Cleveland Cavaliers at Los Angeles Lakers
Time: 9:30 PM CT (TNT)
Spread: CLE -10
Total: 209
Betting odds c/o 5dimes
The Cleveland Cavaliers have the best record in the Eastern Conference at 45-18, but ideally LeBron James and company would like some more space between it and No. 2 Toronto, as the Raptors trail Cleveland by just 2.5 games in the playoff picture. The Cavs will relish the opportunity to play the L.A. Lakers, but perhaps mistakenly so.
The Lakers have won two straight and appear to be ironing out some of the dysfunctional play that has plagued the team this year. The Cavs are 10 point favorites in the game which is the second of a double header on TNT tonight.
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Cleveland has won 4 of its past 5 games and most recently knocked off the woeful Sacramento Kings 120-111. The Cavaliers got 30 points from Kyrie Irving, 25 from LeBron James and 17 from Kevin Love. This is sort of how Cleveland imagined its Big 3 functioning once it was fully healthy and intact.
Some reason that had James had the other two alongside him in the Finals that Cleveland may have been NBA champs. We may have a chance to test that hypothesis this year, but for the time being the Cavs mainly have their eyes on settling the matter of homecourt advantage.
The Cavaliers are 27-6 at home this season and just 18-12 on the road, so homecourt will most certainly play a big role. As good as Cleveland is, many question whether there is any way the Cavs could keep pace with the Golden State Warriors or San Antonio Spurs. The Cavs are 18-6 against the Western Conference this year and sport a plus-6.1 differential, which is the best in the East.
James has fallen off somewhat statistically this year, averaging just under 25 points per game while also posting 7.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game. He has ceded some to Kyrie Irving who has stepped back into the role he has always played as a ball-dominant scoring point guard.
Irving is averaging 19.6 points and 4.5 assists per game this season while posting the second-highest PER of the team (21.4, trailing James’ 26.5). It is Love that really needs to be accounted for. The one-time beast of the Minnesota Timberwolves is averaging just 15.8 points and 10 rebounds per game. Whether his precipitous fall of was a product of joining the Cavs or simply poor timing and coincidence is unknown.
What is known is that Love is a free agent this offseason and teams likely will not let his decrease in production scare them off from offering the UCLA product a max-contract. The Cavs will be in a precarious situation, because it could simply replace Love in the lineup with another max-contract, that of Tristan Thompson.
Thompson is averaging 8.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game in just 28 minutes off the Cavs bench. To slide him in as starter would likely work and keep the Cavs clicking without missing a single beat.
The Lakers are coming off impressive wins over Golden State (!) and the Orlando Magic. But it may be without Kobe Bryant in this game, as the legend is listed as questionable for the matchup. The Lakers got a preview of just how good its young backcourt can be when it knocked off Orlando.
Second-year guard Jordan Clarkson and vaunted rookie D’Angelo Russell combined to hit 20 of 36 from the field including seven threes between them, which helped the Lakers build a cushion to hold off Orlando in the second half. The Magic have been struggling mightily, but this L.A. team will use any chance it can to notch a victory and have some redemption in its season.
The win over Golden State certainly represented that. The Lakers have a legitimate chance to pull its third upset in a row, and the Warriors game certainly gave the Lakers’ young roster some confidence. Julius Randle also had a monster game against the Magic with 23 points and 11 rebounds, and his ball handling brilliance combined with his toughness should give the Lakers its starting 4-man of the future.
Of course tinkering on draft night and playing around in free agency this summer could give the Lakers a vastly different look and complete renovation by next season if Lakers’ brass decides it would rather move some pieces of its current young core.
