The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking to strengthen their case for a home-court advantage in the playoffs, and a win this Sunday against the Brooklyn Nets will be a big help for them. The Nets are not expecting themselves to be victims for the Cavs, though. Read on for a preview of this contest below.
LeBron James is just beasting around this month. He is making basketball look like child’s play to him. After averaging a triple-double in February, James is on the verge of finishing this month with the same achievement. As of this writing, the four-time MVP is averaging mind-numbing figures of 31.4 points on 54.6 percent shooting from the field, 10.2 rebounds, and 9.9 assists per game this month. The Cavs are also getting a lift from the returning Kevin Love, who is rapidly rounding into form following an absence that nearly stretched an entire month because of a hand injury. The Cavs are among the best offensive teams this month with 114.4 points per game average in March, and they are expected to drop plenty of points again versus Brooklyn’s porous defense that is allowing 110.4 points per contest.
The Cavs have also averaged 118.3 points in three meetings so far versus Brooklyn this campaign.
The Nets are out of playoff contention, but they surely want to even up their regular-season series with Cleveland. Brooklyn has flunked all of two of its three three tests versus James and company this season, so expect the Nets to have some extra motivation heading into Friday’s contest. That lone win came occurred way back on Oct. 25, when Brooklyn weathered LeBron James’ triple-double in a 112-107 win at home. Although they are 1-2 against Cleveland to date, the Nets have covered the spread in all those games. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Allen Crabbe are among those Nets players who have played in all those three games in which they averaged 17.7and 15.7 points, respectively. The Nets could shoot the lights out from deep, as they are second in the NBA with 12.4 threes per game. They are even better when up against the Cavs. In those three meetings, Brooklyn sank 14.3 three-pointers on 49.2 shooting percentage.
