LeBron James, Cavaliers bracing for Bobcats
Cleveland would face Toronto if the Eastern Conference playoffs started today, and that would be just fine with the Cavs. Regardless of which team meets the Cavaliers in the postseason, moving on will be tough. But the last team Cleveland wants to see in Round 1 is Charlotte. Larry Brown's bunch is 3-1 SU and 4-0 ATS vs. the Cavs this season, and you know MJ would love to upset LJ for bragging rights.
The NBA playoffs are just around the corner, and bettors are finalizing their futures bets with the key teams in mind.
A lot goes into a successful futures wager, whether it’s on a conference winner or the NBA champions outright. You might remember I looked in on current futures value just last week.
It’s not as simple as picking the best team in relation to their price and going from there. Injuries, streaks, and potential matchups also play a huge role in making a determination.
The Lakers currently provide a bigger return than the Cavaliers on the futures odds board, but that’s for good reason. Los Angeles could have to go through the likes of Portland, Utah, and Denver before even getting to the Finals. Cleveland is likely to travel a much easier path.
Whether you’re taking the Cavs or betting against them in the Eastern Conference or to win it all, you have a stake in which team they play in a first-round series as the No. 1 seed.
Looking at the East standings, there’s currently five clubs that could find themselves faced with LeBron James and Cleveland in the conference quarterfinals. The Bucks, Heat, Bobcats, Raptors, and Bulls are all possible candidates to warm up the Cavaliers for bigger things to come.
Milwaukee figures to present the biggest obstacle should it slide into the No. 8 seed, but it’s unlikely because it’s currently fifth in the East at 38-30 and a sparkling 44-23-1 ATS.
It’s too bad for bettors the Bucks are too good to finish eighth. Milwaukee is the sharpest spread wager in the NBA, and has won eight of its last nine games (6-2-1 ATS). The run includes wins at Denver and at home against Utah, Boston, and James-less Cleveland.
If the Bucks are playing too well to face the Cavs, the other four teams remain in play. All four can present some trouble in the first round, trouble being defined as making Cleveland work for its wins.
Dwyane Wade has the ability to match LeBron in a short series, but Miami doesn’t have the depth to keep up with Cleveland. I’d cap the Heat to take no more than one game from the Cavs in a seven-gamer.
The same goes for Toronto, which has the most overall talent of the four potential No. 8 seeds. The Raps have the biggest upside of the four, but they’ve been mired by inconsistency all season. Toronto is also awful defensively.
Chicago has last season’s barnburner with the Celtics under their belt, but they’re probably going to miss the postseason. Chicago has dropped 10 of its last 11 games (4-7 ATS) to sit in the ninth place in the East.
That leaves Charlotte, which is one of the last teams Cleveland wants to see in the playoffs – as the No. 8 seed or otherwise.
No one has played the Cavaliers tougher than the Bobcats. Charlotte has taken three of four from Cleveland this season, easily covering the spread on each occasion. Over the four paydays, the Bobcats have held the Cavs to 89.5 points per game, almost 13 points below their season average.
Much of that has to do with Charlotte’s pace, which ranks 26th in the league at 92.9 possessions per game. That said, slowing it down is to the Bobcats’ advantage in a series with the Cavaliers. Fewer possessions mean a lower-scoring game and a better chance of keeping Cleveland within striking distance. It works, evidently.
Charlotte is also one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, something that’ll pay dividends in the playoffs. The Bobcats are first in points against per game (93.6), third in defensive efficiency per 100 possessions (100.1), third in three-point field goal percentage defense (33.8%), eighth in field goal percentage defense (44.7%), and eighth in defensive rebound rate (74.5%).
Qualitatively, the Bobcats have a versatile roster that’ll force James and Antawn Jamison to play defense and put pressure on Shaquille O’Neal to work hard on the glass.
Jamison would have to match up with Gerald Wallace (18.4 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 18.83 PER), while LeBron is likely to check Stephen Jackson (21.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 16.86 PER) – both tough matchups.
The Bobcats don’t have a bonafide post scorer on the inside, but Shaq and company would have their hands full keeping Tyson Chandler, Theo Ratliff, and Tyrus Thomas off the boards.
Cleveland would face Toronto if the Eastern Conference playoffs started today, and that would be just fine with the Cavs. Regardless of which team meets the Cavaliers in the postseason, moving on will be tough. But the last team Cleveland wants to see in Round 1 is Charlotte. Larry Brown's bunch is 3-1 SU and 4-0 ATS vs. the Cavs this season, and you know MJ would love to upset LJ for bragging rights.
The NBA playoffs are just around the corner, and bettors are finalizing their futures bets with the key teams in mind.
A lot goes into a successful futures wager, whether it’s on a conference winner or the NBA champions outright. You might remember I looked in on current futures value just last week.
It’s not as simple as picking the best team in relation to their price and going from there. Injuries, streaks, and potential matchups also play a huge role in making a determination.
The Lakers currently provide a bigger return than the Cavaliers on the futures odds board, but that’s for good reason. Los Angeles could have to go through the likes of Portland, Utah, and Denver before even getting to the Finals. Cleveland is likely to travel a much easier path.
Whether you’re taking the Cavs or betting against them in the Eastern Conference or to win it all, you have a stake in which team they play in a first-round series as the No. 1 seed.
Looking at the East standings, there’s currently five clubs that could find themselves faced with LeBron James and Cleveland in the conference quarterfinals. The Bucks, Heat, Bobcats, Raptors, and Bulls are all possible candidates to warm up the Cavaliers for bigger things to come.
Milwaukee figures to present the biggest obstacle should it slide into the No. 8 seed, but it’s unlikely because it’s currently fifth in the East at 38-30 and a sparkling 44-23-1 ATS.
It’s too bad for bettors the Bucks are too good to finish eighth. Milwaukee is the sharpest spread wager in the NBA, and has won eight of its last nine games (6-2-1 ATS). The run includes wins at Denver and at home against Utah, Boston, and James-less Cleveland.
If the Bucks are playing too well to face the Cavs, the other four teams remain in play. All four can present some trouble in the first round, trouble being defined as making Cleveland work for its wins.
Dwyane Wade has the ability to match LeBron in a short series, but Miami doesn’t have the depth to keep up with Cleveland. I’d cap the Heat to take no more than one game from the Cavs in a seven-gamer.
The same goes for Toronto, which has the most overall talent of the four potential No. 8 seeds. The Raps have the biggest upside of the four, but they’ve been mired by inconsistency all season. Toronto is also awful defensively.
Chicago has last season’s barnburner with the Celtics under their belt, but they’re probably going to miss the postseason. Chicago has dropped 10 of its last 11 games (4-7 ATS) to sit in the ninth place in the East.
That leaves Charlotte, which is one of the last teams Cleveland wants to see in the playoffs – as the No. 8 seed or otherwise.
No one has played the Cavaliers tougher than the Bobcats. Charlotte has taken three of four from Cleveland this season, easily covering the spread on each occasion. Over the four paydays, the Bobcats have held the Cavs to 89.5 points per game, almost 13 points below their season average.
Much of that has to do with Charlotte’s pace, which ranks 26th in the league at 92.9 possessions per game. That said, slowing it down is to the Bobcats’ advantage in a series with the Cavaliers. Fewer possessions mean a lower-scoring game and a better chance of keeping Cleveland within striking distance. It works, evidently.
Charlotte is also one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, something that’ll pay dividends in the playoffs. The Bobcats are first in points against per game (93.6), third in defensive efficiency per 100 possessions (100.1), third in three-point field goal percentage defense (33.8%), eighth in field goal percentage defense (44.7%), and eighth in defensive rebound rate (74.5%).
Qualitatively, the Bobcats have a versatile roster that’ll force James and Antawn Jamison to play defense and put pressure on Shaquille O’Neal to work hard on the glass.
Jamison would have to match up with Gerald Wallace (18.4 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 18.83 PER), while LeBron is likely to check Stephen Jackson (21.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 16.86 PER) – both tough matchups.
The Bobcats don’t have a bonafide post scorer on the inside, but Shaq and company would have their hands full keeping Tyson Chandler, Theo Ratliff, and Tyrus Thomas off the boards.