The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors will meet for the first time since last year’s NBA Finals series and for the first time since Golden State added Kevin Durant to the lineup. This is a matchup basketball fans have been anxiously awaiting all season and it will be interesting to see which one emerges victorious.
Even though the Cavs won last year’s championship, Golden State entered the season as the title favorites after adding Durant and both teams have played like contenders again. This could be one of the best games of the season and the fact that Cleveland is at home could make the spread very small, although Golden State may be favored.
This war on the floor will go down Sunday, December 25, 2016, at 2:30 p.m. ET at Quicken Loans Arena. The game will be televised live on ABC.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Sunday schedule.
Odds Analysis
The Cavaliers are 21-6 straight up and 13-13-1 against the spread this season. Cleveland is 8-7-1 while attempting to cover the spread this year. The Cavaliers have only been the underdog three times on the season but this could be another case. Cleveland has covered once in three attempts as the underdog.
The Warriors are an NBA-best 25-4 straight up and have gone 14-4-1 against the spread. Golden State is 6-8-1 against the spread on the road. The Warriors have been favored in every game this season but this could be one of the few in which the spread is close to even.
Keep an eye on which team gets points and how many, as it could be a determinant in which side to choose both against the spread and on the moneyline.
Injury Report
The Cavaliers will be without shooting guard J.R. Smith, who fractured his thumb and will need surgery on it. The streaky gunner has the ability to heat up in a hurry and is a nice piece for Cleveland.
He is averaging 8.6 points and 2.1 rebounds per game while only shooting 33.7 percent from the floor, but is the type of guy who can carry a team offensively for stretches.
The absence of Smith will put more onus on the Cavaliers’ stars Kyrie Irving, LeBron James and Kevin Love. The team may choose to make a trade to find another guard to fill in for Smith while he is in the shelf but nothing figures to be done before this game.
Smith spaces the floor nicely and his injury is certainly a blow for a Cleveland team which would certainly benefit with all hands on deck against the Warriors.
Player to Watch
Kevin Durant – The addition of the seven-time NBA All-Star to Golden State’s starting lineup has been quite advantageous for this year. Durant is leading the team in scoring, averaging 25.7 points a game.
This will be the first time that Durant squares off against James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in a Warriors uniform so it will be interesting to see how the addition of the superstar helps Golden State in this matchup. Durant put up 37 points against Portland on December 17th and also scored 29 in the loss to Houston earlier this month.
He is yet another long-range bomber who the Cavaliers must close out on. The Warriors likely would have been the title favorites in 2016-17 if he didn’t sign but Durant’s addition has made Golden State a clear tier above Cleveland in the championship chase.
Free NBA ATS Pick
The Warriors are mad that they gave away a 3-1 lead in last year’s finals and want nothing more than to come back and get a win in this one, even if it’s a regular season game.
James is capable of carrying his team to a victory over anyone, but Golden State just has too much talent and depth. Take the Warriors on the road to win this one in a shootout.
NBA Odds: Warriors 123, Cavaliers 114
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