Cavs/Lakers Play
Both teams enter off bad defensive efforts in their last games. Cleveland was taken to overtime at Sacramento the other night after allowing the kings to score 104 points in regulation. The Kings went scoreless in the extra session which prevented the points allowed by the Cavs from being much worse. But off that bad defensive effort, we can expect Cleveland to bring their best here in a spotlight game against Kobe and the Lakers. Los Angeles is also off a bad defensive performance, but they have an excuse for that poor showing. The Lakers were in a terrible spot as they were returning home off a 5-game road trip with only one day of rest. They were also looking ahead to tonight’s game, so they didn’t have their full attention in play on Tuesday night. The 108 points allowed to Oklahoma City were the second most given up this year, and with LeBron in town, look for a much better defensive game from the Lakers. This series has seen the last four games go Under the total. All four of those games have had 193 points or less scored, and with both teams off high-scoring games, there’s reason to expect a defensive battle here. The Lakers haven’t played back-to-back Over’s in three weeks, while the Cavs haven’t played back-to-back Over’s since the middle of November.
Under 194.5
Under 194.5
