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The No. 8 seed Cleveland Cavaliers head to the Barclays Center Tuesday to play the No. 7 seed Brooklyn Nets in the first play-in tournament game in the Eastern Conference. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Cavaliers vs. Nets odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Cleveland backed into the play-in tournament due to piling injuries to key players after a red-hot start to the season. Post-All-Star break, the Cavs are 9-15 straight up (SU) and 8-15-1 against the spread (ATS) with a minus-2.8 scoring margin
Brooklyn had a chaotic season, to say the least. The Nets had to deal with PG Kyrie Irving’s vaccination status and PF Kevin Durant’s injury woes. Plus, they traded SG James Harden for PG Ben Simmons, who hasn’t played in a game since June 20, 2021, and might not suit up this postseason, but the Nets have the second-shortest odds to win the East.
They are 3-1 SU and 2-2 ATS versus the Cavs this season with the Over/Under going 2-2.
Cavaliers at Nets odds, spread and lines
- Money line (ML): Cavaliers +320 (bet $100 to win $320) | Nets -420 (bet $420 to win $100)
- Against the spread: Cavaliers +8.5 (-115) | Nets -8.5 (-107)
- Over/Under: 228.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
Cavaliers at Nets key injuries
Cavaliers
- C Jarrett Allen (finger) out
Nets
- SG Seth Curry (ankle) probable
- PG Ben Simmons (reconditioning) out
Cavaliers at Nets odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Nets 115, Cavaliers 111
Money line
PASS with a heavy “lean” to the Cavaliers (+320) because this payout is so fat. I typically will sprinkle on an underdog’s ML when betting it to cover the spread.
However, Durant is at the peak of his powers and has dominated Cleveland this season. KD averaged 28.7 points on 66.0% true shooting (.509/.538/1.000) with a plus-13 net rating in 3 games versus the Cavs this season.
The bottom line is Cleveland has no answer for KD and I cannot get down on the Cavaliers (+320) beating the Nets because KD can single-handedly win this game.
PASS.