This Wednesday, the (8-5) Cleveland Cavaliers will travel to Milwaukee, WI to take on the (10-3) Milwaukee Bucks. Tipoff will be at 8:00 PM EST inside the Fiserv Forum. Both of these teams have jumped to a hot start this season, and I am expecting a battle in this one. The last time these two teams matched up, the Cavaliers walked away with a 133-115 win.
The Cavaliers are coming into this one after losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 129-124. The Cavs have to be better on the defensive end of the court, as they allowed Minnesota to shoot 56.1% from the field. They have to make more stops and contest more shots if they want to challenge the Bucks on the road.
The Milwaukee Bucks are entering this matchup after losing to the Atlanta Hawks, 121-106. The Bucks have to be better on the offensive end of the court, as they struggled from the field in that game. They shot 20.7% from three, as they ha ve to consistently knock down more shots if they want to defend their home court against the Cavaliers.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have now lost four games in a row, as they sit as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference standings. They are currently 2.5 games back from the first-place Boston Celtics. On offense, the Cavs are scoring 116 points per game and they are shooting 47.3% from the floor. This is the ninth most points scored per game and the ninth-highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksandthrees.com, Cleveland has an adjusted offensive rating of 116, which is the third highest in the league. Donovan Mitchel continues to lead the way for the Cavs, as he is scoring 31.6 points per game on 51.2% shooting from the field. He is currently listed as “Day-to-Day”, though. Make sure to check the injury report before placing your wager, as he would be a massive loss for the Cavs. Cleveland has also shot 39.9% from behind the three-point arc, as this is the second-highest shooting percentage from deep in the NBA. They have also taken care of business at the charity stripe, as they are knocking down 79.2% of their shots at the stripe. This is the 10th-highest free-throw shooting percentage in the NBA.
On defense, the Cavs have also held their own. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Cavaliers have an adjusted defensive rating of 109.1, which is the fifth-lowest rating in the league. They are allowing their opponents to score 108.9 points per game and shoot 46.6% from the floor. This is the eighth least amount of points given up per game and the 17th-lowest shooting percentage allowed. They have shown that they will contest shots near the rim and from the outside, as they don't give up many clean looks. Cleveland is also allowing their opponents to shoot 37.3% from behind the arc, as this is the 21st-highest three-point shooting percentage allowed in the league. The Cavaliers have continued to rebound consistently, as well. They are snatching 44.9 rebounds per game, which is the 10th m ost in the NBA.
Injury Report: Dean Wade PF (Knee), Donovan Mitchell SG (Ankle), and Jarrett Allen C (Ankle) are listed as questionable for this game.
No House Advantage: Bet on player over/unders VS THE HOUSE to 21x your bet OR play in PICK 'EM contests against other people! Click here to get a 1st deposit match up to $50 1st w/ promocode WandW!