The Houston Rockets and the Cleveland Cavaliers lock horns for the final time this season. The Cavaliers won the first meeting, 91-77, at the Toyota Center and it was LeBron James who led the way with 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. But tonight, Cleveland will have to take care of business with its King resting. And that being the case, all eyes are on Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love to step it up and carry the team to victory.
For more about this matchup, read on below for our complete preview. Meanwhile, you can also check out our breakdown of the game between the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers.
[sc:NBAArticles ]Houston Rockets vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Betting Preview
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
When: Tuesday, March 29, 2016, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Houston Rockets vs. Cleveland Cavaliers – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: TNT
Betting on the Houston Rockets (36-38)
[sc:NBA250 ]At this final stretch of the season, every game counts and the Houston Rockets, who are hanging on to the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, need all the wins they can in the remaining games on their schedule.
Speaking of which, the Rockets will look to do just that when they travel to Ohio for a final regular-season encounter with the Cleveland Cavaliers. And needless to say, expect none other than James Harden, the league’s second-leading scorer (28.6 PPG), to take the reins in guiding his club to a much-needed victory.
The seven-year veteran enters this matchup having scored 24 or more points in his previous seven games. That stretch includes a triple-double performance (32 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists) in a sorry loss to Toronto on Friday night, 112-109.
But Harden’s offensive rampage could come to an end tonight, as the Cavaliers are only allowing 97.9 points this season. They also managed to hold him to 11 points on 2-of-10 shooting during their first meeting last January.
If Harden ends up struggling, it’s a good thing that the Rockets, who rank fourth in the NBA in scoring (105.9 PPG), have other reliable offensive options in the forms of Trevor Ariza and Michael Beasley. Both are averaging double-figures in points this year with 12.4 and 14.0, respectively.
Meanwhile, Dwight Howard will look to solidify their interior defense and provide a low-post scoring threat at the same time for Houston. The former Laker center is posting 14.1 points, 11.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per contest. Against Cleveland, Howard is putting up 17.6 points, 12.6 boards and 2.3 blocks across 33 career games.
Houston is 4-6 SU and 5-5 ATS in its past 10 road games.
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Betting on the Cleveland Cavaliers (52-21)
Even with LeBron James resting, the Cleveland Cavaliers are still a formidable team. They still have two perennial threats in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love to lead them against the visiting Houston Rockets tonight.
Irving has gone cold as of late, shooting 34.1 percent from the floor in his previous three games. But the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft should be able to relocate his rhythm with James’ absence allowing him to take more control of the offense.
Irving, who is tallying 19.4 points this season, will also be trying to once again take advantage of the Rockets’ porous defense (106.8 points allowed). He finished with 23 points (9-of-17 shooting) in their first regular-season meeting with Houston.
Love, meanwhile, walks into this game fresh off one his best performances of the season. He scored a game-high 28 points along with 12 boards in a commanding victory over the Knicks last weekend. Love’s outside shooting, in particular, could provide some headaches to the Rockets, who are yielding 9.6 three-pointers per contest (2nd-highest in the league today).
As for the defense, the Cavaliers need to constantly put a hand up in every shot that James Harden takes. He struggled in the previous meeting with Cleveland, but a player like him can get hot at any given moment. Harden is averaging 20.1 points on 44.8 percent shooting across 12 career games opposite Cleveland.
Cleveland, which is allowing 98.1 points at home, is 2-8 SU and 4-6 ATS in its last 10 games versus Houston.
Writer’s Prediction
Houston wins it, 111-104.
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[sc:NBA620 ]
