The Cleveland Cavaliers won an average of 20 games the last three seasons, struggling to restock a cupboard of young talent stripped bare by the rigors of contending for four-straight years. This season that cupboard proved itself to be overflowing with talent, and young stars such as Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Lauri Markkanen propelled this team to 44 wins and a spot in the Eastern Conference Play-in Tournament.
To secure this team’s first playoff beth in four years, and first playoff berth without LeBron James since 1998, the Cavs will need to win one of the next two games. First up is a road contest against the Brooklyn Nets: win and they are into the playoff field as the seventh seed; lose and they will host the winner of the Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets play-in game on Firday night.
The Cavs’ Play-in Tournament game against the Brooklyn Nets is Tuesday night. What do you need to know about what to expect and how to bet?
The Cavs and Nets met four times this season, with Brooklyn coming out on top 3-1 in the season series. Their first two meetings came in the same week in November, a pair of close Cleveland losses while short-handed. Those games featured prominently James Harden, Ricky Rubio and Dean Wade, all of whom will not be playing Tuesday night.
The Cavs picked up their win against a Nets team playing without Kevin Durant in January, and then the two teams faced off just last week in the season’s penultimate game, with the Nets picking up the home win to secure the tiebreaker and, thus, the seventh seed in the play-in tournament.
Odds for the game: According to our partners over at WynnBet, the Brooklyn Nets are favored by 8.5 points. The over/under point total is 228.5. When the two teams met last Friday the Nets won by 11 points, 118-107, for a point total of 225.