The Cleveland Cavaliers (35-21) head to the City of Brotherly Love Saturday to play the Philadelphia 76ers (33-22) at Wells Fargo Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Cavaliers at 76ers odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Both teams played Friday. The Cavs rallied back from an early deficit to beat the Pacers 120-113 in Indiana and covered as 6.5-point road underdogs while the Sixers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-87 but failed to cover as 10.5-point home favorites.
Cleveland is 5-2 straight up (SU) and 4-3 against the spread (ATS) over the last two weeks while Philly is 4-3 SU but just 2-5 ATS in that span.
Cavaliers at 76ers odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:37 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Cavaliers +133 (bet $100 to win $133) | 76ers -165 (bet $165 to win $100)
- Against the spread: Cavaliers +3.5 (-108) | 76ers -3.5 (-112)
- Over/Under: 206.5 (O: -115 | U: -107)
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Cavaliers at 76ers key injuries
Cavaliers (not officially submitted)
- PG Darius Garland (back) questionable
- F Lauri Markkanen (ankle) out
76ers
- SG James Harden (hamstring) out
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Cavaliers at 76ers odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Cavaliers 108, 76ers 103
Money line
SPRINKLE on the CAVALIERS (+133) for a tiny wager with the plan of hitting Cleveland’s spread harder since that’s the sharper play.
Cleveland is 10-8 straight up (SU) as a road underdog (55.6% win rate) and the implied win probability of the Cavaliers (+133) is 42.92%.
Cleveland is also 3-0 SU in games where both teams are on the second of a back-to-back with a plus-4.1 adjusted net rating (ranked 10th) and plus-1.2 ATS margin, according to CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG).
Philly is 1-1 in SU in these spots with a minus-5.5 adjusted net rating and minus-2.5 ATS margin, per CTG.
Again, I’d only SPRINKLE on the CAVALIERS (+133) because Cleveland’s spread is the preferred play.
Against the spread
BET the CAVALIERS +3.5 (-108) because this is a much better spot for Cleveland.
The Sixers have the second-worst cover rate as home favorites at 7-13 ATS and the Cavs have the league’s best cover rate as road underdogs at 12-5-1 ATS with an NBA-best plus-8.7 ATS margin.
Philly is 4-8 ATS at home versus teams with a winning record while Cleveland is 10-3 ATS on the road versus winning teams.
Both teams are also in the top 10 of defensive efficiency but Cleveland plays much better against tough defenses.
The Cavs have a plus-2.3 adjusted net rating (ranked fifth) and plus-6.3 ATS margin (ranked first) versus top-10 defenses, per CTG. Whereas the Sixers have a minus-6.1 adjusted net rating (ranked 18th) and a minus-4.9 ATS margin (ranked 25th).
The CAVALIERS +3.5 (-108) is my favorite wager in this game.
Over/Under
PASS.
There’s enough firepower on both sides, there’s been a sharp line move towards the Under and the total is low enough to scare me off the Under 206.5 (-107). My excuse for not betting the Over is because Cleveland is 6-12 O/U as a road underdog and Philly is 8-12 O/U as a home favorite.
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