Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Miami Heat Betting Preview
Where: American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
When: Monday, April 10, 2017, 7:30 PM ET
Line: Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat – view all NBA lines
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Betting on the Cleveland Cavaliers (51-29)
At this point, you really have to question the motives of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the home stretch of the regular season.
On Sunday, the Cavaliers blew a 26-point fourth-quarter lead and lost a heartbreaking contest that went into overtime in Atlanta to the Hawks, 126-125, to put them in a tie with the Boston Celtics for the top spot in the Eatern Conference.
Fantastic performances from Cleveland’s stars were put to waste indeed, as Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 45 points and LeBron James had a monster triple-double line of 32 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. You could tell by Irving and James’ productions that they really wanted to win the game despite rumors claiming that the Cavs are intentionally losing games to avoid being pitted against the Chicago Bulls or, to an extent, their opponents this Monday night in the Miami Heat.
Still, not just because the team’s top players had a terrific outing meant that it didn’t also show its biggest flaw. Only four Cleveland bench players saw action on Sunday and combined for 16 points, while the Hawks dug deep into their reserves with seven players combining for 44 points of their own.
Should the Cavs opt to sit out or limit the minutes of their top stars this Monday, that’s when we can be pretty confident that they’re tanking on purpose. All things considered, though, they may still have a rough going in the second game of their back-to-back road trip, as they’ve gone just 3-6 over their last nine games away from home (SU/ATS).
Betting on the Miami Heat (39-41)
Prior to Saturday’s 106-103 victory over the Washington Wizards, the Miami Heat were on the brink of elimination from the postseason picture. But with that crucial win, they now find themselves tied once more with the Bulls for the final playoff spot in the East with just two games left in the regular season.
Hassan Whiteside went berserk for 30 points and 12 boards – his 56th double-double of the season – just when his team needed it most. He also blocked Bradley Beal’s supposed game-tying three-pointer in the dying seconds of the contest. Fellow frontcourt enforcer, James Johnson, also had a solid game with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
With Whiteside and Johnson getting it going, Miami scored 50 points in the paint en route to the win. The team will need more of that dominant presence down low against Cleveland, as it was clear that LeBron and Co. lost that particular battle versus Atlanta, 58-48.
Even with their playoff hopes on the line, you still have every right to be skeptical about the Heat’s chances of winning this Monday. But here’s a fun fact: they’ve beaten the Cavs five-straight times at the American Airlines Arena (SU/ATS) ever since James returned to his hometown. By the way, all five of those wins were by double-digits and by a stunning average of 17.6 points; hence the reason why the boys from South Beach easily managed to cover the spread on all those occasions.
Writer’s Prediction
The Heat inch closer towards securing the final playoff spot in the East with a pivotal 104-100 victory.
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