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It's a jam-packed schedule across the NBA on Wednesday, with 11 games. The Cleveland Cavaliers will hit the road and take on the Brooklyn Nets in an Eastern Conference battle. It's time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Cavaliers-Nets prediction and pick.
Both of these teams have been having very good seasons. The Cleveland Cavaliers are 9-6 but are coming off a disappointing loss. The Brooklyn Nets are 10-5 and also just suffered a tough defeat. These Eastern Conference teams will both be looking to bounce back on Wednesday.
Here are the odds for the Cavaliers-Nets Wednesday night NBA matchup, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Cavaliers-Nets Odds
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Cleveland Cavaliers: +10 (-110)
Brooklyn Nets: -10 (-110)
Over: 208 (-110)
Under: 208 (-110)
Why The Cavaliers Could Cover The Spread
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of the most surprising success stories this season. Cleveland has managed to string together victories over some tough opponents. The Cavs are coming off a six-point loss to the Celtics, but that is mainly due to some injuries. Injuries are currently plaguing this Cavs team and if they want to win on Wednesday they will need their bench players to seriously step things up. Defeating the Nets with a healthy roster is a tall ask and doing it with an injured one is significantly more difficult.
With all their injuries Ricky Rubio has managed to emerge as a top contributor for Cleveland. The veteran guard is coming off a 28-point performance against the Celtics. Rubio has shown that he can still compete and make a difference, even in his eleventh year in the league. The guard is averaging a career high 15 points per game and his production is likely to only go up. If the Cavs want to win this game they will need a huge night from Rubio. While that may be a big ask, he has shown that he can impact games this season.
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Another player that has stepped up with all the injuries to this team is Cedi Osman. Osman is coming off his best offensive performance of the season. Against Boston he managed to put up 26 points and keep this team in the game. If the fifth-year forward can carry that momentum into this game then Cleveland might be able to compete in this game. A lot of things will need to go right for the Cavs to walk away with a win on Wednesday, but it's definitely not impossible.
Why The Nets Could Cover The Spread
The Brooklyn Nets are one of the best teams in the NBA. They are able to compete and win games against tough opponents but are coming off a very disappointing loss. The Warriors are maybe the best team in basketball right now and they proved it on Tuesday against the Nets. Brooklyn lost to Golden State by 18 points and will be looking to bounce back on Wednesday. The Nets should be more than capable of picking apart a crippled Cleveland team. Expect Brooklyn to run away with this one.
Leading the way for the Nets is Kevin Durant. KD is one of the best players in the NBA. He is a fearless scorer and a match-up nightmare. Durant had one of his worst nights of the season against the Warriors, shooting the ball inefficiently and only managing 19 points. That performance was certainly a fluke and KD will look to have a big bounce-back game on Monday. Durant has been averaging nearly 29 points and 8 rebounds a game, he should have no problem dominating the Cavs.
By KD's side is the second part of the Nets duo, James Harden. Harden had 24 points against the Warriors but it was still an underwhelming night for the star. He has been having a relatively quiet season but has still managed to impact games. The guard is averaging nearly 20 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds a game. While Harden hasn't been scoring as much as he has in years past he has been finding other ways to elevate his team. Expect Harden to keep on playing solid basketball and maybe even have a breakout performance against the Cavs.
Final Cavaliers-Nets Prediction & Pick
This is a very easy pick. If both these teams were fully healthy then this would actually be a really good game, but that is just not the case. The Cleveland Cavaliers are crippled. They are without all of their best players and the Nets should have no problem running over them. Brooklyn did just lose by a big margin to Golden State, but that really shouldn't impact this game. The Nets are at home and playing a severely handicapped Cavs team, this is a no-brainer. Pick the Nets to win and cover and get ready for a very lopsided game.
FINAL CAVALIERS-NETS PICK & PREDICTION: Brooklyn Nets -10 (-110)
FINAL CAVALIERS-NETS SCORE PREDICTION: Nets 120 – Cavaliers 101
