Subscribe
Follow Us
The Cleveland Cavaliers will take on the Los Angeles Lakers in an interconference battle on Friday night. It's time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Cavaliers-Lakers prediction and pick.
Neither of these teams are performing as expected. The Cavaliers are currently on a three-game winning streak after taking down the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night. Cleveland also scored a couple of quality wins over the Atlanta Hawks and Denver Nuggets earlier in the week.
Meanwhile, the powerhouse Lakers have been in a bit of a slump. After barely scratching out a win over the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles managed to blow a 26-point lead to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a hugely disappointing loss. This is a great opportunity for the Lakers to turn things around, so we'll see if they can get it done.
Here's how the bookmakers have set the lines for Friday's game.
NBA Odds: Cavaliers-Lakers Odds
*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)*
Cleveland Cavaliers +7.5 (-110)
Los Angeles Lakers -7.5 (-110)
Over 221.5 points (-110)
Under 221.5 points (-110)
Why The Cavaliers Could Cover The Spread
Article Continues Below
Cleveland has been great against the spread this season. They've entered their last three games as underdogs and ended up winning each outright. The Cavs are now heading to Los Angeles to face a Lakers team that is 1-4 against the spread on the year. The Lakers haven't looked sharp at all this season, and their only cover came in overtime against the Spurs. To put things bluntly, Los Angeles hasn't been playing well enough to deserve to be a 7.5-point favorite against any team in the league, much less a hot Cavs team that has rattled off three straight wins.
The strong point of Cleveland's team this season has been the defense. The Cavs managed to hold the Nuggets, Hawks, and Clippers all below 100 points. All three of those teams are capable of the same offensive production that the Lakers are, so Cleveland's track record looks great heading into this matchup. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff's team is also 2-1 on the road this year, with their only loss in that category coming in the season opener.
Why The Lakers Could Cover The Spread
Los Angeles has clearly missed LeBron James over the last two games. James missed the last two games with an ankle injury, and the Lakers nearly lost two very winnable games. The hope is the superstar will return to the court for this game, which would obviously provide a huge boost to everything the Lakers do. His presence would improve the potent Lakers offense that has scored more than 100 points in every single game they've played this season, as well as providing some much-needed improvement on the defensive end.
The Lakers have the privilege of returning to Staples Center in this one, something that always helps them. Los Angeles was 21-15 on its home floor last season while also managing to average better stats across the board when playing at home as opposed to on the road. The return to the home court coupled with the likely return of LeBron James should be enough to give the Lakers a good chance at covering in this one.
Final Cavaliers-Lakers Prediction & Pick
This is a tough pick because of the uncertainty surrounding the Lakers. James' official status for this game won't be released until later in the day, and if he doesn't play the Cavaliers have to be the pick. Regardless of if James plays, Cleveland is still the right pick here. They've won three games as underdogs outright, and all they have to do here is not lose by eight. Lock in the Cavs.
FINAL PICK: Cleveland Cavaliers +7.5 (-110)
