Cleveland Cavaliers at Lakers Betting Preview

JaVale McGee won’t be facing his old team, as he’s on his way to Denver to join the Nuggets. He had a terrific year with the Cavs to date and should provide some nice relief behind Nikola Jokic. 

His minutes will dip a bit in his new home, but he always played hard in CLE. His replacement, Isaiah Hartenstein, is extremely athletic and an active rim protector. Should he debut this evening, he’ll be welcomed. 

The Lakers haven’t won a game since LeBron hurt his ankle last Saturday. Without Anthony Davis and the King, the wins have been much harder to come by. 

They could have had Kyle Lowry on the roster but believed hanging on to 20-year-old Talen Horton-Tucker was more important. We’ll be able to judge their decision at this time next year when we see just how well they can perform with him.

ODDS:

The Lakers are still the favorites in this one, at -5.5.

Cavs Seek Second Straight Win

After beating the Bulls on Wednesday, the Cavs will look to make it back-to-back in this contest. After that game, Chicago traded for Nikola Vucevic and Daniel Theis, realizing that their lack of size was hindering them dearly. But back to the Cavs, an 18th win stares them in the eyes as they face a star-less Lakers team. 

It is an opponent like the Cavs that LA can find their rhythm against. If Collin Sexton is out, a lot more pressure will be on Darius Garland. But the Cavs being a team that can struggle out of the blue, gives the Lakers a chance to pounce. Montrezl Harrell likes these types of lineups and will be trying to show Jarrett Allen that size isn’t everything. 

Look for the Cavs bench to come up for big for them today.

Lakers Seek Home Victory 

At 28-17, the Lakers’ record is not at all reflective of their year. They would be competing for the top seed if they were at full strength. But the fact that the Brow has hardly been able to play has rendered that impossible. And when LeBron went down, it left them with Kyle Kuzma as their top option.

A few years ago, Kuzma as your top option wasn’t so bad. But given the type of player, he has proven to be, that is not good at all. He’s highly inconsistent and is prone to making mistakes throughout the game. He has earned every penny he’s making, but personally, worry should be aplenty with him. 

LA is hoping to finally get back into the win column. If their bench can have a strong showing, that could well happen for them.