The Cleveland Cavaliers are down their coach but up a star player. It will be interesting to see how the loss of coach Tyronn Lue and the return of power forward Kevin Love affects their performance in a matchup this week against the Toronto Raptors.
Toronto is playing like one of the best teams in the NBA but there is always the question of if it will be able to carry over into the playoffs. The Raptors hope to prove that they are a team to fear in the postseason with a nice road win in this one. The Cavs have the home court advantage but Toronto has been playing so well of late that it could be favored despite the hostile environment.
Don't miss the hardwood action from the Quicken Loans Arena at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 21, 2018. Catch every moment of the game live on ESPN.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Wednesday schedule.
Odds Analysis
The Raptors are 52-18 straight up and 40-30 against the spread. Toronto has covered in 21 of 35 attempts on the road this season. The Raptors are 31-27 against the spread as the favorites.
The Cavaliers are 40-29 straight up and 22-46-1 against the spread. Cleveland has gone just 7-25-1 against the spread at home this season, which is certainly something to remember when the NBA basketball betting lines are released. The Cavaliers have covered in nine of their 14 games as underdogs this season.
Injury Report
Love, the Cavaliers star forward, returned to the court this week after an extended absence due to a broken hand. In his first game back on Monday against the Bucks, Love finished with 18 points, going 5-of-13 from the field.
Love suffered the injury in January and was sidelined for 21 games. The five-time All Star is a welcomed sight in the starting lineup for the Cavs who went 12-9 without Love over the last two-and-a-half months.
Love is averaging 17.9 points and a team-high 9.4 rebounds this season. The lineup has a changed quite a bit since he’s been out, but he had a good first showing with the new squad.
Coaching Situation
Lue won’t be coaching in this one as he takes a step away because of health problems. Lue said he has been dealing with chest pain and trouble sleeping. He had to stop coaching in a recent game against the Bulls and has decided to pull back for the time being.
Lue is expected back before the playoffs but for now the Cavs will be under the direction of assistant coach Larry Drew. While there won’t be any wholesale changes this late in the year, Drew will likely have his own style of coaching and it will be interesting to see how that looks against Toronto.
Lue hopes to figure out the impetus for his issues and get back to the court as soon as possible.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The return of Love is big for Cleveland but he is still getting back into the groove. It could take him some time to get back in complete flow and play big-time minutes. The coaching change also adds another hurdle the Cavaliers must jump over in the next few games.
The Raptors have been the superior team all season. Even though the Cavaliers have LeBron James, the duo of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry is elite and should lead Toronto to the victory in NBA basketball odds.
Check the spread because the Raptors are also a good bet to cover the spread.
NBA Odds: Raptors 113, Cavaliers 107
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