NBA Predictions: Will the Cavs upset the Warriors? 12/25/17
Can the Golden State Warriors pick up a win at home in the featured Christmas Day game when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers at 3PM ET? Here’s our NBA Predictions for this big game.
ODDS
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Golden State is the favorite at home, as the Warriors are getting odds of -5 points against Cleveland. The over/under total has been set at 217 points. Golden State has won five of its last six meetings with Cleveland, but the Cavaliers have covered the spread in the last two encounters. These two are meeting for the first time this season. Today’s game takes place from ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California and will air live on ABC.
WARRIORS
The Warriors saw their long win streak come to an end on Saturday in a 96-81 loss at home to Denver. Golden State is now 26-7 on the season. They Warriors are just 2-5 against the spread in their last seven and 15-18 against the spread on the year. Golden State is putting up 115 points per game on offense while giving up 105 per game on defense. Kevin Durant is putting up 26.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game for Golden State. Stephen Curry is also averaging 26.3 points per game, but he is out with an ankle injury.
CAVALIERS
Cleveland is coming off a 115-112 win over the Bulls on Thursday for its sixth win in seven games. The Cavs are now 24-9 overall. They have failed to cover in five of their last six games and are 11-21-1 against the spread on the year. The Cavs average 111.3 points per game on offense while allowing 107.6 per game on defense. LeBron James is averaging 28.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 9.2 assists per game this season while Kevin Love is adding 19.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest.
NBA PREDICTIONS
The loss of Curry certainly takes something away from this game and something away from the Warriors. While Golden State can still win, LeBron and the Cavs will be up for this game. In the rare underdog role, LeBron tends to be at his best. The Cavs won this game a year ago as an underdog to KD and the Warriors. While that Cleveland team had Kyrie Irving, I think the loss of Curry presents this as a similar matchup. The public betting is backing the Cavs and I will go with The King as well.
NBA PREDICTIONS: CLEVELAND CAVALIERS +5
