17 rebounds in the Cavs’ close loss on Wednesday, and even the low-usage Ivica Zubac put up 24 and 14 against the Cavs on Monday in Cleveland’s OT victory.
It will likely be more of the same against Jokic tonight, who has absolutely dominated even the best defenders this season. Evan Mobley is a defensive whiz-kid and can defend 1-5, but he just doesn’t have the heft to check Embiid and Jokic types; no one behind him does either.
To win the Cavs will need for Darius Garland to roast Monte Morris, and for the Nuggets to be relatively cold from deep. Jokic will get his, but if “his” comes out to 25 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists the Cavs have a chance. If he drops 35, 17 and 12 then they are toast.
Prediction: Denver 118, Cleveland 111
The Bet: Denver (-2.5), OVER
Cavs vs Nuggets: Where to Watch
Despite being many hours inland off of the coast, Cleveland is in the Eastern Time Zone, and therefore a prime pick for the league to schedule them for 7:00 and 7:30 pm tip-offs. Tonight will be more of the same, with the game starting at 7:30 ET. Local fans can watch on Bally Sports Ohio, and everyone else on NBA League Pass. Local Denver fans likely can’t watch at all.
Cleveland Cavaliers Upcoming Schedule
The Cavs are right back at it tomorrow night, taking on the Detroit Pistons Saturday in game four of their five-game homestand. It may seem like a moment of respite, but their have dropped their last two games against the Pistons, and rookie Cade Cunningham is playing like the No. 1 overall pick right now.
The homestand wraps up Monday against the freefalling Los Angeles Lakers, who have not won since the All-Star Break unless LeBron James goes for 50 points. Then is perhaps the most crucial game remaining on the schedule: a Thursday night showdown with the Toronto Raptors, a game that could ultimately decide who makes it out of the play-in at season’s end.