The (22-8) Milwaukee Bucks will pay a visit to the (21-11) Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, pitting Eastern Conference foes. Milwaukee is on a two-game winning streak following victories over Utah and New Orleans. Cleveland has won four consecutive games. The Bucks are 8-5 on the road this season, and the Cavaliers are 15-2 at home. Milwaukee defeated Cleveland twice in November.
Tip-off from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is at 7:00 p.m. ET. The Cavs are two-point spread favorites, and the game total is 217 points.
Just two games back from Milwaukee in the standings, Cleveland needs to seek revenge against its Central division rival. The Bucks won the previous meetings between these squads, giving extra juice to this Wednesday's matchup. Will the Cavaliers find it easier to take down mighty Milwaukee at home this round?
Cleveland is coming into the matchup with some momentum, beating Dallas twice, Indiana, and Utah. The victory over the Jazz was extra special for Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell, who was traded to Cleveland by Utah this past offseason. The 26-year-old scored 23 points in 23 minutes in his first game against his former squad, shooting 8-for-12 from the floor, including 4-for-5 from three.
“It was weird,” he said. “But it was fun.”
.@SerenaWinters asks Donovan Mitchell how the @cavs are able to maintain their NBA best home record. #LetEmKnow Cavs fans???? pic.twitter.com/5DDql30NOC
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) December 20, 2022
Mitchell wasn't the only Cavalier to show up against Utah. As a team, Cleveland shot over 61 percent from the field and 57.7 percent from three-point range. Small forward Cedi Osman scored 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting, point guard Darius Garland added 17 points and eight dimes, and center Jarrett Alen contributed 20 points and 11 rebounds.
This season, Cleveland is scoring 110.9 points, which is 23rd in the NBA but shoots 47.9 percent from the field, including 36.9 percent from distance. Both of those shooting percentages are top ten. According to Dunks and Threes, Cleveland boasts the league's best adjusted net rating, the net points scored per 100 possessions adjusted for strength of schedule.
The Cavaliers are a defensive-minded team, too. They're giving up the fewest points per game and the fewest rebounds per contest. Cleveland's adjusted defensive rating is also the league's top mark.
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!