NBA Betting Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Washington Wizards

NBA Betting Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Washington Wizards

Ryan Knuppel
3 years ago
3 min read


With three games left to go in the 2020-2021 season, the Cleveland Cavaliers are on the road to face the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on Friday night. The Wizards are coming off a two-game losing streak in a double series matchup to the Atlanta Hawks. Cleveland snapped an 11 game skid with a big win over the Boston Celtics in their last game out. 

Cleveland Cavaliers Preview: Can Sexton stay hot 

Colin Sexton has been the bright spot in an otherwise up and down season for the Cavs. Sexton is coming off a 28 point, 8 assist game over Boston. Over his last six games, Sexton is averaging over 26 points along with 6 assists. His shooting from the three-point range has been excellent, as well as his shooting as a whole, as he is over a 52% true shooting percentage.

Forward Kevin Love turned back the clock in his last game producing 30 points and 14 rebounds while hitting on six of his nine three-point attempts. Love, like many other Cavs players, has missed a large amount of the season due to injuries, so it was nice to see him make an impact on the court.

Washington Wizards Preview: Looking to get some momentum heading into the play-in

The Washington Wizards have missed star guard Bradley Beal as they dropped their last two games, and more bad news is they will have to play a third game without him as he has been ruled out for Friday’s contest. Russell Westbrook has done all he can to try to carry the load without his running mate, and he recently broke the record for most triple-doubles in a career.

Head coach Scott Brooks has played around with his lineup a bit and opted to start 22-year-old center Daniel Gafford against the Hawks. Gafford has been a nice addition to the team as he has been solid on the defensive end and played efficiently on the offensive end.

Westbrook has been on a tear over the team's last four games averaging over 32 points with seven triple-doubles in seven of his last nine games. The star point guard is rounding into form at just the right time in the absence of Beal and is the player to watch against a struggling Cavs team.

Cavs vs Wizards Preview

The Cavs are coming off a big win against the Celtics at home. Colin Sexton and Kevin Love played a superb game as they led the way snapping an 11 game losing streak. This team is headed to the lottery, and racking up wins this late in the season might impact where they fall in the lottery standings.

The Wizards have been one of the more interesting teams in the NBA this season, from their abysmal start of the season to their late surge to potentially earn a play-in spot. Without Bradley Beal in this contest, the team will be tested and could very well struggle even against an injury-riddled Cavs team.

Despite Washington being the favorites, the Cavs are coming off a big win over Boston. There is a ton of pressure on the Wizards in these last two games thanks to the Chicago Bulls stringing together a couple of wins and closing the gap for that 10 spot in the play-in. Westbrook and company know one win should seal the play-in but losing out will cost their chance.

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