The Cleveland Cavaliers (21-17) stop by Moda Center Friday for a 10 p.m. ET game against the Portland Trail Blazers (14-23). Below, we look at the Cavaliers vs. Trail Blazers odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Cleveland lost its previous outing 110-106 to the Memphis Grizzlies Tuesday as a 3.5-point favorite. The Cavs are 2-4 straight-up (SU), 1-4-1 ATS and 4-2 O/U over the past two weeks with the 13th-ranked adjusted net rating at plus-2.2 points per 100 possessions, according to CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG).
Portland dropped its last game 115-109 to the Miami Heat Wednesday as a 2.5-point underdog. The Trail Blazers are 1-4 SU, 1-4 ATS and 4-1 O/U in the last 14 days with the worst adjusted net rating at minus-15.5 points per 100 possessions, per CTG.
The Cavs upset the Trail Blazers 107-104 as 5.5-point ‘dogs in their first meeting Nov. 3 and the Under on the 217-point total cashed.
Cavaliers at Trail Blazers 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 9:40 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Cavaliers -250 (bet $250 to win $100) | Trail Blazers +200 (bet $100 to win $200)
- Against the spread (ATS): Cavaliers -5.5 (-120) | Trail Blazers +5.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 215.5 (O: -115 | U: -107)
PLAY: Free, daily sports pick’em contests. Play now!
Cavaliers at Trail Blazers key injuries
Cavaliers
- SF Isaac Okoro (elbow) out
- SF Cedi Osman (reconditioning) probable
- PG Rajon Rondo (reconditioning) probable
Trail Blazers
- PG Damian Lillard (abdomen) out
- SG C.J. McCollum (lung) out
- PF Larry Nance Jr. (knee) out
- C Cody Zeller (health and safety protocols) questionable
Deposit $10 or more, get $100 in instant bet credits at Tipico Sportsbook! New customer offer in CO and NJ. 21+, see Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. Place your legal, online sports bets at Tipico. Let’s make this interesting. Bet now!
Cavaliers at Trail Blazers odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Cavs 114, Trail Blazers 103
Money line
PASS with a heavy “lean” towards the Cavaliers (-250). The implied win probability of Cleveland’s money line is 71.4% and, if they played this game 100 times, I think the Cavs beat the Trail Blazers at least 70 times.
However, I’d prefer to just lay the points with Cleveland.
Against the spread
BET the CAVS -5.5 (-120) for 1.25 units because the Trail Blazers probably need big Jusuf Nurkic to step up but Cleveland big Jarrett Allen is the far better player right now.
Allen balled up Nurkic in the first Cavaliers-Trail Blazers meeting. He outscored Nurkic 24-6 and outrebounded him 17-9 in that game. Cleveland has a massive edge in the frontcourt matchup.
Portland has been destroyed by teams that play good defense and Cleveland has the third-best defensive rating in the Association. The Trail Blazers are 2-14 SU against teams in the top-10 of defensive efficiency.
Furthermore, Portland has the fifth-worst adjusted net rating at minus-10.4 points per 100 possessions and the fifth-worst spread differential at a minus-6.2 ATS margin versus top-10 defenses.
The Cavs also have the fourth-best adjusted net rating on the road at plus-3.8 points per 100 possessions and the best spread differential at a plus-8.9 ATS margin, per CTG.
BET the CAVS -5.5 (-120) for 1.25 units.
Over/Under
PASS because there isn’t a big enough difference between my prediction and the projected total for me to take either side.
I figure Cleveland’s defense will clamp down on the Trail Blazers but Portland’s defense is atrocious so perhaps the Cavs push this game Over the total. I cannot call it either way.
Bet legally online with a trusted partner: Tipico Sportsbook, Sportsbook Wire’s official sportsbook partner in CO, NJ and, soon, IA. Bet now!
If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW. Please gamble responsibly.
Follow Geoff Clark on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Additional NBA sports coverage:
HoopsHype | Celtics Wire | LeBron Wire | Lonzo Wire | Nets Wire | Rockets Wire | Sixers Wire | Thunder Wire | Warriors Wire | Rookie Wire | List Wire
Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA).
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1622]