Warriors vs. Cavaliers prediction and odds for Friday, January 20 (Cavs elite at home)
By Peter Dewey
The Cleveland Cavaliers are glad to find themselves back at home on Friday, where they have thrived this season, against the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
Golden State blew a late lead and eventually lost in overtime against the Boston Celtics on Thursday night, so this is a tough turnaround against a Cleveland team that is dominant at home this season.
The Cavs are 19-4 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, and Vegas has them set as big favorites in this game with Golden State on a back-to-back.
It’s unclear if the Warriors will sit multiple players, but guard Klay Thompson doesn’t play back-to-backs anymore, and he was in the lineup against Boston yesterday, so we can assume he will miss this game.
Donovan Mitchell (groin) is listed as questionable for Cleveland, but the team fought hard without him against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, losing by just one point.
Here’s a look at the latest odds and prediction for Friday’s showdown:
Warriors vs. Cavaliers odds, spread and total
Warriors vs. Cavaliers prediction and pick
The Warriors road woes continued on Thursday night, falling to 5-18 away from Chase Center this season, although they did cover the spread.
I’m going to try and get ahead of some of the injury reports in this game and take Cleveland to cover on the chance that Golden State holds out some of its best players and that Mitchell suits up for the Cavs.
Cleveland is 14-7-1 against the spread as a home favorite this season, winning those games by an average margin of 8.5 points.
The Warriors are one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA on the road, and they may not have the same offensive firepower tonight without at least Thompson.
I’ll fade Golden State in the second night of a tough back-to-back.
Find Peter Dewey’s full betting record here.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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