Madison Square Garden will headline Saturday’s nationally televised showdown as Cleveland (33-15 SU, 20-26 ATS) meets New York (22-29 SU, 29-22 ATS). This will be the third meeting between the pair this season and if the trends hold steady in this series, we’ll be looking at another lopsided win for the Cavaliers.
Cleveland dropped New York at home by 29 points (117-88) on Oct. 25 and followed it up with a 126-94 thrashing of the Knicks in its first visit to MSG on Dec. 7.
Including those wins, the Cavaliers have won eight straight against the Knicks and have managed to cover four of those games. Total bettors should note that the ‘under’ has gone 7-1 during the Cavs’ win streak and New York hasn’t been able to crack 100 points in any of the eight losses.
Backing the Cavs seems like the obvious choice but you should be aware that they’ve gone 1-4 both SU and ATS in their last five games on the road and the defense has allowed 100-plus in every contest. Overall, the Cavs have gone 11-10 SU and 7-14 ATS on the road.
New York enters this game off a 95-90 road win over Brooklyn on Wednesday and is 2-2 SU and 3-1 ATS in its last four games. At home, the Knicks have been a solid investment (13-11 SU, 15-9 ATS) this season for bettors.
Saturday’s does have an additional storyline that surrounds Kevin Love and Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks supposedly offered ‘Melo for Love but the Cavaliers didn’t bite. The trade rumors surrounding Anthony continue to heat up, specifically with the Cavs and Los Angeles Clippers.
No opening line was posted due to the uncertain status of Knicks point guard Derrick Rose (ankle). New York has gone 5-7 SU and 6-6 ATS when installed as a home underdog this season.
These teams will meet for the fourth and final time of the season right after the All-Star break from Cleveland on Feb. 23.
We’ve got four teams in action on Saturday that enter the day with win streaks of five-plus games.
The Pacers have won five straight and are 4-1 ATS during this run, with the lone non-cover missing by a half-point. Indiana hosts Detroit tonight and both are playing on no rest (see below).
The Wizards own a six-game winning streak (5-1 ATS) but their home run is even more impressive. Washington has won 16 straight at the Verizon Center and covered 14 of those games, one of the ATS losers coming on Thursday versus the Lakers. The Pelicans visit tonight and they’re mired in a 1-4 skid.
Miami is the hottest team in the league, winners in nine straight games. They’ve only been favored three times during this run and have covered all of them to go 9-0 ATS. The Heat (-8) are laying a healthy price tonight to Philadelphia, who was on an incredible run in January. Unfortunately, the 76ers are 1-4 SU and 2-3 ATS in their last five.
It’s rare to see Golden State struggle due to its talent but its ability to cover numbers lately has been impressive. The Warriors are 10-1 SU in their last 11 games and they’ve produced a stellar 8-2-1 ATS mark during this span while laying some heavy digits. Golden State is listed as a healthy road favorite (-12) over Sacramento, who lost on a buzzer beater to Phoenix last night.
Back-to-Back
Saturday’s card will feature nine teams playing on no rest. Listed below are SU and ATS records for each clubs plus any notable trends to watch.
Denver: 2-8 SU, 4-5-1 ATS, 7-3 O/U (Both wins occurred on the road)
Detroit: 2-6 SU, 2-6 ATS (Pistons have dropped three straight B2B games, all by double digits)
Indiana: 2-7 SU, 1-8 ATS, 6-3 O/U (All nine opponents scored over 100)
Memphis: 9-3 SU, 8-4 ATS (Just 1-3 last four on no rest after 8-0 start)
Milwaukee: 2-8 SU, 2-8 ATS, 6-4 O/U (The ‘over’ has cashed in five straight)
Minnesota: 4-3 SU, 5-2 ATS, 4-3 O/U (Two of three losses came at home)
Phoenix: 4-4 SU, 5-3 ATS (3-0 last three games and ‘under’ on a 4-0 run)
Orlando: 3-7 SU, 7-3 ATS (2-3 last five but 5-0 ATS, ‘over’ 6-1 run)
Sacramento: 3-8 SU, 5-5-1 ATS (Nine of 11 played on the road, 0-2 at home)
