Balanced Attack
Cleveland,Oh – LeBron James is enjoying the fact that he doesn’t always need to carry the Cleveland Cavaliers this season. Cleveland’s domination at home has given him even more time to watch his teammates work.
The Cavaliers look to remain undefeated at home this season Tuesday when they seek their ninth straight home win against the Toronto Raptors.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made the Cavaliers -11.5 point spread favorites for Wednesday’s game against the Raptors. Current NBA Public Betting Information shows that 58% of more than 194 bets for this game have been placed on the Cavaliers -11.5.
Cleveland (37-9) has won six of its last seven, with four of those wins coming on the road, including Sunday’s 90-80 victory over the Detroit Pistons. James scored 33 points and added eight assists.
But he was on the bench early in the fourth quarter when Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson led a 15-2 run to give Cleveland a 73-68 lead, which it never gave up.
Williams finished with 22 points and seven rebounds, while Gibson scored all seven of his points in the fourth quarter.
"It’s been different this season because we have guys who can control the offense and control the defense," James said. "There’s not been a time this season when I felt pressure to not come off the floor.
"I know these guys can take care of things."
James is averaging 27.8 points during a career-low 37.5 minutes per game this season, and he’s averaging just 35.8 minutes in 22 home games compared to the 40.7 minutes he averaged in 39 home games in 2007-08. The decreased minutes have come thanks to Cleveland’s success at home, where it has won 22 consecutive games this season by an average of 16 points.
Toronto (19-30) has seen for several years just how dominating James and the Cavaliers are at home. The Raptors have lost eight straight in Cleveland, including a 114-94 loss on Dec. 9. James, who is averaging 34.4 points in his last five games against Toronto, had 31 points on 11-of-18 shooting in that win.
The Raptors, who last won in Cleveland in 2004, will be looking to avoid losing their third straight on Tuesday. They’ve dropped nine of 12, including a 113-90 home loss to the Orlando Magic on Sunday.
Jose Calderon scored 16 points and reserve Joey Graham added 14 points and matched a career high with 12 rebounds, but leading scorer Chris Bosh was held to 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
"I usually have the patience to knock those shots down, but for some reason I was really in a hurry," Bosh said. "I shouldn’t have been like that. I should have just taken my time and knocked them down."
Bosh didn’t make his first basket until 5:20 of the second quarter. He’s averaging 22.8 points this season, but only 15.7 in the last three games. Bosh was held to a season-low nine points on 4-of-11 shooting when Toronto last visited Cleveland.
The forward, however, might welcome leaving the Air Canada Centre after being booed heavily during Sunday’s game.
"The energy in the building isn’t good," Bosh said. "We get down a little bit and everybody is like ‘Oh my god.’ Everything just goes to shambles and I think we feed off that too much. We can’t pay attention to what’s in the stands."
Toronto is in the midst of a difficult stretch. On Wednesday, the Raptors will host the Los Angeles Lakers for their third matchup against a division leader in four days. They also visit the New Orleans Hornets on Friday.
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Posted: 2/3/09 12:45AM ET