NBA Betting Preview - San Antonio Spurs vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
by Tim Furious
This should’ve been a premier matchup of Tim Duncan battling Shaquille O’Neal, and LeBron James exacting revenge for his loss in the 2007 NBA Finals to the Spurs. Instead, Shaq is recovering from surgery and LeBron has a sprained ankle that will likely see him hit the bench for the entire game. That should give the Spurs a major advantage, only Tony Parker broke his freaking hand over the weekend.
LeBron James’ injury shouldn’t concern the basketball betting public that has banked on the Cavs to win the NBA title in basketball props betting. It’s a sore ankle, which is regulated as a ‘minor injury’, but everyone who saw James limping knows it’s a tad more serious than Cleveland is letting on.
Without the league’s leading scorer, the Cavs fell to the Milwaukee Bucks 85-92 on Saturday despite a 30-point effort from Antawn Jamison, and 27-points from Delonte West. It was the first loss by the Cavs in a seven game stretch, dropping them to 4-2 ATS in the past 6 games. Winning without James on the floor is going to be hard enough, but even with him the Cavs have gone a paltry 2-5 ATS when defending their home court.
The Spurs have much more serious problems with Tony Parker sidelined for up to six weeks while his broken hand mends itself. Parker is the team’s second most productive player, averaging 16.5 points and 5.7 assists in a starting role. The injury to Parker will likely give Roger Mason and Manu Ginobli more minutes in his steed.
And it’s not beyond the Spurs to overcome obstacles. Despite a fading Tim Duncan, the Spurs have gone 5-1 SU in their last 6 games and are enjoying a four-game winning streak right now. They’re a strong 4-2 ATS in their past 6 games overall, and could be in the midst of turning around a horrific road betting record. San Antonio is just 3-7 ATS on the road, but have cleared the last two betting spreads away from home by trouncing the Hornets and Grizzlies.
San Antonio Spurs (36-24) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (49-15)
Monday, March 8th --- Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland --- 7:00pm EST
NBA Betting Line: Cleveland -6.5 (195)
The loss of James tonight for the Cavs is huge, but the absence of Tony Parker is a bigger issue for the Spurs. Cleveland will still have a home crowd advantage, and are a stiff 4-1 ATS in their past 5 games against the Spurs. Yet the problem with matching up against the Spurs is that they’re a fluid team constructed of role players that – gasp! – understand their roles behind Duncan and Ginobli.
The Cavs will be juggling lines all night, hoping for an explosion by Mo Williams, Jamison or West to push the score. Without their best player, the Spurs will be able to unleash their veteran trickery all night. They’re a safe bet with a cushion I bet the oddsmakers wish they could take back.
By the way – they can take it back and change it, but not if you lock in your bet now! DO IT!
