Cleveland Cavaliers at Brooklyn Nets Betting Preview
The Cleveland Cavaliers are on the road at the Brooklyn Nets in the opening game for both teams on Wednesday. The National Basketball Association is back, and both these Eastern Conference teams will aim to get off to a hot start.
A season ago, Cleveland went 51-31 and was the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers went 20-21 on the road.
For the Nets, they finished at 45-37 and were the 6th seed. The Nets went 23-18 at home. The Cleveland Cavaliers are the favorites in this game. Cleveland is listed at -3.5, with the total at 221.5.
Cleveland Ready to Rock in 2023
The Cleveland Cavaliers are excited to get back to playing. The Cavaliers did not do a ton to their roster from a season ago, but this is a very talented team. Donovan Mitchell was terrific playing nearly 36 minutes per game last season. He scored 28.3 points per game and had nearly five rebounds and assists per game. Darius Garland was also great in 69 games, with 21.6 points per game.
Rounding out the starting rotation for the Cavaliers are Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen in the paint. The one addition that the Cavaliers made that they hope pays off big time is Max Strus came over from Miami and will start as a small forward. Coming off the bench for Cleveland should be Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro, and Georges Niang.
Cleveland starts the 2023-2024 on the road for this game and then will head home and wrap up the month at home. The Cavaliers welcome the Thunder, Pacers, and Knicks to town before they head to New York for the second of a back-to-back.
There are plenty of question marks surrounding the Brooklyn Nets. During the preseason, the Nets split four games. They beat the Heat and Ra’Anana while losing to the 76ers and Lakers. Defense was an issue in their losses, as they allowed teams to score 128 points per game. That will not win many games in the NBA.
Plenty of Question Marks in Brooklyn
The Brooklyn offense was led by Nic Claxton a season ago. That came after the departure of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Durant scored just shy of 30 points per game, while Irving was at 27.1. Both of those guys played half a season with the Nets. Mikal Bridges only played 27 games for Brooklyn as well.
Bridges and Claxton are projected to be in the starting lineup, along with Ben Simmons, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Cameron Johnson. The Nets are expecting to see Dennis Smith Jr, Cam Thoms, and Dorian Finney-Smith come off the bench.
Brooklyn will start the season at home but then be forced to play four straight road games. The Nets are at Dallas, Charlotte, Miami, and Chicago before coming back home to host the Celtics on November 4th.
Cavaliers Win on the Road
The Cavaliers look to be poised to have a big season. There are too many question marks with the roster of the Nets to think they are going to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland gets on the scoreboard a bunch early and takes this game on the road.
The final bet for the season opener on Wednesday is the Cleveland Cavaliers -3.5 over the Brooklyn Nets.
