Inconsistent Cavs
Barely half a year after representing the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers are in danger of seeing their season slip away.
LeBron James and the inconsistent Cavaliers look to string together consecutive victories for the first time this month and get their season back on track when they host the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Cleveland -1.5 point spread favorites (NBA Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 187.5 total points (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 67% of bets for this game have been placed on Cleveland -1.5 (View NBA Bet Percentages).
Cleveland (12-15) won 50 games in each of the last two seasons, but is on pace to win only 36 in 2007-08. The Cavs are tied with New Jersey for eighth place in the East, and are in third place in the Central Division – already 7 1/2 games behind first-place Detroit.
Cleveland has struggled with its consistency, as it defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 94-90 on Thursday one night after being blown out 108-90 by lowly New York.
The Cavs have won two of their last three games, but just three of their last 12. They are looking for their first consecutive victories since winning a season-high four in a row Nov. 21-27.
"It’s always important to get a win no matter what the circumstances are, especially with the way we have been losing lately," said James, who had 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on Thursday. "It was good to get a win. We still have some things to clean up, but it is good to get a win."
James, who has three straight 30-point games, leads the league with 29.7 points per game.
Cleveland’s defense showed some improvements on Thursday after allowing the Knicks to shoot 56.2 percent from the floor. The Cavs trailed the Lakers by 12 points late in the third quarter, before holding Los Angeles to 12 points in the fourth.
"(Defense) is the area where we feel like we need the most improvement," said Cavs guard Daniel Gibson, who had 15 points against the Lakers. "I think we feel like we can score with anybody, but when it comes to winning it’s about that defense. I think we took a big step in that direction."
It may be a bit tougher to slow down the Warriors, however, as high-powered Golden State is second in the league with 108.3 points per game.
Cleveland defeated the Warriors 108-104 on the road Nov. 6, and has averaged 112.7 points while winning its last three meetings with Golden State.
James had 24 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists against the Warriors last month, and is averaging 28.4 points, 9.0 boards and 7.0 assists in eight career games against them.
Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, whose 13.7 points per game ranks second on the Cavs, had 22 points and 14 rebounds against Golden State last month.
The Warriors (15-12) lost to New Jersey 100-95 on Saturday, and now need a win to finish their five-game road trip with a winning record.
Golden State shot 38.6 percent from the floor, including 6-for-25 from 3-point range.
"We weren’t very good," coach Don Nelson said. "We didn’t hit shots or play very well. We need to move on to Cleveland."
Warriors leading scorer Baron Davis managed only 15 points Saturday while shooting 6-for-19 from the field. He had 29 points and 10 assists in the loss to Cleveland last month.
By: Marc Young – theSpread.com – Email Us
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