The Cleveland Cavaliers (4-1) welcome the New York Knicks (3-2) to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Sunday. Tip is set for 6 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Knicks vs. Cavaliers odds, and make our expert NBA picks and predictions.
The Cavaliers will continue to be without star G Darius Garland Sunday, but they’ve won 4 straight games since he exited in the 1st half of their season-opener. That includes a 132-123 overtime win at the reigning Eastern Conference Champion Boston Celtics Friday.
The Cavs are led by the newly-acquired G Donovan Mitchell. He is averaging a team-high 31 points per game and is shooting 47.8% from the field.
The Knicks won 3 straight after dropping their season opener but lost 119-108 at the Milwaukee Bucks Friday.
F Julius Randle is leading the team in scoring this season, averaging 19 points per game. Free agency addition, G Jalen Brunson, is averaging 18.6 per game as well.
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Knicks at Cavaliers odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:51 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Knicks +150 (bet $100 to win $150) | Cavaliers -190 (bet $190 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Knicks +4.5 (-105) | Cavaliers -4.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 221.5 (O: -112 | U: -108)
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Knicks at Cavaliers key injuries
Knicks
- None
Cavaliers
- G Darius Garland (eye) out
For most recent updates: Official NBA injury report.
Knicks at Cavaliers picks and predictions
Prediction
Cavaliers 114, Knicks 106
Moneyline
PASS.
Cavaliers (-190) isn’t enough value for me to suggest betting on the home favorite. I would shy away from betting the Knicks to straight-up win here — even at the plus-money odds.
Against the spread
BET CAVALIERS -4.5 (-115).
The Knicks have 3 wins on the season, but they haven’t beaten any quality opponents, which the Cavaliers qualify as. New York lost to the Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee and beat the Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic — teams with a combined 5-13 record this season.
The Cavaliers have the 2nd-best record in the Eastern Conference, will be at home and have wins over Boston and the Washington Wizards, two teams over .500.
Cleveland has the 2nd-best net rating and 3rd-best defensive rating. The Knicks are up there as well, and a key strength for them is rebounding, sitting 6th in offensive rebounding rate. The Cavs are the 5th-best defensive-rebounding team.
Couple it all together, and the Cavs should be able to limit the strength of the Knicks, who don’t have many quality wins.
Over/Under
LEAN UNDER 221.5 (-108).
These are two of the slower teams in the NBA with the Cavs ranking 27th in pace.
They are a top defensive team that thrives in half-court basketball. With that being what they do best, expect their style of play to dominate New York, which sits 16th in pace on the season.
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