NBA Betting Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Brooklyn Nets Odds, Analysis
The Cleveland Cavaliers (51-20) got a little more breathing room atop the Eastern Conference standings Wednesday and will try to win their third game in a row when they visit the Brooklyn Nets (19-51) on Thursday.
The Cavaliers are consensus eight-point favorites at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark and are coming off a 113-104 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, while the Toronto Raptors lost on the road to the Boston Celtics. That increased Cleveland’s lead for the No. 1 seed to 3.5 games over Toronto.
However, the Cavs have failed to cover the spread in five of their last six games, as they have publicly stated they are more worried about staying healthy for the playoffs than finishing with the best record in the East.
They have won six of the past seven meetings with the Nets, including both matchups so far this season, although they are just 3-3-1 against the spread, according to the Odds Shark NBA Database.
Brooklyn has dropped seven of eight overall, going 3-5 ATS during that stretch. The Nets fell 105-100 to the Charlotte Hornets as six-point underdogs Tuesday but managed to cover the spread when Bojan Bogdanovic hit a three-pointer with five seconds remaining. Bogdanovic is averaging 19.7 points in the last 10 games while shooting 52.9 percent from the field, including 43.8 percent from three-point range.
Before that game, Brooklyn did not cover four of its previous five, with the over cashing four times.
Cleveland has seen the over cash in four straight following a run of three consecutive under results. The Cavs are averaging 111.8 points in their last four while giving up 105 per game. They are also playing the second game of a back-to-back situation and have performed well lately under that scenario, going 8-2 straight up and 6-3-1 ATS in the last 10.
But Cleveland lost the last time when playing the second game of a back-to-back, getting routed by the Miami Heat 122-101 as a four-point road favorite last Saturday. The Cavs had won their previous three SU, going 2-1 ATS.
