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Los Angeles Lakers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers odds opened at -3 ½ in favor of the Cavs. The line has since dropped down to -3 at SBG Global (you can bet on this game here)
Thursday, 8:05 pm Eastern - TNT
The two best teams in the NBA betting meet in a high profile TNT televised game on Thursday as the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are 32-11 host the Los Angeles Lakers, who are 32-9. This is a key game for both teams since the team that finishes with the best overall record would have home court advantage if the teams meet in the NBA Finals. The Cavaliers already defeated the Lakers earlier this season so a win on Thursday would give them the tiebreaker if the teams finish with the same record.
Cavaliers is a 3.5 point favorite at SBG Global with a total of 194.
The Lakers begin a very challenging eight-game road trip on Thursday. They will be playing eight games in 13 days beginning with this matchup in Cleveland. There are three sets of back-to-backs and two big games, against Cleveland and Boston. The Lakers have played the fewest amount of road games in the league but that is about to change. "I think it'll tell us where we're at," said Lakers forward Ron Artest, "We feel like we can come out perfect. I don't think anybody will doubt us even though we haven't been out on the road yet."
The game on Thursday is very important to the Lakers since they were routed 102-87 at home by the Cavaliers on Christmas Day. "Obviously, we didn't like that at all," forward Pau Gasol said. "We want to show them that we're the better team. They have confidence now that they can beat us."
The Lakers have the best NBA betting record in the league but they still haven't played their best basketball. "We play well for a half, the next night we play well for 20 minutes." Head coach Phil Jackson said, "We haven't really strung together 3 1/2 quarters or whatever."
The Lakers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 Thursday games. The Lakers are 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Lakers are 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 vs. the Eastern Conference. The Lakers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games. The Lakers are 2-5 ATS in the last 7 meetings against Cleveland.
The Cavaliers are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 home games. The Cavaliers are 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 vs. the Western Conference.
The Under is 4-1 in the Lakers last 5 overall. The Over is 4-1 in the Cavaliers last 5 overall. The Under is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings between the two teams in Cleveland.
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