As the 2015-16 NBA Regular season moves forward in the second half and the teams now thinking playoffs, there are some interesting matchups presently as teams seek a playoff spot. Tonight we have a match-up game between the Eastern Conference Cleveland Cavaliers 45-18 playing at the Western Conference Los Angeles Lakers 14-51 with the tip-off scheduled for 10:40 PM ET and seen on TNT TV.
If you Bet on NBA the early odds for this game have the Cavaliers favorites at -9 ½ with the Over/under at 209 and -525 on the Money Line, while the Lakers are the underdogs at +9 ½ and +415 on the Money Line.
The Lakers don’t have a chance for the playoffs, and instead they are concentrating on playing their young players as they did this past Tuesday night when the beat the Magic 107-98 as their young guns combined for 74 points for the Lakers. Thus fans of the Lakers need to get use to these new names in J. Randle, D. Russell and J. Clarkson as they are the teams future having won 2 straight games for the 1st time since back in early January 2016. Tonight this young Lakers team will be seeking their 3rd straight win as they take on the Cavaliers.
If you’re a fan of the 45-18 Cleveland Cavaliers who are leading the Eastern Conference, know your team had a shocking loss to the Grizzlies of Memphis in their game before their last win this past Wednesday as they returned to the win column beating the Kings of Sacramento 120-111. Thus, with their latest win their overall record to date is at 45-18.
As in many games for the Cavaliers their star L. James came to the front in their win over the Kings as he played for just 38 minutes of the game and scored 25 points with 12 rebounds. To date this season he has been the team leader in steals with 1.6 each game, assists with 6.7 each game, and points scoring each game some 25 points on average. Also aiding the team has been K. Irving in that Kings game as he had the game high 31 points completing some 12 of his 23 shots from the floor.
The Cavaliers will seek to keep their momentum in tact playing the Lakers of L.A. tonight, and to do that they need their offensive play to step up, as they did playing the Kings, as the Lakers were red hot from the floor. They are pleased to be playing the Lakers whose defense has allowed their opponents some 106.7 points each game. In the Cavaliers ultimate 10 road games they against the spread are 5 -1 -1.
For the fans of the struggling 14-51 Los Angeles Lakers the team got on the comeback train this past Tuesday evening as the defeated the Magic of Orlando for the second win in a row 107-98. Their young guns in D. Russell, J. Clarkson and J. Randle stepped up in the game and respectively scored 28, 25 and 24 points, and that was the 1st time this season their young upcoming stars were able to score more than 20 points in a game.
The offensive play in their last 2 games has been the reason for their comeback to the win column, as in those 2 games they averaged 109.8 points each game. Their season average was only 97.8 so they surpassed that with their red hot offensive performances.
Completing 11 of his 19 attempts in the Magic game was their No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft Russell, while Randle broke his on mark as he recorded this 28 double- double to date. They have been a big help to the team since star K. Bryant has been out with a shoulder injury.
In this game tonight the Lakers are up against the wall, but happy to compete against the Cavaliers defense that is allowing just 98.5 points each game to date. In their 1st game this season the Lakers lost 120-111 to the Cavaliers. The Lakers in their ultimate 10 games at home against the spread are 6 and 4.
The sportsbook prediction for this NBA contest with the East Cavaliers playing the West Lakers and the Cavaliers will easily overpower the young Lakers team and win the game 114-102.