Cavaliers vs. Jazz Pick
Will LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers bounce back from recent setbacks to defeat the host Utah Jazz tonight? Tip-off is at 8PM ET.
Who Oddsmakers Like: According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Cavaliers are a 3.5-point favorite at the Jazz. The total sits at 208 points. Cleveland opened as a 3-point favorite, while the total has risen from 207 points.
Who the Public Likes: As of Saturday afternoon, 76 percent of the bettting public has wagers on the Cavaliers.
Injury Report: Cleveland will be without the services of point guard Isaiah Thomas (hip) once again, but perhaps for the last time as he is targeting Tuesday’s game against Portland to make his season debut. Derrick Rose is out indefinitely with an ankle injury. Iman Shumpert is out another month with an ankle injury. For the Jazz, center Rudy Gobert is out until mid-January with a sprained PCL in his left knee. Rafael Neto is out indefinitely with a concussion and a bone bruise in his knee. Dante Exum is out indefinitely after shoulder surgery in October.
Who the Trends Like: Cleveland is 0-4-1 ATS in the last five meetings overall and 1-6-1 ATS in the last eight meetings in Utah. The under is 4-0 in the last four meetings.
Who We Like: LeBron hasn’t looked great in the last two games, losses at Golden State and Sacramento. Expect him to bounce back in a huge way here. Not only is he King James, but the Jazz defense isn’t the same without Gobert active. Utah also plays faster when Gobert is out, so it plays right into LeBron’s hands. It’s hard to envision another dud from Cleveland and this spread seems a point or two to low because the loss to Sacramento has bettors scared. Don’t be.
NBA DAILY PREDICTION: CLEVELAND CAVALIERS -3.5