NBA: Cavaliers to Continue Streak?
Carrie Stroup here reporting for Gambling911.com. The Cleveland Cavaliers look to extend their current three-game winning streak straight up and ATS when they visit the Chicago Bulls tonight.
The Cavaliers are eight-point favorites at Sportsbook.com and tip-off is 8 pm ET for the first half of the TNT doubleheader.
Cleveland has been the class of the Eastern Conference this year at 30-6. The Cavs began the year at 20-3, and bettors were becoming huge LeBron James' fans with an incredible 19-4 ATS record.
The next 10 games saw Cleveland go 7-3 straight-up and 4-6 ATS before their current three-game streak.
The Cavs' last game was a 102-87 win at Memphis on Tuesday night as 8.5 point chalk. That was done without center Zydrunas Ilgauskas who continues to be sidelined with a bone chip in his ankle.
That kind of injury would have really hurt Cleveland in prior years but this team has the depth and mental psyche not to get slowed down too much.
Cleveland's opponent tonight is Chicago (17-22). The Bulls have slipped well below the .500 mark with their poor recent play and they are just 1-5 ATS in their last six home games with outright losses to two of the worst teams in the league, Oklahoma City and Minnesota.
STROUP STAT: CLEVELAND against the spread in All games versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game. The record is 33 Wins and 12 Losses for the last two seasons.
It is worth noting the Bulls are in a back-to-back situation, winning in Toronto last night, 102-98. However, even with their young legs, they are 5-6 ATS in this situation. Cleveland looks strong in this game.
The second half of the doubleheader begins at 10:30 pm ET from Denver when the Nuggets host the hot Phoenix Suns. The Nuggets are 1 ½-point favorites at Sportsbook.com, which by the way is offering a 10 percent cash signup bonus when you open an online betting account.
The Suns (22-13) have won six out of their last seven games although they're an unprofitable 2-5 ATS. Their last game was Tuesday night versus Atlanta and they failed to cover the spread even though they won 107-102.
Failing to cover at home is a continuing trend for the Suns who are only 6-13 ATS in that category. They are just under .500 ATS (7-8) on the road.
The Nuggets (26-13) continue to play good basketball even with Carmelo Anthony out with a fracture in his hand.
Denver has played three home games since Anthony went out with what seemed to be a crippling injury to the franchise. However, Denver has beaten Miami and Dallas while losing to Detroit, going 1-2 ATS overall.
Denver still has a 2.5 game lead in the Northwest Division over Portland and a three game lead over Utah and they must take advantage of these home games until they are back at full strength.
The Nuggets have moved J.R. Smith into the starting lineup to try to make up for the loss of scoring. Smith hasn't played great since becoming a starter and the team will have a lot of trouble matching up with center Shaquille O'Neal who is playing really well right now.
This looks like some tough matchups and a tough game for Denver to win.
Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
