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The Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday 11/28/18 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma.
The Cavs saw their first winning streak of the season end at just two after losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves 95-102 in their last outing. Meanwhile, the Thunder are also coming off a 98-105 loss to the Denver Nuggets in their previous game. The Thunder had won five of six prior to their defeat at home.
No Love Until New Year
The Cleveland Cavaliers are tied with the Atlanta Hawks and Phoenix Suns for the fewest wins so far this season with four. But while the Hawks and Suns have been playing at full strength for the most part of the season, Cleveland has had to struggle without All-Star forward Kevin Love who is out of action after undergoing toe surgery last November 2.
In Love’s absence, Jordan Clarkson has led the team in scoring with his 15.5 points scoring average. Rookie Collin Sexton has also played well, chipping in 14.4 points per game for the Cavs. These two backcourt players lead a balanced Cleveland offense which has six players averaging in twin digit scoring. Without Love though, it hasn’t been enough as the Cavs rank 27th in the NBA in scoring at 104.6 points per game.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Oklahoma City Thunder 11/28/18
Moneyline Odds: Cavaliers +850, Thunder -1250
Odds from gtbets.eu as of 11/28/18
The Oklahoma City Thunder meanwhile have picked it up after a slow start. The Thunder have won seven out of their last 10 games and prior to their home loss to the Denver Nuggets last Sunday, the Thunder had won five of their last six games overall and were 7-2 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
The Thunder have the 5th best scoring defense in the league as they have held their opponents to just 105.5 points per game this season. Oklahoma City is also the 3rd best rebounding team in the league at 48.5 boards per game with Steven Adams, Paul George and Westbrook averaging at least 8 rebounds per game this season.
Who Wins?
These teams have played each other a total of 112 times during the NBA regular season with the Thunder winning 64 games against Cleveland’s 48. Oklahoma City has also taken three out of the last four games between these two teams including the 95-86 victory in their first meeting of the season last November 7th in Cleveland.
The Cavs had impressive upset wins over the Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets on back to back nights prior to their loss to the Timberwolves. But those wins were their third and fourth on the season. Cleveland has only won once on the road this season and without Kevin Love, their woes are going to continue.
No question, the Cavs have offensive and defensive sparkplugs who can cause upsets. And if the Thunder shoot their three pointers the way they did against the Nuggets, then who knows. But all things considered, the Thunder are the 3rd best rebounding team in the league and the Cavs are only 21st in that department. With the Thunder controlling the boards, they are going to outscore the Cavs who are the fourth worst scoring team in the NBA.
We’re picking the Oklahoma City Thunder to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers on 11/28/18
Other Bets To Make
Despite their bad 4-15 SU record this season, Cleveland is 10-9 ATS in 19 games played so far and are an impressive 6-3 ATS in their 9 road games played so far. The Thunder meanwhile are 11-8 ATS in 19 games this season and are an even 5-5 ATS in 10 home games played so far. Head to head, the Cavs are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 meetings but the Thunder have taken three out of the last four games ATS.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Oklahoma City Thunder 11/28/18
Spread Odds: Cavaliers +12.5 (-110), Thunder -12.5 (-110)
Odds from betonline.ag as of 11/28/18
The Cavs only have four wins on the season but against the spread, they already have 10 victories. More interestingly, Cleveland is 6-3 ATS on the road this season. No question, the Thunder wins this game. But at 5-5 ATS at home, I don’t like to give up too much points to the opposition, even if it’s just the Cavs. If the spread were 10 or less, I would have picked the Thunder. At 12.5 points though, I’ll take the underdogs and the plus points.
Prediction: Cavaliers +12.5
The total has gone under in 11 out of the 19 games played by the Cavs so far. Likewise, the under is 11-8 in the Thunder’s 19 games played this season. On the road, the under is 5-4 in Cleveland’s last nine games. The total has gone under in 6 out of the last 10 games played by Oklahoma City. The total has gone under in 4 out of the last 6 meetings between the Cavs and Thunder.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Oklahoma City Thunder 11/28/18
Over/Under Odds: Over 215 -110, Under 215 -110
Odds from betonline.ag as of 11/28/18
We saw the Cavs put up 121 and 117 points against the Sixers and Rockets, respectively but after that two game winning streak, they fell back to earth and scored just 95 in a loss to the Timberwolves. The Cavs are the fourth worst scoring team in the league and don’t have the manpower to put up points. No question the Thunder can put up points night in and night out but with the Cavs still without their top scorer, the under is the play here as it has been in four out of their last six meetings.
Prediction: Under 215
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