Outside the top seed in the conference, a lot is still up for grabs at the top of the East standings with just a handful of games left to go in the regular season. But nobody in the running is playing well enough to snag it, least of all the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cavs have followed a path similar to the Los Angeles Clippers this season: a slow start followed by an utterly dominant stretch followed in turn by a series of losses so bad you don’t know what to make of them as a playoff team.
The Cavs have little time left to get it together, and on Saturday, April 6 they’ll face a Los Angeles Lakers team that has their offense firing on all cylinders.
My NBA picks for Cavaliers vs. Lakers think the NBA odds have been to slow to react to Donovan Mitchell’s recent play.
Cavaliers vs Lakers predictions
My best bet: Donovan Mitchell Over 20.5 points (-133 at 888sport)
There are many reasons that the Cleveland Cavaliers season has gone off the rails over the past month, but chief among them has been the injuries suffered by Donovan Mitchell.
I’ve been shorting Mitchell’s points props regularly since it was reported that his knee didn’t respond well to receiving a PRP injection.
Since that time, he’d shown a worrying lack of juice off the bounce, getting stonewalled on drives by defenders he’d normally leave in the dust. His scoring average is down nearly eight points since that happened, even as he’s continued to shoot the three well.
That appears to be changing, though. While Mitchell didn’t have a strong shooting night from deep against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, he showcased everything else.
He routinely beat the likes of Devin Booker off the dribble, creating separation for open midrange shots or getting all the way to the hoop. He was crossing guys up and scoring over bigger defenders. It was the best he has looked physically in nearly a month of action.
He scored 24 points on the night, but had his threes dropped at a regular rate he would easily have eclipsed 30.
As this line has now dropped all the way to just 20.5, now is the time to reverse course and take the Over.
These Donovan Mitchell odds made sense when Spida was practically playing on one good leg, but they’ve stayed static despite clear improvement.
With Mitchell also getting two full days of rest before today’s matinee matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers, I’m expecting a strong performance from Cleveland’s best player.
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Cavaliers vs Lakers same-game parlay
Donovan Mitchell 20+ points
Lakers -5.5
Lakers Over 115.5 points
The Cavaliers were the No.1 ranked defense in the NBA last season. They made smart upgrades to their roster in the offseason and thought they could bank on internal development as one of the NBA’s younger teams.
But a promising start has turned into bitter disappointment. Since the beginning of March, the Cavs have the NBA’s sixth-worst defense per Cleaning the Glass, and they’ve been getting progressively worse. They’ve had numerous lopsided losses, perhaps most disturbing was when they let the Miami Heat drop 122 points on them in regulation two weeks ago.
The Lakers offense meanwhile has finally hit its stride in part by leaning more on D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura. They’ve been the second-best offense in the Association in the same stretch that Cleveland has floundered.
As such, I like the Lakers in this one, and to do it by racking up points.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
Cavaliers vs Lakers odds and trends
Cavaliers vs Lakers live odds
Cavaliers vs Lakers opening odds
- Spread: Cleveland +4.5 (-110) | Los Angeles -4.5 (-110)
- Moneyline: Cleveland +155 | Los Angeles -190
- Over/Under: Over 225.5 (-110) | Under 225.5 (-110)
Cavaliers vs Lakers spread and Over/Under analysis
- The Lakers opened as -4.5 point favorites over Cleveland for Saturday, but early action on the home team has seen that bump up to -5.5 at most sportsbooks.
- The Cavaliers are just 3-7 against the spread in their last 10 games.
- Saturday’s total has seen some interesting movement, opening at 227.5, being bet as low as 224.5 and now rising back to between 227.5 and 228.5.
- The Under is 23-16 in Cavaliers road games.
Cavaliers vs Lakers trend
The Cavaliers are just 3-7 against the spread in their last 10 games. Find more NBA betting trends for Cavaliers vs. Lakers.
Cavaliers vs Lakers game info
| Location: | Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA |
| Date: | Saturday, April 6, 2024 |
| Tip-off: | 3:300 p.m. ET |
| TV: | Spectrum SportsNet, WUAB CW 43 |
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