NBA: Cleveland vs Toronto Prediction
The Toronto Raptors host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night at the Air Canada Centre in Ontario. The Cavaliers get back All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving in time for a tough stretch of games, while the Raptors are looking to get theirs back in hopes of breaking out of a funk.
NBA Odds
Cleveland Cavaliers (38-24) at Toronto Raptors (38-22)
Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2014
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Air Canada Centre
City: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NBA Gambling O/U Odds: 203.5
NBA Gambling Spread: Cavaliers -4.5
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The Cavaliers will play the first of a five-game stretch in which they’ll play opponents with winning records in this one. Getting back Irving, who missed the team’s loss at Indiana on Friday, then the team’s loss at Houston on Sunday.
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A left shoulder strain forced him to miss those games, but he’s expected to play Wednesday. The Cavaliers are 1-4 without him this season, and got back into the win column with a 110-79 thumping of the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. Irving scored 18 points in that one.
The team’s core will be fresh with Irving haven gotten the weekend off, while LeBron James needed to play only 26 minutes against the Celtics, and Kevin Love played only 25 in a game in which the Cavaliers led by as many as 44 points.
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With a win the Cavaliers would effectively move into a tie with the Raptors for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. The last time these teams met, James scored 35 points, including a tiebreaking 3-pointer late to help the Cavaliers overcome a 14-point third-quarter deficit in a 105-101 win on Dec. 9.
The Raptors downed the lowly Philadelphia 76ers 114-103 on Monday, but prior to that they averaged 90.4 points and shot just 25.4 percent from beyond the arc over the course of a season-high five-game losing streak.
FREE Cavaliers vs. Raptors Pick:
The Cavaliers are simply the better team right now, with the Raptors still searching for answers and a way to play more consistent basketball. As Cleveland’s core will be rested and ready to go in this one after getting much of last night off, they’ll be ready to roll come tip-off.
Additionally, the under has been the play when these two sides face off.
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The Raptors have had a lot of difficulty scoring the basketball of late, and that’s going to mean good things for under bettors.
NBA Betting Trends:
- The Cavaliers are 17-6 ATS in their last 23 games, and they are 4-1 ATS in their last five games against Eastern Conference opponents.
- The Raptors are 1-5 ATS in their last six games, and 3-9 ATS in their last 12 home games.
- The under is 5-0 in the Cavaliers’ last five games against Atlantic Division opponents, and it is 22-4 in their last 26 games when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous outing.
- The under is 5-1 in the Raptors’ last six home games, and it is 21-4-1 in the last 26 meetings between these teams in Toronto.
The play: Cavaliers -4.5, Under 203.5
Check out our Updated NBA Betting Odds.
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