Heat vs. Cavaliers Pick
Will the Cleveland Cavaliers take care of business at home tonight versus the Miami Heat in their first game without Kevin Love? Game time is 7:30PM ET.
Who Oddsmakers Like: Cleveland. According to oddsmakers at YouWager, the Cavaliers are a 2-point favorite on the spread line. The total is set at 215.5 points. Cleveland opened as a 4.5-point fave, while the over-under has gone up from 213.5.
Who the Public Likes: Cleveland. As of Wednesday afternoon, 66 percent of public bets have come in on the Cavaliers.
Injury Report: Heat guard Dion Waiters is out for the season after undergoing ankle surgery. Okaro White is out until mid-February with a foot injury. Rodney McGruder is out until mid-February as he recovers from a stress fracture in his leg. For Cleveland, Love is out until late March with a broken bone in his hand suffered last game.
Who the Trends Like: Miami is 1-6 ATS in its last seven meetings in Cleveland. The under is 4-0 in the last four meetings in Cleveland. Cleveland is 0-4 ATS in its last four Wednesday games.
Who We Like: I actually like the Cavs even more without Love in the lineup, at least for one night only. This will only increase the usage rate of LeBron James, while Isaiah Thomas might look for his offense even more in Love’s absence and he is getting more in the flow by the day. Love is a defensive liability and there were rumors of chemistry issues with Love and teammates. Long-term, the absence of Love will have its negatives. But for tonight, I think the rest of the Cavs band together and get the cover.
NBA DAILY PREDICTION: CLEVELAND CAVALIERS -2