Cleveland vs Miami NBA Betting Preview

Posted by Kenny Bell on Saturday,December 5, 2015 12:13, EDT in

After battling struggling New Orleans on Friday night, LeBron James and company will square off against many of their old teammates when the Cleveland Cavaliers head to South Beach for a date against Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the rest of the Miami Heat.

Now, let’s take an in-depth look at this intriguing pairing of former NBA betting championship-winning teammates.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Miami Heat NBA Betting Preview

When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 5, 2015
Where: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
View TV Schedule Here
Current NBA Odds: Pk

 


 

Betting on the Cleveland Cavaliers (13-5 SU, 7-11 ATS)

Heading into Friday night, the Cavaliers had dropped two of their last four games including a convincing 97-85 loss against Washington while failing to cover the spread as a 9-point home favorite no less.

LeBron James scored a team-high 24 points, but only four Cavs reached double digits in scoring, not including Kevin Love who scored eight points on 2 of 10 shooting.

“They beat us from beginning to end,” James said. “They beat us in every facet of the game, right from the beginning. Their pace, their speed, their ability to get the ball up the floor really caused us problems tonight.”

The Cavaliers allowed John Wall to go off for a game-high 35 points in the loss. Cleveland averages 102.1 points per game and limits their opponents to just 96.6 points per contest defensively.

“We are an unpredictable team,” Wizards center Marcin Gortat said. “Last year, we proved we could beat good teams by 20, but we can lose at Philly. We are a crazy team.

“If John and Bradley play like that, we’re going to be all right. We’re going to have success.”

Betting on the Miami Heat (11-6 SU, 8-9 ATS)

Miami has alternated SU wins and losses over their last five games but managed to beat Oklahoma City 97-95 in a thriller on Thursday night to cover the spread as a 4-point home dog.

Dwyane Wade scored a game-high 28 points on 11-for-21 shooting while four other players score in double digits for the Heat. Miami’s leading scorer also nailed two free throws with 1.5 seconds remaining.

“He somehow found daylight,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Wade’s drive to the basket that drew a foul on forward Serge Ibaka. “I’m surprised he found energy to jump.

“Dwyane is a proven Hall of Fame talent, particularly in the fourth quarter. He’s going to have the courage to make plays.”

Thunder coach Billy Donovan also praised Wade.

“It was actually good defense by Serge,” Donovan said, “but Wade did a great job of drawing contact.”

Miami shot a stellar 49.4 percent from the field while forcing Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant into a combined 17-for-39 effort from the field.

The Heat average 100.5 points per contest and limit their opponents to just 96.3 points per contest defensively.

Cleveland vs Miami Game Analysis

The Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t looked particularly impressive in the early going this season and I believe they are going to be ripe for the picking in this contest as they face a Miami Heat defense that ranks second in the league to San Antonio in points allowed and forces opponents into a league-best 41.0 percent shooting from the field.

While the Cavaliers are 5-1 ATS in their last six game against teams from the Southeast division, the Cavs are also just 4-10 ATS in their last 14 games against their Eastern Conference counterparts and a discouraging 1-5 ATS in their last six road games.

The Miami Heat are 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record while the Home team in this rivalry has compiled a perfect 6-0 ATS mark in the last six meetings.

I like D-Wade and the Heat to get the narrow home win in this one!

My Betting Pick

Miami 101 Cleveland 97