Betting preview: LeBron James, Cavs look for road win vs. Spurs
The Cavaliers are finally playing like the best team in the Eastern Conference as they look for their 23rd win in 28 games when they visit the Spurs on Thursday.
The Central-leading Cavaliers (41-25) are the +210 favorite on the odds to win the NBA title and have also performed well over the past two months against the spread with a 19-8 mark in addition to their 22-5 straight-up record.
However, Cleveland will be looking to break a 10-game series losing streak against San Antonio (40-23), as the team’s last victory came before LeBron James left for the Heat back in 2010. The Cavaliers are also 2-9 ATS in their last 11 games against the Spurs, with the OVER cashing in eight of the past 10 meetings according to the OddsShark NBA Database.
[daily_cut.NBA]James has been known to struggle against San Antonio during his career, as his Cleveland team was swept in the 2007 NBA Finals by the Spurs and then his Miami squad lost last year’s league championship series in five games after winning in seven the previous season. James has scored 26.4 points per game lifetime during the regular season versus the Spurs, which is slightly below his career average, while shooting just 68% from the free-throw line.
San Antonio is riding a six-game winning streak and has improved to 15/2 to win the 2015 NBA championship, moving ahead of the Mavericks for No. 6 in the Western Conference and No. 3 in the Southwest Division.
The Mavs were blown out 127–94 by the Cavaliers on Tuesday as 4-point home underdogs on the NBA betting lines. The Spurs are coming off a 117–107 home win over the Toronto Raptors as 7-point home favorites on Tuesday, with Kawhi Leonard scoring a team-high 24 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
In the victory against the Raptors, San Antonio forward Tim Duncan suffered a hyperextended elbow, but head coach Gregg Popovich downplayed the injury and believes he will be able to face Cleveland. Duncan had 12 points and 13 rebounds before exiting the game, and he is averaging 18.4 points and 9.1 rebounds in 32 regular season games against Cleveland heading into Thursday's betting matchup.
