NBA Eastern Conference Showdown: Cavaliers vs Wizards
Published February 6, 2017 by Sol FH
The Cleveland Cavaliers face-off against the Washington Wizards tonight at 00:00 GMT and the odds couldn't be any closer.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are still in first place in the Eastern Conference at 34-15, two games ahead of the Boston Celtics and four games up on their opponents tonight, the Washington Wizards. The Cavs have one of the strongest teams in the NBA and they are favorites to win the conference, but the road games have been tough for Cleveland this season and they are only 12-10 when playing away games.
The Washington Wizards are at 30-20, but at home they are one of the best in the East at 22-6 and they are on a seven game win streak, but at home they have gone 17-straight without a loss and hope to extend that streak. Tonight is a crucial game for the Wizards as they could pull a little closer to the Celtics and the Cavs in front of their fans at Verizon Center.
Head to Head
Last time that these teams met was back in November, 2016, in which the Cavs won 105-94, but that was during the Wizards terrible start to this season at 2-8, but they are a totally different team now. The Cavs could be without Kyrie Irving tonight making things a lot harder to win, but we all know that LeBron James has the ability to take any game and lead his team to victory even in tough situations.
The Wizards need to protect the basketball tonight, as they still rank in the bottom half of the NBA with 14.3 turnovers per game. They will most-likely put Otto Porter against LeBron James, but expect different matchups against James, as Porter has struggled against him in the past.
NBA Betting Lines
The Wizards have the slightest edge in the odds tonight with top UK-based online sportsbook, bet365 Sports giving them the advantage at 1.90 to the Cavs' 1.95. Not much margin for big profits, but bet365 Sports is also offering dozens of props bets, live in play markets and many other markets ahead of the game.
