Houston Rockets vs Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Betting Preview & Odds
NBA action on Tuesday night and we will see the Houston Rockets travel to Quicken Loans Arena to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers. TNT will carry this game, which has a start time of 8:00 pm EST.
Current betting odds for this game have the have the Cavaliers listed as 2 point favorites, while the total has been set at 211.5.
Head-To-Head This Year: Cleveland won the lone matchup 91-77 as a 2 point road favorite
The Houston Rockets continue to slide some down the stretch as they come in off a 104-101 loss at Indiana and have now lost four of their last five games. That lone win was vs Toronto, which is the 2nd best team in the East and now they will take aim at the best in the East. That win vs the Raptors was at home and this one is one the road where they have gone just 16-22 on the year. Houston is currently tied with Dallas for the 8th slot in the West, but they would be in the playoffs if they started today due to owning a tiebreaker over the Mavs. After this game Houston has 5 of their final 7 games are at home, which sets up nicely for them down the stretch. The Rockets are led by James Harden, who averages 28.6 ppg, which is 2nd in the league, while Dwight Howard is having a solid year as he comes in averaging averaging 14.1 ppg on 61.6% shooting, which is 2nd in the league, plus he leads the team in rebounding at 11.9 rpg. Trevor Ariza averages 12.4 ppg, while Michael Beasley has put up 14.0 ppg in his 12 games since joining the team to round out the double digit scorers for the Rockets. Overall Houston comes in ranked 4th league in scoring, putting up 105.9 ppg, while also ranking 14th in offensive FG% overall, 22nd from long range and 27th at the charity stripe. Defense is where the problems arise for this team as they rank 26th in the league in points allowed, giving up 106.8 ppg, while also ranking 21st in defensive FG%overall and 22nd in 3-point defense. On the road they have averaged 106.8 ppg on 44.8% shooting, while allowing 108.9 ppg on 47.6% shooting.
Trends: The 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600 and 37-15 ATS in their last 52 Tuesday games, but just 1-5 ATS in their last 6 vs. the Central and 0-5 ATS in their last 5 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game. The Over is 17-5 in their last 22 games following a straight up loss, while the Under is 5-1 in their last 6 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
The Cleveland Cavaliers come into this game with the best record in the East, but not by much as the Raptors trail them by just 3 games, but still that should be enough for the Cavs to hold them off for the #1 slot in the East, especially since they have 5 of their last 9 games at home. Cleveland has won 11 of their last 15 games and they are a very strong 30-6 at home on the year so far. Lebron James is the leader of the team with 25.0 ppg and 7.3 rpg, but he will miss this game due to a scheduled day off. Kyrie Irving has had a very solid year as he has averaged 19.4 ppg and is one of the best free throw shooters in the league at 89.4%, while Kevin love is 3rd in scoring at 15.8 ppg and leads the team in rebounding at 9.9 rpg. JR Smith (12.3 ppg) rounds out the double digit scorers on the team and he hits 39.3% of his shots from downtown. Iman Shumpert (5.6 ppg) is questionable for this game. Cleveland checks in at 9th in the league in scoring, putting up 103.9 ppg, while also ranking 9th in shooting overall, 10th from long range, but they are weak at the free throw line where they are 24th. The defensive numbers have been very solid as they come in ranked 3rd in points allowed, giving up just 97.9 ppg, while also ranking 14th defensive FG% overall and 11th in 3-point defense. At home Cleveland has averaged 106.5 ppg on 47.0% shooting, while allowing 98.1 ppg on 44.8% shooting.
Trends: The Cavaliers are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 vs. Western Conference and 5-2 ATS the last 7 home games in the series, but just 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games playing on 2 days rest and 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up win. The Over is 7-3 in their last 10 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game, while the Under is 50-24 in their last 74 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game
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