Two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference will battle it out Tuesday night as the Cleveland Cavaliers (45-28, 4th in the East) take on the Brooklyn Nets (39-32, 6th in the East). The Nets will host this one at the Barclays Center, with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 pm ET.
Despite playing on the road, the Cavaliers are the favorites in this one. They are -146 to win, while the Nets’ moneyline sits at +124. The spread features Brooklyn as 3-point underdogs (-112), and the over/under for total points is 218.5 (-110).
Cavaliers Trying To Improve On Road Record
Despite having one of the best home records in all of basketball at 29-8, the Cavaliers have struggled a bit on the road, going just 16-20 on the season. They will try to improve on that Tuesday as they head to the Barclays Center.
Coming into this one, the Cavaliers have gone 7-3 in their last 10 and picked up a 117-94 win over the Wizards in their last outing.
For Cleveland, they rank just 25th in the NBA in scoring, averaging 112.2 points per game. Donovan Mitchell leads the way as he is averaging 27.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.
Darius Garland (21.9 points, 7.8 assists), Evan Mobley (16.2 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists), and Jarret Allen (14.4 points, 9.8 rebounds) are also having sensational seasons.
While they may struggle a bit on offense, Cleveland is the top team in the NBA on defense. They are allowing opponents just 106.6 points per game this season.
Nets Try To Snap Losing Streak
Losers of three in a row, the Brooklyn Nets will try to get back into the win column on Tuesday as they host the Cavaliers. At the Barclays Center this season, they are 19-14, and they are 26-18 against Eastern Conference foes.
Brooklyn currently ranks 12th in the NBA in scoring defense, allowing opponents 112.8 points per game (109.8 at home). On the offensive side, they drop to 20th, averaging 113.4 points per game.
After their flurry of deals that sent Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving packing, it has been forward Mikal Bridges leading the team in scoring. In 16 games, he is averaging 25.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game.
Spencer Dinwiddie has also been solid since being acquired, averaging 17.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, and eight assists per game.
Take The Nets And The Points
The Cavaliers come into this one having gone 6-2 in their last eight games overall, but they are just 1-6 in their last seven against the Nets. In their last five at the Barclays Center, they are winless.
For the Nets, they are just 2-4 in their last six games, but they are 6-3 against the spread in their last nine. Of note, the OVER has hit in six of the last nine games between these two teams.
This one is a tough one to call. On the one hand, the Nets have certainly been sliding as of late; however, the Cavaliers have not been good on the road all season.
With the potential for this game to go either way, the best bet may be to take the points. In this case, that means taking Brooklyn +3 (-112).
