The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Milwaukee Bucks were supposed to compete for top 4 spots in the East and build on what was done last year, but nothing is going according to plan. Both teams are below .500 and lost beyond their top stars. The battle between LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo may as well decide this matchup.
Bucks at Cavaliers
Spread: Cleveland -4 (-110) at BetDSI Sportsbook
Total: o/u 219.5 points (-110)
The Celtics make a big comeback, down Thunder in OKC
The Milwaukee Bucks lost three in a row and four of their last five, losing ground to Eastern Conference rivals early. They are on a four-game layoff after last played in Detroit on last Friday. There was enough time to work on the flaws, and a good portion of it will be the free throw issues.
The Bucks rank fourth in the NBA in terms of most personal fouls committed, which when added to ranks of 26th in free throws attempted doesn’t make a good ratio. In Detroit, the Bucks shot just 9 free throws total, and their plan to hatchet Drummond every time he gets the ball backfired with Pistons’ center improved shooting (he was 14-16). Meanwhile, the Bucks suffered on the interior without their trump Monroe, who is out with an injury. He is The Guy for the second unit, and without him, the bench scored only 14 points total. It’s been the telltale of the recent Bucks struggles – the role players don’t contribute enough, or frequently enough. The Greek Freak had a so-so game – compared to his lofty standards – with 29 points, 4 rebounds and 4 blocks. Brogdon came alive with 21 points and 10 assists, and Middleton and Snell scored in teens. The Bucks shot 47 percent and made 10-of-25 threes, but the free throw disparity cost them dearly. The only period the Bucks went cold was at the start of the third quarter, and this dug a 17-point hole. They tried to close the score on offense, but couldn’t go on a run as the Pistons countered throughout the fourth quarter, disabling Bucks for making ground before falling 96-105 to the Stones.
With extra time on their hands, the Bucks are reported to have had a strong practice where they focused almost completely on the pick and roll defense. Judging by the statements of their players, they are poised to stop the losing. Monroe will not play in Cleveland or in the next few games.
Place: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Date/Time: Tuesday, November 7th, 2017. 7:00 PM ET
TV Coverage: NBATV
Cavaliers crisis extends to a lingering issue
When the improbable go-ahead triple that would essentially win the game for the Cavaliers clanked off the rim, it was a divine intervention made by basketball gods. The Cleveland Cavaliers lost 115-117 at home to the worst team in the conference, the Atlanta Hawks. Not only that the Cavs didn’t earn the victory, but they should be embarrassed by how they played the game. It shouldn’t have been close.
With Tristan Thompson on the shelves with an injury, the coaching staff came up with the same lineup that played no defense in any of the games since the opener. Rose-Smith-James-Crowder-Love was terrible once again. They’ve let straight line drives to the basket, open threes to most deadly Hawks shooters and the win-hungry team took the opportunity by hitting shot after shot. On offense, there was no ball movement, a lot of standing around and trying to do too much by individual actions. You may read that James was not aggressive enough in the first half, but it was not easy for him to collaborate with low IQ players he had to play with. The Cavs were forcing things by going into the crowd, and this resulted in many live turnovers. On the other hand, they settled for lazy three-point jumpers that repeatedly bounced of the front iron. Imagine ugly, then double it. It was 28-37 after first quarter, and the deficit grew steadily – the Hawks led by double digits for most of the game. If not for one of few players who understand how to play ball with James, Dwyane Wade, and his best game in Cavalier jersey, the game would be over sooner. Instead, the Cavaliers managed to push back in the fourth, riding a hot hand of Korver, who scored 20 points in the period. Even with his immaculate precision, the Cavs could make stops on the other end, even though the Hawks stopped attacking and only tried to milk the clock. Hawks inbounding mistakes and missed free throws in the last minute set up a dramatic ending, and the Cavs would not be rewarded for their play after trailing by 7 with 24 seconds to go.
Besides Thompson, the Cavs were without Kevin Love for the second half. He seemingly tried to play with illness but was unable to toughen it out. It’s unclear whether he’ll be ready for this game. Shumpert and Thomas are still out. James looked exhausted after playing 41 minutes, but part of it was probably mental fatigue. He should be fine.
Milwaukee Bucks at Cleveland Cavaliers Game Trends & Prediction
When the Bucks win, they win against the spread, when they lose, they lose your money as well. It’s been a bad week to follow them, as they’ve gone 0-3 in the Week 3, falling to a 3-5-1 record. Since Monroe fell behind, they had a period of offensive struggles, and this led to increased number of unders. After starting the season 3-0 on over/unders, Milwaukee now sports a record of 5-4 against the total points lines.
With another home loss to a poor team, the Cleveland Cavaliers fell to 2-8 against the spread. The good news is that one of the wins came at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks, who had the Cavs defeated 116-97 in the second game of the season. On the other hand, the Cavaliers are 0-6 ATS at the Q, so it doesn’t get much worse than that. On the total points market, the Cavs defensive inaptitude usually translates to over points. Cleveland is 6-4 against the over/under as the least number of points they’ve allowed in the last 8 games was 112 – to Chicago!
Admi-Rank: The win in Washington was a step in the right direction for the Cavaliers, but they’ve promptly taken two backsteps. With losses to Nets, Knicks, Pacers, Magic, and Hawks, they are lucky to be this high. The Bucks are actually ranked higher at the moment, despite losing three games in a row, so that tells you enough about this slump.
Two teams already met this season, with Cleveland winning easily 116-97 in Milwaukee. The Bucks are already motivated to stop the bad streak, so revenge is not an important factor. Cleveland is (or at least should be) motivated as well, since they’ve stunk at home so far. With some of the key support out of the picture (or in case of Love, questionable to play), this game will probably come down to which superstar wants it more.
The books seem to agree with my power distribution as they’ve set the Cavaliers as only a 4-point favorite in this game. Consider that Love will probably play and that the Bucks dearly miss Monroe on top of the convincing Cavs win, and you can understand how poorly they’ve been playing at home. I’m not trusting them until they clean up the house, and am glad not to have value to place a home wager. Instead, I’m going with under points. Yes, that’s not a typo. The focus of both teams will be to finally solve deficiencies on the defensive end, and with no bench points for the Bucks, under the weather Love and the Cavs struggles from the three points range, I truly believe this game stays under the 218.5 points the bookies have set for the total.
My Pick: (no spread wager here)
Total: Under 218.5 points (-110)
