NBA: JAMES, CAVS ARE KING OF ODDS
Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are attracting a lot of interest in the betting world.
That’s because the Cavs have the best ATS record in the NBA (16-4) and Sportsbook.com has released proposition odds of where James will be playing in 2010. Cleveland also provides great value in the East Conference race.
The New York Knicks (17:10) are the heavy favorite to land James after clearing enough cap room to offer him and even another player a ‘max contract’.
The New Jersey Nets are second on the list at 7:2 odds as they will eventually move to Brooklyn and part-owner Jay-Z is one of his best friends. Staying with his home-state Cavaliers is currently 7:4 with Motown and the Detroit Pistons the long shot at 11:2.
And while this prop bet has proven to be very popular, members looking for more immediate action on LeBron and the Cavs don’t have to look any further than Tuesday night.
The red-hot Cavaliers (17-3) are host to the Toronto Raptors (8-11) and you can get the latest odds for this game here.
Cleveland is currently riding an eight-game winning streak straight-up and has won 16 out of 17 since starting the season at 1-2. Bettors also love the fact that the Cavs have covered eight straight games, with five of those spreads as between 11 and 15.5-point favorites.
The key for Cleveland has been a more balanced offense with LeBron averaging 26.5 PPG, down from 30 last year. And despite his decrease, they are actually averaging seven points more per game, much of it due to the 15.3 PPG from new point guard Mo Williams.
The Cavs are sure to be a heavy favorite Tuesday night over a Raptors team heading in the wrong direction. Toronto has lost three games in a row after a tough trip out west with games at the Lakers, Nuggets and Jazz. They then returned home for a heartbreaking one-point loss to Portland.
If you’re looking for a bright spot for Toronto, note their big man tandem of Chris Bosh and Jermaine O’Neal matches up favorably with almost any tandem in the league, including Cleveland. However, O’Neal is still dealing with an ankle issue and you can’t count on his ‘A’ game very night.
Raptors’ point guard Jose Calderon has also really emerged this year at almost 10 assists per game and he should have a nice battle going with Mo Williams.
However, they have no chance of guarding LeBron in this game if Andrea Bargnani is on him for a lengthy period. That could mean a big increase in minutes off the bench for the defensive minded Jamario Moon.
One more Cleveland note is that Boston is the heavy favorite to win the East Conference at 10:11, but Cleveland has the most value, and is the clear-cut second favorite at 7:4 odds. Some of that has to do with the freefall of the Detroit Pistons with Allen Iverson, but it’s also because the Cavs are legitimate title contenders.
