The Cleveland Cavaliers ventured West with one of the best streaks in basketball. After losing their season opener, the Cavs have rattled off eight wins in a row, including beating the Los Angeles Lakers by 14. Now they get a 10:30 p.m. ET date at the Crypto.com Arena with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Though the Clippers (5-5) are expected to be without superstar Kawhi Leonard, who was working his way back from a knee injury and suffered another. He’s listed as out indefinitely.
The Cavs (8-1) are favored by four points, up from an opening of two, with an over/under of 214.5 points, down from an opening of 218.5.
Cavaliers look to extend streak
Cleveland has been a top-10 team on both ends of the floor. The Cavs’ offense ranks eighth at 116.2 points per game, ninth at converting 47.3% of field goal attempts, fourth at making 38.9% of 3-pointers, and fifth at 81.8% of free throws.
Defensively they are third in allowing 103.9 points per game, forcing teams to convert 44.4% of field goals, ranking sixth, and ranking 10th in holding teams to 33.7% 3-point shooting. They are 11th in rebounding at 45.3 per game and second in defensive rebounding, holding teams to 40.2 per game.
The pickup of Donovan Mitchell has worked out, as he’s averaging 31.4 points, 6.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game for a team with depth across the board.
Clippers look to adapt without Kawhi
An up-and-down season could go off the rails for the Clippers. They started 2-0, lost four straight, won the next three, and lost their latest game to the Utah Jazz. Now Leonard is out indefinitely, leaving Paul George to lead a veteran group.
The Clippers need to improve offensively since they are the worst team in scoring 102.3 points per game. They are 13th with a 47.1% field goal conversion rate but are 26th in 3-point percentage (32.0%) and 27th in free throw rate (72.6%).
Defensively they are still solid, though, ranking fifth in holding teams to 106.6 points per game. Defensive efficiency is solid, too, ranking third in holding opponents to 43.9% from the field and ranking sixth in forcing teams to hit 33.1% from 3-point range.
Cavaliers/Clippers Betting Prediction
The Cavs are 1-5 against the spread in the last six meetings in Los Angeles and 3-9 against the spread in the last 12 meetings overall. But they have all the makings of a contending team in the Eastern Conference and are the healthier team.
It should be a defensive battle leading to the under very much being in play, even though the over is 5-2 in the last seven meetings. The Clippers’ offensive woes and now losing Leonard are reasons 64% of public bets are on the Cavs to cover.
We like Cavs -4, too.
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