For one game at least, the Cleveland Cavaliers put rumors to rest that there were serious chemistry problems after a win over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. However, the Cavaliers will face the first real test on their road trip Sunday night when they face the Los Angeles Clippers.
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TRAVEL
The Cavaliers will play the Clippers as the third game in a four game West Coast road swing. Cleveland already took care of Sacramento in the first game and fortunately for the Cavs their other two opponents are pretty toothless as well in the Lakers and Jazz.
Meanwhile, LA will have to go on the road right after the game to start a five game road trip that has the Clips taking on Golden State, San Antonio, Memphis, and Houston.
KEY MATCHUP
Cleveland may have beaten Sacramento, but there were major flaws for the Cavs that a better team would have exploited. The Cavs only hit 29.5 percent of their three point attempts in the game and their big three of LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving all shot 30 percent and less. The three were also sloppy with the ball, combining to turn the ball over 11 times.
The Cavs were able to pull this one off because of their supreme talent advantage. Irving was pretty great aside from his three point shooting, hitting 66 percent of his two point attempts and leading the Cavs with 30 points. James, Love, and Tristan Thompson were great on the glass and the three combined for just two less rebounds than the entire Kings team collected overall.
LA should be getting Blake Griffin back from injury within the next couple weeks, but until it does the Clips need to continue holding the fort without him. To aid that, the Clippers rolled the dice at the trade deadline by acquiring Jeff Green from the Grizzlies. Green is one of those players that has dazzled with his potential for years and the Clippers are hopeful he can tap some of that with their lineup.
He posted his best game since joining the team against the Thunder on Wednesday, hitting 10-of-13 shots and led the team with 23 points. Any impact the Clippers get from Green would be a big help down the stretch run.
LIVE BETTING SCENARIO
The Cavaliers haven't been great away from home this year evidenced by their 12-15-3 ATS mark. To make matters worse, Cleveland has lost two of the last three games in which it was a road favorite outright. For total bettors, the under has been a good play in Cavs road games, holding a 17-13 record.
Los Angeles is a little bit less than a break even team at home against the number, holding a 15-16-1 ATS mark in games played at the Staples Center. The Clippers have failed to cover three of their last four home games and lost two of those three outright, including one against Denver as an 11 point favorite.
The under has been a very solid bet in Clippers home games with 20 of their 32 games going under the closing mark.
Who will win the battle of the point guards - Chris Paul or Kyrie Irving? Irving has the better help around him so if he plays Paul to a draw, the Cavs should get the upper hand on the Clippers. Paul is able to create better than any other point guard in the league though and has the potential to put up 15 assists and lead the Clippers past the Cavs.
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Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! Bet on the NBA today as the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Clippers square off Sunday, March 13, 2016 at 3:30 p.m. ET at Staples Center. The matchup will be televised nationally on ABC.
