It’s going to be a wild night in the NBA as two of the league’s premiere stars collide. Carmelo Anthony and his New York Knicks will hope to put themselves back on the winning track when they pay LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers a visit at Quicken Loans Arena tonight. Can Anthony lead his team to a road victory? Or will the King and his men be the one to take them down?
Read on below for a full breakdown of this intriguing matchup and while you’re at it, check out our other previews as well: Clippers at Warriors and Spurs at Wizards. Enjoy.
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New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Betting Preview
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
When: Wednesday, November 4, 2015, 8:00 PM ET
Line: New York Knicks (+9.5) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (+9.5); total: 201.5 – view all NBA lines
Betting on the New York Knicks
After a huge 117-110 win at Washington on Saturday, the New York Knicks couldn’t keep that momentum alive as they bowed down to the San Antonio Spurs last night with a final score of 94-84. The Knicks were simply overwhelmed by the offensive onslaught of the Spurs’ starting five, who scored 73 points combined.
[sc:NBA240banner ]Furthermore, the Knicks shot themselves in their own foot as well. They couldn’t find a consistent rhythm on offense, shooting a dismal 36.0 percent from the field. Carmelo Anthony could certainly relate to this as he drained just four of his 17 field goal attempts and finished the game with a team-high of 19 points thanks to Kawhi Leonard’s tenacious defense.
Now, Melo and company will look to redeem themselves from this setback this evening. But that’s going to be easier said than done since they’ll be facing the reigning Eastern Conference champions—Cleveland Cavaliers—at their own arena.
For them to pull off the improbable upset or at least hang tough, the Knicks ought to get a good early start on offense. They haven’t been doing well in opening quarters lately, averaging just 24.2 points this season. Anthony, whose averaging 21.9 points per game against the Cavs in his career, has got to lead the charge in doing so.
But he can’t carry the entire scoring load obviously. That said, Kristaps Porzingis will need to lend a helping hand. He’s been averaging solid numbers so far in his rookie campaign with 11.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
Defense, though, is going to be the deciding factor for the Knicks because of LeBron James, who just became the youngest player to reach the 25,000-point mark yesterday. The onus will be on the entire defense to force him to take tough shots and make somebody else dictate their offense.
New York is 4-6 SU and 5-5 ATS in its past 10 road games.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have completely moved on from their season-opening defeat to the Bulls, as they’ve won each of their following games since then. They are now 3-1 on the season and will be looking to stretch their unbeaten run to four games when they play host to the visiting New York Knicks.
Their chances of winning this one will heavily rely on the duo of LeBron James and Kevin Love as usual. Both stars have been playing really well so far this year. James is averaging 22.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.3 dimes while Love is posting double-double figures of 18.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. The Cavs have also shot the rock efficiently as a team (46.4%) thanks to these two.
But if there’s one thing that they need to take note of in this game, it would be to take care of the ball. The Cavs, who turned the ball over 16 times against the Sixers on Monday, have to be more attentive in their offensive executions against a Knicks team that’s forced at least 13 turnovers in each of their previous four games.
Also, bench production is going to be crucial later if James or Love can’t find a rhythm. Look to none other than Matthew Dellavedova to lead the charge in this department. He is averaging 8.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and a team-high 6.5 assists per game thus far.
Meanwhile, the Cavs are going to be playing without their starting shooting guard in J.R Smith, who is dealing with a knee injury. He’s going to miss at least two games, according to league sources.
Cleveland is 7-3 SU and 4-6 ATS in its previous 10 games at Quicken Loans Arena.
Writer’s Prediction
Cavaliers (-9.5) win this one in resounding fashion, 102-85.
