LeBron James went up against the San Antonio Spurs in back-to-back NBA Finals when LeBron was with the Heat. The teams split the two series. LeBron’s Cavs make their only visit of the 2017-18 season on Tuesday in the game of the night in the NBA. Who will be favored in the NBA odds? Let’s take a look at tonight’s game.
Meanwhile, reports are that Leonard and his camp have been described as “distant” and “disconnected” from the Spurs. Months of discord centering on elements of treatment, rehabilitation and timetables for return from a right quadriceps injury have had a chilling impact on Leonard’s relationship with the front office and coaching staff.
Aldridge has scored in double figures 46 times this season – every game he has played. Aldridge has led the team in scoring in 37 out of the 46 games he’s played, the most games a player has lead a team in scoring in the entire NBA this season. He has also now scored in double figures in the past 49 games he has played, dating back to last season. This is longest active double-digit scoring streak for the Spurs.
San Antonio currently leads the league in fewest opponent points allowed per game at 97.5. The Spurs are in their 23rd straight season allowing fewer than 100.0 points, which is the longest run in NBA history.
Cavaliers at Spurs Tuesday Night NBA Odds & Expert Pick
When: Tuesday, 8 PM ET Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio TV: TNT Stream: NBA League Pass Radio: 1100 AM (Cleveland) / WOAI 1200 (San Antonio) NBA Odds: Spurs -2.5 (209)From tough buckets to big dunks, https://t.co/HLGrXISwsn has our Top 5 Wine & Gold highlights from Week 14.#AllForOne pic.twitter.com/dZRgQXFuNf
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) January 22, 2018
Last Season
San Antonio won both meetings with the Cavs last year. The first was 118-115 in Cleveland. Kawhi Leonard scored a career-best 41 points as well as grabbing 6 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists in a career-high 46 minutes. LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points and 12 rebounds. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving each scored 29 points in the loss. In San Antonio, the Spurs won 103-94. Leonard had 25 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. The Spurs outrebounded the Cavaliers 52-40 while holding them to 37.3% from the field and an opposing team season low 15.4% from long range. LeBron had 17 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. The Spurs have also won two straight at home in the series.Why Bet on Cleveland?
Not sure I would! The Cavs have by far the worst ATS record in the NBA and have covered, amazingly, just one of their past 14 games. They were embarrassed at home by Oklahoma City on Saturday, 148-124, tying a franchise record for most points allowed in a regulation game. LeBron had 18 points with three rebounds, seven assists, one block and two turnovers in 38 minutes. James also had a minus-33 in plus-minus rating, which marked his fourth-worst of his NBA career. — his worst came back on Jan. 8 vs. Minnesota. The Cavs have lost six of their last seven games while LeBron has a horrendous 118.8 defensive rating over that span.Can James Make History?
LeBron is 7 points away from becoming just the 7th player in NBA history to reach 30,000 career points, as well as the youngest to do so at 33 years and 24 days of age (Kobe Bryant, 34 years and 104 days). James (1,546 3FGM) is also one three-pointer away from passing Eddie Jones (1,546 3FGM) for sole possession of 22nd place in career three-pointers. James currently leads the NBA in field goals made this season (463). Over his career, he has made 10,886 field goals, which is 19 away from surpassing Dirk Nowitzki (10,904 FGM) for 8th all-time in NBA history. Kevin Love played just three minutes in the loss due to illness but said he feels better and that he will play on Tuesday. Embattled coach Tyronn Lue said he needs to get Love more touches. “Whoever has it going or whoever is open should get the basketball, so it’s really not an option thing,” Lue said. “Kevin’s been great all year and we got to continue to get him touches and continue to feature him, no matter who’s on the floor.” Love’s usage rate drops from 26.6 to 20.2 with Isaiah Thomas on the floor. Cleveland ranks 5th in the league in PPG (109.7), 7th in assists per game (23.5) and 6th in FG% (.472). The Cavs have scored at least 120 points eight times this season (7-1), dished out 30 or more assists five times (4-1) and shot at least .500 from the field 19 times (15-4).Why Bet on San Antonio?
This game has lost some luster because the Spurs are missing Leonard indefinitely as well as Manu Ginobili and Rudy Gay. San Antonio was punked at home by Indiana on Sunday, 94-86. That ended the Spurs’ 14-game home winning streak and was just their third home loss of the season. With Ginobili, Gay and Leonard out with injuries, San Antonio made a last-minute lineup change, bringing Tony Parker off the bench for the 14th time in 1,165 career games. Dejounte Murray was a surprise starter vs. the Pacers and Parker suggested afterward that it’s a permanent change. Murray finished with eight points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block in 28 minutes, but the biggest news came after the game. Parker told reporters that Gregg Popovich “thought it was time” he yield the starting job, and Parker didn’t object.
Meanwhile, reports are that Leonard and his camp have been described as “distant” and “disconnected” from the Spurs. Months of discord centering on elements of treatment, rehabilitation and timetables for return from a right quadriceps injury have had a chilling impact on Leonard’s relationship with the front office and coaching staff.
Aldridge has scored in double figures 46 times this season – every game he has played. Aldridge has led the team in scoring in 37 out of the 46 games he’s played, the most games a player has lead a team in scoring in the entire NBA this season. He has also now scored in double figures in the past 49 games he has played, dating back to last season. This is longest active double-digit scoring streak for the Spurs.
San Antonio currently leads the league in fewest opponent points allowed per game at 97.5. The Spurs are in their 23rd straight season allowing fewer than 100.0 points, which is the longest run in NBA history.
Latest NBA Odds Trends
- Cleveland is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games
- Cleveland is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Cleveland’s last 12 games on the road
- San Antonio is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games
- San Antonio is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of San Antonio’s last 5 games
