After competing for the Madison Square Garden scoring title earlier this week, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James get to go at it head to head this afternoon in Cleveland. The much anticipated clash tips off at 3:30pm ET at the Quicken Loans Arena and will be televised live on ABC. NBA Picks: Los Angeles Lakers vs Cleveland Cavaliers at online bookmaker SBGglobal.com have the Cavaliers listed as a -5 against the spread favorite.
Los Angeles is the hottest team in the league coming into today's big game with Cleveland. The Lakers have won nine of their last 10 contests and they have gone 5-0 on their current road stand. To get to 6-0, they will have to do something that no team has done this season, beat the Cavaliers on their home court. Phil Jackson's team has already slayed one giant on their East Coast swing, beating the Celtics 110-109 in overtime at the Garden on Thursday night.
The 40-9 Lakers are in first place in the Pacific division by 12.5 games over the Phoenix Suns. They also have a 6.5 game lead over the Spurs in the fight for home court advantage in the Western Conference Playoffs.
Los Angeles, who is 17-5 on the road this year, sports a league leading average of 108.8 points per game away from home. They also are the top rebounding road team in the league at 43 per game. They will need to maintain those averages to have a chance against the Cavaliers today.
The Cavaliers also come into today's contest with plenty of sizzle. LeBron and company have won eight out of their last 10 games after beating the Knicks 107-102 on Wednesday night. King James followed up Kobe Bryant's 61 point effort at the Garden with 52 of his own in the critical road win. Cleveland's 39-9 record has given them a comfortable 12 game lead over the Pistons in the Central division, but they have just a slight one game lead in the Eastern Conference standings over the defending champion Celtics.
Home court advantage could be the Cavaliers ticket to a return to the Finals given that they are 23-0 at Quicken Loans Arena this year.
Cleveland will counter the Lakers offense with the league's best defensive outfit. The Cavs are holding teams to 90.7 points per game; they perform even better at home, allowing a meager 89 per contest. They also are quite adept at putting the ball in the basket themselves; their 105.1 point per game home scoring average ranks ninth in the league.
SBGglobal.com's NBA Picks: Los Angeles Lakers vs Cleveland Cavaliers
Los Angeles Lakers +4.5 (-110)
Cleveland Cavaliers -4.5 (-110)
NBA Picks Betting Trend: The Under is 7-3 in Cleveland's last 10 games as a home favorite with a spread between 4 and 7.5. The Cavaliers are 8-2 straight up in the same situation.
