posted March 13, 2008 at 17:01 in NBA Free Picks
NBA Basketball - Cleveland Cavaliers at Washington Wizards
While the Cleveland Cavaliers, (37-27 SU, 31-33 ATS, 31-31-2 O/U), made a franchise-altering trade in order to help further their NBA championship title hopes, the Washington Wizards, (31-32 SU, 37-26 ATS, 32-31 O/U), have done an outstanding job of keeping their season afloat despite losing two of their top three players for long stretches this season.
While the Cavaliers have been single-handedly carried, (once again), by their lone superstar, Lebron James, the Wizards have used the contributions of several players – and their usual, all-out offensive attack – to keep their heads above water and their playoff hopes alive in the mediocre eastern conference.
The Wizards, who are 6-4 in their last ten games in the BetUS.com Sportsbook including a solid 105-97 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, will get a huge boost with the return of all-star forward Caron ‘Tough Juice’ Butler tonight after playing the past 16 games and 19 of 21 without their emotional leader because of a lingering hip injury.
"Caron is going to be probable, so we add a little 'Tough Juice' to the lineup," Wizards head coach Eddie Jordan said. "And we'll see how it goes."
For his part, Butler, who turns 28 years-old today, said he’s raring to get back on the court.
"I've got a nice rhythm. I've got a couple of practices under my belt. I'm not feeling any symptoms," said Butler. "It's a big day with my birthday. Things seem to be really flowing right now, so tomorrow would be a great game to come back.
The Cavaliers, who are also 6-4 in their last ten games, lost to the mediocre New Jersey Nets 104-99 on the road Wednesday night despite a 42-point performance from James and are just 2-2 in their last four contests.
"We lost the game in the first quarter," James said following his seventh 40-point performance of the season. "So we started off, we didn't show no adjustments on the defensive end and were very lackadaisical, myself included. And we let them just do what they wanted to do in the first quarter."
The Cavaliers are 6-4 against the spread in their last ten games while the Wizards, who have been one of the top ATS teams in the league all season long, are a solid 7-3 against the spread in their last ten contests.
Here is a look at tonight’s Key Trends, followed by my NBA Gambling Free Picks:
The Cavaliers are 4-1 ATS in their last five games playing on zero days rest.
The Cavaliers are 4-1 ATS in their last five vs. NBA Southeast.
The Wizards are 5-0 ATS in their last five games playing on one days rest.
The Wizards are 4-1 ATS in their last five Thursday games.
The Over is 5-1 in Cavaliers last six vs. NBA Southeast.
The Over is 4-0 in Wizards last four home games vs. a team with a losing road record.
The Favorite is 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings.
The Over is 5-2 in the last seven meetings in Washington.
Analysis: While the Cavaliers are the slightly better team in this matchup, I don’t think they have enough offensive firepower to hang with the Wizards who should be reenergized by the return of Butler tonight. I say take the Wizards to cover the spread with a big win tonight.
NBA Free Picks: Wizards -3½ Points/Over 194 Total Points
08:05 PM EST NBA Odds
Cleveland Cavaliers +3½ -110
Washington Wizards -3½ -110
Over 194 -110
Under 194 -110
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