The San Antonio Spurs (40-23) are on a roll and improving their playoff chances by the day. On Thursday, they welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers (41-25), who are coming off an impressive win in Dallas.
Excited for the Big Dance? Yeah, us too. March Madness tips off next week. Get the jump on your office pool by getting to know many of college basketball’s top team in our previews of this week’s championship tournaments in the ACC and SEC.
[sc:NBAArticles ]Cleveland Cavaliers vs. San Antonio Spurs Betting Preview
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio
When: Thursday, March 12, 2015, 9:30 PM ET
Line: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. San Antonio Spurs – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Cleveland Cavaliers
[sc:NBA240banner ]There was a time this season when the Cavaliers were having a tough time winning games. Well, after dismantling the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday, 127-94, the Cavs have now won 22 of their last 27 games. Up ahead is a rematch with San Antonio, one of the teams that victimized the Cavs during their early season struggles.
In the first meeting between these two teams, on November 19, Cleveland lost, 92-90. However, that Cavs team didn’t have the services of J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, or Timofey Mozgov, who were all playing for different teams. With the trio now in tow, the Cavs (who still have LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love, by the way) are a much more difficult team to beat.
Mozgov has proven to be a suitable complement for Love (17.0 PPG, 10.2 RPG) in the starting lineup, as he is averaging 8.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 30 games thus far in Cavs uniform. With Mozgov doing most of the rebounding and defending in the paint, Love may be able to get his offensive game going and improve on the lowly 10-point output he contributed in the Cavs’ first meeting with the Spurs.
Smith, meanwhile, has also been contributing of late, averaging 13.4 points per game in his past five games. He scored 21 points on an efficient 8-of-14 shooting against Dallas.
King James has been on fire over the last 10 Cavs outings as well. He has put up averages of 26.1 points, 7.6 assists, and 6.6 rebounds per game during that stretch.
The Cavs are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games overall.
Create a betting account now and put your own basketball predictions to the test when March Madness starts next week.
Betting on the San Antonio Spurs
You know it’s playoff time when the Spurs begin to hit their top form. San Antonio assured its fans of the team’s readiness for the postseason when the team won its sixth-straight contest, beating the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, 117-107.
Key to the Spurs’ resurgence has been their offense, which has averaged 112.2 points during their current win streak. That’s a huge improvement from their 101.6 points per game average on the season. Kawhi Leonard, who poured in 24 points in the Toronto game, has been on a tear this month, which largely explains why San Antonio has been experiencing such success on the offensive end of the court.
Leonard is averaging 15.7 point per game this season, but thanks to his aggressiveness, has upped that figure to 21.5 points over the last six San Antonio games. Leonard has been taking more shots recently, chucking up 16.8 attempts per game—around five more than his season average.
Leonard’s biggest challenge against the Cavs, however, will be a defensive one. He’ll be tasked to guard James for most of the game. He did well in the first meeting, as James finished with just 15 points on a salty 6-of-17 shooting from the field. The Spurs as a team are eighth in the league in defense with only 97.2 points allowed per game.
Tim Duncan is expected to play in this one despite hyper-extending his left elbow against Toronto. Duncan and Boris Diaw each scored 19 points in the first meeting with Cleveland.
San Antonio is 5-1 ATS in its last six games.
Writer’s Prediction
San Antonio wins, 103-101.
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